Poem 328 Essay
POEM 328
This essay will examine the importance of imagery in the poem 328, compared to other poems written by Emily Dickinson that we have studied in previous weeks.
‘A Bird came down the walk’ is a narrative of Emily watching a bird. This bird symbolises both the truth and inevitability of nature. The poem is similar to ‘Because I could not stop for death’ as they portray death as something natural and a process of evolution. In 710, death and Dickinson ride in a carriage together; ‘The Carriage held but just Ourselves’ so death imagery is not something which is supposed to be negative. Similarly in poem 328, Emily personifies death as, ‘He did not know I saw’ where a bird coming on path towards her creates perhaps the journey towards death. …show more content…
Although the themes of the poems are similar, poem 328 uses a lot of natural imagery to emphasise on the beauty of nature and how it truly must have inspired Dickinson to write about it in her poetry.
For instance the final stanza is very mesmerising as it describes, ‘Or butterflies, off Banks of Noon Leap plashless as they swim.’ This image is a metaphor which interestingly symbolises the silent beauty of nature and the idea of the butterflies being ‘plashless’ perhaps represents them as soft and soundless as they ‘swim’ through the sky. The butterflies also link to the images of the ‘bird’ in the previous stanzas where Emily admires the bird and its actions. A specific line which describes the flight of the bird is ‘unrolled his feathers and rowed him softer home.’ This creates a very peaceful and uplifting image where the bird is traveling to his home where he is most comfortable. Dickinson is almost rejected by the bird as a sense of her overpowering the bird arises and as a result of him feeling endangered; he travels back home. ‘Rowed’ and ‘Oars’ in the next line also link as it suggests the division of man and nature through the use of nautical imagery. Furthermore it perhaps gathers the idea of the bird leaving the scene and making its way back home through the imagery of a boat or a ship sailing back
home.
This idea of returning to a destination could link to ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ as it talks about Dickinson traveling on a carriage which takes her back where she came from and the inevitability of death and nature. However, an interesting point to notice is that in poem 328 she talks of the sun being at the ‘Banks off Noon’, but in 712 she seems to be passing ‘the setting sun’. Both talk of the idea of cycles, but as ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ talks about all things around her leaving her when she dies, ‘Or Rather, He passed us’, poem 328 is much more optimistic and ends with the image of a heavenly earth where the cycle of nature is never-ending and something which brings hope to us all.
Now using the images of animals or insects to portray emotions and feelings or even sometimes lack of, has been previously seen in Dickinson’s poetry. For example, ‘I heard a fly buzz’ uses a fly to symbolise a more pessimistic view of death and it could also be seen as an emblem on her death. Whereas the insect is used to create a distraction anf even perhaps represent nature in a darker light, ‘A Bird came down the walk’ purely focuses on the beauty of nature and how she admired the nature around her.
-first stanza-brutality-then contrast to second-dew-link to other poem (712)
Conclusion on the importance of the imagery in this poem.
Wardah 12R
This essay will examine the importance of imagery in the poem 328, compared to other poems written by Emily Dickinson that we have studied in previous weeks.
‘A Bird came down the walk’ is a narrative of Emily watching a bird. This bird symbolises both the truth and inevitability of nature. The poem is similar to ‘Because I could not stop for death’ as they portray death as something natural and a process of evolution. In 710, death and Dickinson ride in a carriage together; ‘The Carriage held but just Ourselves’ so death imagery is not something which is supposed to be negative. Similarly in poem 328, Emily personifies death as, ‘He did not know I saw’ where a bird coming on path towards her creates perhaps the journey towards death. …show more content…
Although the themes of the poems are similar, poem 328 uses a lot of natural imagery to emphasise on the beauty of nature and how it truly must have inspired Dickinson to write about it in her poetry.
For instance the final stanza is very mesmerising as it describes, ‘Or butterflies, off Banks of Noon Leap plashless as they swim.’ This image is a metaphor which interestingly symbolises the silent beauty of nature and the idea of the butterflies being ‘plashless’ perhaps represents them as soft and soundless as they ‘swim’ through the sky. The butterflies also link to the images of the ‘bird’ in the previous stanzas where Emily admires the bird and its actions. A specific line which describes the flight of the bird is ‘unrolled his feathers and rowed him softer home.’ This creates a very peaceful and uplifting image where the bird is traveling to his home where he is most comfortable. Dickinson is almost rejected by the bird as a sense of her overpowering the bird arises and as a result of him feeling endangered; he travels back home. ‘Rowed’ and ‘Oars’ in the next line also link as it suggests the division of man and nature through the use of nautical imagery. Furthermore it perhaps gathers the idea of the bird leaving the scene and making its way back home through the imagery of a boat or a ship sailing back
home.
This idea of returning to a destination could link to ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ as it talks about Dickinson traveling on a carriage which takes her back where she came from and the inevitability of death and nature. However, an interesting point to notice is that in poem 328 she talks of the sun being at the ‘Banks off Noon’, but in 712 she seems to be passing ‘the setting sun’. Both talk of the idea of cycles, but as ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ talks about all things around her leaving her when she dies, ‘Or Rather, He passed us’, poem 328 is much more optimistic and ends with the image of a heavenly earth where the cycle of nature is never-ending and something which brings hope to us all.
Now using the images of animals or insects to portray emotions and feelings or even sometimes lack of, has been previously seen in Dickinson’s poetry. For example, ‘I heard a fly buzz’ uses a fly to symbolise a more pessimistic view of death and it could also be seen as an emblem on her death. Whereas the insect is used to create a distraction anf even perhaps represent nature in a darker light, ‘A Bird came down the walk’ purely focuses on the beauty of nature and how she admired the nature around her.
-first stanza-brutality-then contrast to second-dew-link to other poem (712)
Conclusion on the importance of the imagery in this poem.
Wardah 12R