Emily Dickinson's If You Were Coming In The Fall
If you were coming in the Fall
Famous writer Emily Dickinson is well known for expressing depression and love in her poems. Some people believe that this is because of a traumatic emotional experience she went through in her late twenties or early thirties. There are multiple ways and techniques she uses to show her feelings in her poems. In If you were coming in the Fall, Dickinson uses a variety of different techniques to show her feelings for a loved one known only as "you." Dickinson uses a certain structure, word choice, and figurative language to express her longing for a loved one in her poem, If you were coming in the Fall. The way Dickinson organizes her stanzas really emphasizes the pain and suffering she is willing to go
through to wait for her lover. As the poem progresses, each stanza has am amount of time she is willing to wait for him. The first stanza says how, "If [he] were coming in the fall"(1), she would wait, then to the next saying, "If I could see you in a year"(5) and then so on. The second to last stanza tells how she would wait till eternity for him. This progression is emphasized by the way she structured the poem. Another way Dickinson's structure helps her poem is the use of dashes. Whenever she wants to emphasize something or create a pause, she uses a dash. For example in the last stanza, "It goads me, like the Goblin Bee-/That will not state-its sting"(19-20). She is emphasizing the pain or "sting" the uncertainty of her lover returning causes her. The diction that Dickinson uses really helps define the depressing tone throughout the poem. She starts off the first four stanzas with, "If.." and then her thoughts, which creates a pensive tone and shows the uncertainty of when her lover will return. This unknown waiting period is transformed into doubt in the last stanza by saying, "But, now, uncertain of the length..."(17), and tells how that hurts her. In the stanzas, Dickinson uses words like, "Summer"(2), "Centuries"(9), and "Eternity"(16) to define how long she is willing to wait for her loved one. The capitalization of these words are key because it emphasizes them and shows their importance and progression. The most important part of If you were coming in the Fall is the excellent use of figurative language. The use of hyperboles, metaphors, and personification really bring out her emotions and help the reader understand her longing. Her saying how, "[She would] brush the summer by...as housewives do a Fly"(2-3), is saying how she would like the time to go by quick and easily. In the second stanza she uses a "century" to hyperbolize and personify the length of time and show the deep love for her lover. (Assuming she will not live for centuries) the reader can infer that she is willing to die waiting. The poem concludes with the doubt that her love will return and she uses a metaphor of a bee, "That will not state its sting"(20). Showing how the uncertainty will haunt and continue to hurt her. The reader can not even imagine the pain and suffering that this mystery "you" is causing Dickinson to have. Her incredible uses of structure, word choice, and figurative language to express her longing for a loved one in her poem, If you were coming in the Fall, is amazing and really reflects her depressive writing style.
Famous writer Emily Dickinson is well known for expressing depression and love in her poems. Some people believe that this is because of a traumatic emotional experience she went through in her late twenties or early thirties. There are multiple ways and techniques she uses to show her feelings in her poems. In If you were coming in the Fall, Dickinson uses a variety of different techniques to show her feelings for a loved one known only as "you." Dickinson uses a certain structure, word choice, and figurative language to express her longing for a loved one in her poem, If you were coming in the Fall. The way Dickinson organizes her stanzas really emphasizes the pain and suffering she is willing to go
through to wait for her lover. As the poem progresses, each stanza has am amount of time she is willing to wait for him. The first stanza says how, "If [he] were coming in the fall"(1), she would wait, then to the next saying, "If I could see you in a year"(5) and then so on. The second to last stanza tells how she would wait till eternity for him. This progression is emphasized by the way she structured the poem. Another way Dickinson's structure helps her poem is the use of dashes. Whenever she wants to emphasize something or create a pause, she uses a dash. For example in the last stanza, "It goads me, like the Goblin Bee-/That will not state-its sting"(19-20). She is emphasizing the pain or "sting" the uncertainty of her lover returning causes her. The diction that Dickinson uses really helps define the depressing tone throughout the poem. She starts off the first four stanzas with, "If.." and then her thoughts, which creates a pensive tone and shows the uncertainty of when her lover will return. This unknown waiting period is transformed into doubt in the last stanza by saying, "But, now, uncertain of the length..."(17), and tells how that hurts her. In the stanzas, Dickinson uses words like, "Summer"(2), "Centuries"(9), and "Eternity"(16) to define how long she is willing to wait for her loved one. The capitalization of these words are key because it emphasizes them and shows their importance and progression. The most important part of If you were coming in the Fall is the excellent use of figurative language. The use of hyperboles, metaphors, and personification really bring out her emotions and help the reader understand her longing. Her saying how, "[She would] brush the summer by...as housewives do a Fly"(2-3), is saying how she would like the time to go by quick and easily. In the second stanza she uses a "century" to hyperbolize and personify the length of time and show the deep love for her lover. (Assuming she will not live for centuries) the reader can infer that she is willing to die waiting. The poem concludes with the doubt that her love will return and she uses a metaphor of a bee, "That will not state its sting"(20). Showing how the uncertainty will haunt and continue to hurt her. The reader can not even imagine the pain and suffering that this mystery "you" is causing Dickinson to have. Her incredible uses of structure, word choice, and figurative language to express her longing for a loved one in her poem, If you were coming in the Fall, is amazing and really reflects her depressive writing style.