A bandage is simply a strip of material used to bind a wound, yet when we read the word we think of pain, suffering, vulnerability, scars and healing. This precisely chosen word aptly describes the vulnerability of the human soul.
IDIOMS
‘Idiom’ comes from Greek and means peculiar phraseology, or to make language your own. Both of these characteristics are true of Dickinson, who had a completely original poetic voice. For example:
„„‘Yet, never, in Extremity,/ It asked a crumb – of Me.’ (‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers’)
Dickinson uses ‘extremity’ in the sense of the most extreme emotional situations, when the little bird of hope never asks anything in return. While this does not make sense in a literal way, it highlights the unconditional nature of hope.
„„‘… swings upon the Hours’ (‘The Soul has Bandaged moments’)
This idiomatic expression probably means to enjoy life so much that you forget about time passing.
„„‘Zero at the Bone’ (‘A narrow Fellow in the Grass’)
Although it is impossible to ‘translate’ this line, Dickinson’s meaning is clear. The speaker is talking about having shivers down his spine whenever he encounters the snake.
