Poem-A-Day/April 16
(Johnson 409)
They dropped like Flakes —
They dropped like Stars —
Like Petals from a Rose —
When suddenly across the June
A wind with fingers — goes —
They perished in the Seamless Grass —
No eye could find the place —
But God can summon every face
Of his Repealless — List.
**
A good entry on this poem on the White Heat blog:
https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/whiteheat/jan1-7f545/
(Johnson 409)
They dropped like Flakes —
They dropped like Stars —
Like Petals from a Rose —
When suddenly across the June
A wind with fingers — goes —
They perished in the Seamless Grass —
No eye could find the place —
But God can summon every face
Of his Repealless — List.
**
A good entry on this poem on the White Heat blog:
https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/whiteheat/jan1-7f545/
As I mentioned in my comment on "He fought like those Who've nought to lose —", Dickinson sees a connection between the cycles of nature and soldiers dying in war. While the first stanza of this poem emphasizes the anonymity of death in battle, the second stanza attempts to rebuke this claim. And I think it does so rather poorly. Dickinson's argument seems to be that, although you may "perish" anonymously in the grass like snow melting when it touches the ground, God will always remember your face, and immortalize you in his "list" of heroes and martyrs. Considering Dickinson's ambivalent relationship with religion, I don't find this argument very compelling. I think she strays from her beliefs and forces a conclusion to please an audience, rather than herself. But, if someone sees this poem differently, I'd be very interested to hear another perspective.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the White Heat blog post on this poem, I'm still not too convinced of its genius. Although the blog notes that, "This is one of the most famous Dickinson poems about the Civil War", I don't think it accurately showcases Dickinson talent. Nevertheless, the poem clearly resonated with readers of the time, so I guess it deserves some merit in that sense...
DeleteI found that this poem reminded me of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem “The Sleeper in the Valley” (https://allpoetry.com/The-Sleeper-In-The-Valley) because of both or their uses of imagery of the gentleness of nature at contrast with the violence at war. To me, both poems have a gentle, almost serene voice which feels at odds with the content of the poems and the feelings it evokes.
ReplyDeleteAnother, separate, idea that I thought of during class goes off of what we talked about with the snow. The whiteness of snow is such a striking picture when seen in the world. Imagine a field covered with snow and intensity of that picture, but also think how much more striking that picture of pure white would be if tainted by red rose petals. This mimics the how soldiers bodies are tainted with wounds and bloodshed. While soldiers can be seen as heroes or martyrs there is also a dark side of war the cannot be ignored.