‘Emily Dickinson’s poetry is an eloquent record of her celebrations and despairs, revealing both her complex personality and her gift for vivid language.’
Discuss this statement with reference to or quotation from the poems on your course.
SAMPLE PLAN Paragraph Poem
1
‘There’s a certain Slant of Light’
2 ‘The
Soul has Bandaged moments’
Celebrations and despairs
„„Knowledge of her own mortality: ‘Seal Despair’
„„Despair with religion
„„Celebrates moments of
escape and brief respite from despair
„„Despairing sense that there is no permanent escape
3 ‘After
great pain, a formal feeling comes’
4
‘I could bring You Jewels - had I a mind to’
5
‘“Hope” is the
thing with feathers’
„„Complete absence of hope vividly conveyed
Complex personality
„„Reveals her sensitivity and capacity to be hurt
„„A prisoner of her own emotions, but also someone with the
capacity for great joy
„„Shows how she was doing her best, not escaping from life, but trying to survive it
„„Celebrates love, honesty and being yourself
„„Celebrates the unconditional quality of hope
„„A hint of the speaker having experienced despair is found in stanza three
126 VERSE 2022
„„Has a real sense of herself – ‘little Blaze’
„„A woman who always had hope, no matter what
Vivid language
„„Idiomatic language „„Ambiguous ending
„„Extreme contrast between despair and joy
„ „Metaphor of a prisoner is very effective
„„Clever imagery illustrates the
benumbed state of the speaker
„„Ambiguous ending
„„Powerful comparisons „„Beautiful imagery
„„Metaphor of the blaze suggests passion and vitality
„„Hyperbole: ‘chillest’, ‘strangest’
„„Idiomatic language 'abash the little bird', 'in Extremity'
