Discuss ways in which Dickinson explores Essay Example for Free

Discuss ways in which Dickinson explores Essay The sense of the abstract covers a wide varity of ideas such as imagery and language. In ‘Going to Him! Happy letter’ Emily Dickinson explores these ideas of the abstract theme through her use of language. The sense of the abstract is explored through Dickinson’s method of thinking (unlike many of the people in the 1800’s) she was ahead of her time, writing about modern ideas in the 1800’s. Her poems never have a straight forward meaning, this is the abstract, concealing the meaning in her poems and thinking outside of the box. The abstract object in the poem also known as ‘494’ is the letter, which is referred to throughout the poem. Stanza one opens with ‘Going to Him! Happy letter! ’, immediately we see privacy in Dickinson’s poem, by using ‘Him’ we are left in the dark since we do not know who ‘Him’ is. This indicates that the poem is about a mysterious figure that she may or may not have feeling for. This creates obscurity around the abstract subject of the letter. The use of capitalizing ‘Him’ emphasizes the importance of this person, but still keeps the mystery alive, building up expectations. We know that the poem is about a letter; by including an exclamation mark after the word ‘letter! ’ makes it seem joyful, due to the context that it is in. However, the use of the exclamation marks also gives the feeling that the letter is being instructed to be happy; Emily Dickinson needs the letter to be cheerful when it is received in order for her true feeling to be realized. The exclamation marks can also be used in other contexts giving other feelings, such as, ‘Cautious! ’ by including this exclamation mark; the letter is made to seem vigilant. The imagery presented by the use of language adds to the sense of the abstract. In stanza one ‘Left the verb and the pronoun out’ shows how Emily Dickinson wants to say things to this mysterious person, but she is not giving away her true feelings and emotions or she is having trouble doing so. This relates to Emily Dickinson’s personal character, we know she was an extremely private woman who enjoyed her own company rather than others, which explains why she is having such difficulties showing her feelings. Throughout the poem there is repetition of the word, ‘Tell Him-‘followed by a dash, this indicates that Dickinson is building up expectations as well as anticipation. The word ‘Tell Him’ is also instructing the letter, assuring her message is received and understood. This links to the main idea in the poem, of being your own critic. Dickinson is constantly judging her own work, assuring that it can be the best it can be, so that when the letter is received, the message is given in the correct context. The use of dashes during the poem is indicating that Dickinson’s though process was changing a great pace, when reading the poem it seems as if the main idea drifts, which is the same as thoughts drifting in and out of our minds as we think. By using dashes when reading the poem the imagery is brought to life, because, the poem moves fast by changing topic, an example of the changing topic is, ‘But – if he ask where you are hid’. This also masks Dickinson’s true feelings towards this mysterious man, since we can never get her precise emotions. The sense of the abstract is enhanced by the personification of the letter, since the letter is the abstract idea. The poem is about Dickinson writing about the process of writing a letter, and by giving the letter feelings, brings to life the abstract idea. The letter is made to feel sleepy, a human sensation, shown by, ‘Any you – got sleepy’, which explains how as the letter progresses, it like a human becomes tired due to the amount of work it is having to do. The letter is again personified in stanza one, Dickinson expresses how she wishes the paper she is writing on had eyes, so that, it could see what she wants to say rather than she writes it, this is shown by the use of, ‘eyes in your pages’. The letter is personified throughout the poem adapting a personality; the amount of detail Dickinson includes in her letter brings to life the letter. This makes the poem seen as if there is a conversation between two separate people, (Emily Dickinson and the letter) Dickinson is asking whether her letter is good or not. The sense of the abstract is explored through what Emily Dickinson is trying to say. The letter is Dickinson’s feelings and thoughts. By writing a letter to a possible lover shows how difficult it can be to admit ones true mind-set and emotions. This is shows in stanza two when Dickinson explains that the letter was hard and different for her to write, ‘it wasn’t a Practiced Writer’. Since she does not write her emotions on paper, she believes that when the man reads her letter, her emotions will not be acknowledged in the way that she desires. The abstract theme is explored around the idea of the letter. This is through Dickinson’s method of attempting to write it in the correct context assuring it is received in the exact way she means it to be sent. The poem has modern day issues faced within it, such as, when writing an e-mail we hit the same problems, for example how will the recipient interpret the message? And will the message be taken in the wrong way? This is what the poems underlying meaning is about, sending a message (in this case a letter), and when writing it, thinking about how the message is received.