Emily Dickenson's a Narrow Fellow in the Grass
A Close Encounter in Emily Dickenson’s “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass”
The subject of Emily Dickenson’s “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass” is the snake that the young boy encounters in the grass. The poem shows how simple life was when this poem was written. Through elements of poetry Emily Dickenson helps us figure out what the poem is about. She uses the elements by using the speaker as well as the setting, descriptive words and the title. The speaker of the poem is a young man recalling one of his childhood experiences when he encountered a snake even though it is unclear how he feels about the encounter with the snake. The speaker is not speaking to anyone in particular; I think he is just telling his story. When Dickenson writes “You may have met Him- did you not/ His notice sudden is-” (3/4) this shows that he is speaking to whoever may be reading this poem because he is not naming anyone in particular that he is speaking to. Even though it is unclear who the speaker may be speaking to it is clear that the time of this poem is spring or fall. Dickenson writes “A floor too cool for Corn-/ Yet when a Boy, and Barefoot-” (10/11) this helps us see that the poem is taking place in one of these two seasons because he is barefoot, but it is too cold for corn. Not only is he barefoot he is running through the grass. It kind of paints a picture of a boy running through a field that maybe is going to be hay and the harvest has not yet come or maybe it is what the machine missed after cutting the hay. Next, this poem has a setting when it is warm outside, but a personal experience encountering a snake has left me a little confused about how the boy feels about his encounter with the snake. As a child, I encountered a snake while playing in the leaves in early autumn, but I was scared of the snake and ran away. When I told my mother what had happened my brothers who were beside her ran outside to check it out. They, as many boys do found the gardener snake “cool.” My
The subject of Emily Dickenson’s “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass” is the snake that the young boy encounters in the grass. The poem shows how simple life was when this poem was written. Through elements of poetry Emily Dickenson helps us figure out what the poem is about. She uses the elements by using the speaker as well as the setting, descriptive words and the title. The speaker of the poem is a young man recalling one of his childhood experiences when he encountered a snake even though it is unclear how he feels about the encounter with the snake. The speaker is not speaking to anyone in particular; I think he is just telling his story. When Dickenson writes “You may have met Him- did you not/ His notice sudden is-” (3/4) this shows that he is speaking to whoever may be reading this poem because he is not naming anyone in particular that he is speaking to. Even though it is unclear who the speaker may be speaking to it is clear that the time of this poem is spring or fall. Dickenson writes “A floor too cool for Corn-/ Yet when a Boy, and Barefoot-” (10/11) this helps us see that the poem is taking place in one of these two seasons because he is barefoot, but it is too cold for corn. Not only is he barefoot he is running through the grass. It kind of paints a picture of a boy running through a field that maybe is going to be hay and the harvest has not yet come or maybe it is what the machine missed after cutting the hay. Next, this poem has a setting when it is warm outside, but a personal experience encountering a snake has left me a little confused about how the boy feels about his encounter with the snake. As a child, I encountered a snake while playing in the leaves in early autumn, but I was scared of the snake and ran away. When I told my mother what had happened my brothers who were beside her ran outside to check it out. They, as many boys do found the gardener snake “cool.” My