Poem-A-Day/April 15
(Johnson 759)
He fought like those Who've nought to lose —
Bestowed Himself to Balls
As One who for a further Life
Had not a further Use —
Invited Death — with bold attempt —
But Death was Coy of Him
As Other Men, were Coy of Death —
To Him — to live — was Doom —
His Comrades, shifted like the Flakes
When Gusts reverse the Snow —
But He — was left alive Because
Of Greediness to die —
**
Again we find ED wringing out of a "public" theme her own view, her own terms. Compare this personification of death with the very famous poem, "Because I could not stop for death" (Johnson 712)--there, Death is a bold and suave courtier, arriving to pick up his date; here, the gendered term "coy" might imply that death is a young woman, though "other men" are here, somewhat surprisingly, said to be "coy" as well.
The final stanza has so many echoes of other ED poems. "For I have but the power to live/Without the power to die"--for example.
(Johnson 759)
He fought like those Who've nought to lose —
Bestowed Himself to Balls
As One who for a further Life
Had not a further Use —
Invited Death — with bold attempt —
But Death was Coy of Him
As Other Men, were Coy of Death —
To Him — to live — was Doom —
His Comrades, shifted like the Flakes
When Gusts reverse the Snow —
But He — was left alive Because
Of Greediness to die —
**
Again we find ED wringing out of a "public" theme her own view, her own terms. Compare this personification of death with the very famous poem, "Because I could not stop for death" (Johnson 712)--there, Death is a bold and suave courtier, arriving to pick up his date; here, the gendered term "coy" might imply that death is a young woman, though "other men" are here, somewhat surprisingly, said to be "coy" as well.
The final stanza has so many echoes of other ED poems. "For I have but the power to live/Without the power to die"--for example.
In contrast to romantic war poems celebrating the glory of soldiers’ deaths, in this poem, Dickinson ponders death’s dark, ironic nature— that is, sometimes the people who want to live die and those who want to die are spared. I saw naturalistic elements in this poem, particularly in the last stanza with Dickinson’s image of soldiers whirling around like snow “flakes when gusts reverse the snow”. By painting the soldiers as powerless against seemingly arbitrary and random death, Dickinson subverts notions about glory in death.
ReplyDeleteI really like Emily's comment about Dickinson subverting notions about death and glory, and I think that stands out more than just soldiers' powerlessness in the face of death. I think Dickinson's natural imagery of comrades "shifting" is particularly interesting. While a gust of wind may scatter snow a sizable distance, "shifting" suggests something more gradual - perhaps even more torturous for the man she's writing on to see those around him gradually change as he stays in place than for everything to change at once - maybe it reminds him of how long he's been at war, attempting to die. I'm also curious about the intent of the man she's writing on - is his desire to die for the glory that war heroes often get? Her characterization of him as "greedy" or "bold" make me wonder if perhaps his desire for death is informed by concerns of his reputation in the afterlife. This question that she brings up in me differs greatly from other poems that seem to venerate soldiers for the sacrifice - even some of her own that do so.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious what "Bestowed himself to Balls" means - balls as in bullets? as in parties?
I like the idea of death as a young women, especially when considering how overtly masculine the poem is (e.g. "He"; "him" "other men"; "Comrades"; "Greediness"). Moreover, the line, "shifted like the flakes" reminds me of another poem posted this week, "They dropped like Flakes —". Dickinson seems attached to this image of soldiers going off to battle like snow falling to earth. This metaphor reflects the anonymity of dying in war, for each man/name becomes only a number, lost the masses. Yet the image of snow (or petals or stars) falling does something more than just romanticize the sacrifice. It places these soldiers as part of a larger cycle of nature, where death brings life, and life honors death.
ReplyDeleteJust a tiny thing: E.D.'s use of "reverse" to describe the movement of the snow is absolutely incredible. It is not just moving upwards in space but also moving backwards in time--returning to the sky. We are so used to the language of "fast-forward" and "rewind" that we tend to ignore how bizarre reversals in time actually are. To Emily this language would be completely unfamiliar--she would never have rewound a tape or even replayed a record. In the 1860s time moved exclusively forward. This reversal of time is her own invention.
ReplyDelete