Poem 3/April 1
(Johnson 447)
'Twas just this time, last year, I died.
I know I heard the Corn,
When I was carried by the Farms —
It had the Tassels on —
I thought how yellow it would look —
When Richard went to mill —
And then, I wanted to get out,
But something held my will.
I thought just how Red — Apples wedged
The Stubble's joints between —
And the Carts stooping round the fields
To take the Pumpkins in —
I wondered which would miss me, least,
And when Thanksgiving, came,
If Father'd multiply the plates —
To make an even Sum —
And would it blur the Christmas glee
My Stocking hang too high
For any Santa Claus to reach
The Altitude of me —
But this sort, grieved myself,
And so, I thought the other way,
How just this time, some perfect year —
Themself, should come to me —
*
"But this sort, grieved myself"--this highly seasonally inappropriate poem, set in Fall, is related to other Dickinson self-elegies like the famous "I heard a fly--Buzz" (one of the last poems discussed IRL in our class). Dickinson uses an intentionally sentimental palette to imagine the aftermath of her own death. The most poignant thing in it, for me, is that detail about "multiplying the plates" to "make an even sum"--though there's a little riddle in it, since there were, with all members present, five Dickinsons in the family (5-1 would be 4, "an even sum"). Maybe this is a sly tribute to Susan, the "sixth" Dickinson, who was just joining the family? Maybe the poem is in fact partly about being replaced by Susan, her presence canceling Emily out?
Anyway. The final stanza is worth thinking about, as we manage our own fear and anxiety. Dickinson decides at the end to think "the other way"--of her own survival and other people's death. The poem ends abruptly, as though she's been silenced by the thought.
(Johnson 447)
'Twas just this time, last year, I died.
I know I heard the Corn,
When I was carried by the Farms —
It had the Tassels on —
I thought how yellow it would look —
When Richard went to mill —
And then, I wanted to get out,
But something held my will.
I thought just how Red — Apples wedged
The Stubble's joints between —
And the Carts stooping round the fields
To take the Pumpkins in —
I wondered which would miss me, least,
And when Thanksgiving, came,
If Father'd multiply the plates —
To make an even Sum —
And would it blur the Christmas glee
My Stocking hang too high
For any Santa Claus to reach
The Altitude of me —
But this sort, grieved myself,
And so, I thought the other way,
How just this time, some perfect year —
Themself, should come to me —
*
"But this sort, grieved myself"--this highly seasonally inappropriate poem, set in Fall, is related to other Dickinson self-elegies like the famous "I heard a fly--Buzz" (one of the last poems discussed IRL in our class). Dickinson uses an intentionally sentimental palette to imagine the aftermath of her own death. The most poignant thing in it, for me, is that detail about "multiplying the plates" to "make an even sum"--though there's a little riddle in it, since there were, with all members present, five Dickinsons in the family (5-1 would be 4, "an even sum"). Maybe this is a sly tribute to Susan, the "sixth" Dickinson, who was just joining the family? Maybe the poem is in fact partly about being replaced by Susan, her presence canceling Emily out?
Anyway. The final stanza is worth thinking about, as we manage our own fear and anxiety. Dickinson decides at the end to think "the other way"--of her own survival and other people's death. The poem ends abruptly, as though she's been silenced by the thought.
Another day, another intriguing Dickinson poem! Hello everyone :)
ReplyDeleteI found “'Twas this time, last year, I died” to be incredibly interesting, even if it is seasonally inappropriate. In the first stanza, the way in which Dickinson relates to the "Corn" struck me, as she "heard" the message the inanimate object sends. I believe this communication expresses a certain obligation, a specific duty which she feels the need to fulfill. The phrase "I was carried by the Farms" connotes not only the literal sustenance the farms provide, but I feel also represents an ability to maintain mental stability through the near-ritualistic nature of the work. The confession at the end of the next stanza "...Wanted to get out,/But something held my will," I believe potentially extends beyond her feelings of resignation to a life of domesticity, or how one would feel beholden to the labors associated with keeping up a farm. Rather, I think it may allude to the sentiments she often expresses regarding isolation. Not solely the separation she feels due to her characteristic reticence, but the inherent divisions that exist between herself and her family ideologically. The next stanza seemingly presents this idyllic image of a crisp, beautiful New England fall; however, I believe it encodes the pressures Dickinson feels regarding the social clock firmly entrenched in 19th century society. The "Red -- Apples wedged" symbolize sensuality and fertility and are directly equated with the coming of fall, implying the cyclical nature of bearing and raising children. The following stanza takes a relatively morbid turn, in which she states directly: I wondered which would miss me, least," presenting the existential fear all humans face regarding our own mortality and legacy. She then seemingly reverts back to her covert discussion of religion: "If Father'd multiply the plates," depicting an inextricable link between reliance on religion and survival for some. In the fifth stanza, she illustrates the image of her "Stocking" juxtaposed against "The altitude of me." The position of the stocking, "too high," is directly compared against her new altitude, implying she has passed onto heaven. In the final stanza, she grieves "myself," or I believe, her own set of circumstances. She envisions "some perfect year," or wistfully hoping the arrival of the next fall will bring something better, but this message is fully overshadowed by her previously stating her own metaphoric death.
Sending my best wishes to everyone! Stay safe and laugh often :)
Hi, everyone! This poem struck me in particular by the heavy atmosphere it created, as it juxtaposes a harvest season with the speaker’s death. The speaker contemplates whether or not her death means anything to the familiarity surrounding her, such as the corn, apples, or pumpkins. When people pass away, they often hope that they have left a lasting impact and touched the lives of those around them, leaving a legacy of some sort. However, the way that Dickinson chose to portray this with different crops is extremely unique. These different crops strike a chord within her, as she associates them with the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays, causing her to become nostalgic. She is curious whether her family would treat her missing presence differently during the holiday season and leave her a spot at the dinner table or put up a stocking for her during Christmas. I find the last stanza to be particularly worth taking a closer look at. It seems to suggest a sudden shift from the depressing thoughts regarding death and one’s legacy described extensively towards the beginning of the poem to that of optimism. However, it is debatable to what extent the last stanza is truly a “happy ending.” My interpretation is that by writing “…some perfect year -- / Themself, should come to me,” Dickinson is alluding to a point in the future when her family will reunite with her in the afterlife. Although it may provide some sense of closure, I find it extremely jarring that this is what she views as the only “good way out” of this situation.
ReplyDeleteAnother food for thought: the situation described could also be likened to that portrayed in the “I felt a Funeral” poem we explored before break. Despite the poems describing death as extremely tangible in nature, the deaths could represent something much more than physical death. For example, it could be death of reason or even a spiritual loss.
Hi all! Hope everyone is well :) As I’m sure it did for others, the first line really struck me when reading this. The idea of being able to reflect on how “’twas just this time, last year, I died” suggests that life is cyclical, and breaks the convention of death as a finality; Dickinson seems to suggest, through both this line and her analogy to nature, that human life is not a linear time defined by birth and death but a series of reiterations. This I feel really contrasts in a way with the grief expressed in the rest of the poem- though the scenarios depicted are objectively melancholy, the perspective is changed because of that opening stanza. It allows audiences to really internalize the message and consider how even “universal” experiences of grief are understood differently when you view death less as an ending and more as a part of a cycle, much like seasons.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that really struck me was the vividness of the color imagery in the poem. Though focused mainly in the earlier/middle parts of the poem, the way Dickinson interweaves these images of red and yellow adds to the motif of a cycle; it seems they move in a predictable pattern because they are each a singular idea at their core. By relating annual traditions to colors, she in a way simplifies them and brings seasonal changes and practices back to their most basic, essential elements. This works to emphasize how central patterns and cycles are in life; we rely on them, much like how the poem relies on the familiarity of seasonal tradition to illustrate its message.
After reading Thursday’s poem about the pain of Spring’s persistent arrival in Dickinson’s somber life, this poem has become more interesting to me. By setting this poem about her own death in autumn, Dickinson can rely heavily on an established sentimental view of the season. The routine of harvest season points to the cyclical nature of the world she was living in, and shows that while death has interrupted it in some ways (an additional plate at the Thanksgiving table, a stocking hung too high for use) the natural world continues on. The reds and yellows of ripe apples and corn evoke a feeling of finality, almost mirroring the colors of a sunset. By focusing the poem in late fall and early winter, the reader almost forgets that the first line was “’twas just this time, last year, I died” , and as such both spring and summer have passed. Reading Thursday’s poem about Dickinson’s somewhat controversial view of spring (that the blossoming of flowers and the sounds of birdsong don’t erase the grief of what’s come before) is interesting to compare to this poem, which seems to conform with most people’s view of how human suffering can be reflected in the passing of time. With the first two poems of this week we’ve seen that Dickinson has some peculiar thoughts about the passage of time and how her own life relates to it, and these two poems about death/grief in relation to the seasons really help to illustrate her view.
ReplyDeleteThe last stanza of this poem brings up a lot of questions for me (some of which I think can be answered by a more extensive knowledge of Dickinson). My first question about this stanza was is she "grieved" because she is thinking of the impact of her death on her family, from the plates and the stocking, or is she "grieved" because she does not want to die? The line "I wondered which would miss me, least" seems to refer to the corn, the apples, the mill, Richard, all these objects (and Richard) who, like Grace said, are so familiar and create comfort. This line makes me think that she is concerned about other people's loss if she were to die but I also think that there is always a sadness to thinking about your own death and the lack of your own existence. The other question I have about this stanza is about the last line "Themself, should come to me —" Who/ What is coming to her? (This is where I think knowing what she means by "themself" would really help.) I also find this line interesting because she is almost acknowledging that the only way she will leave the house is if she is dead. The only way for her to see/ experience all of the images she describes in the poem above is for them to come to her, the complete "other way" of how she is living (ironically) in the poem.
ReplyDelete