The Analysis of Emily Dickinson’s Poem

郭霞

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson（1830 – 1886）was born in Amherst，Massachusetts from a socially prominent family. The range of her worldly experience was limited by any standards. She spent her whole life in the small town of Amherst，at her own home and garden，never married. Abnormally shy and retiring，she led an inactive life as a recluse，an inward life which she deliberately chose to lead so that she could achieve personal integrity.

Around 1850 she began to write poems. Since she seldom had social life，her poems were all about nature，love，life and death. However，the range of her poetry suggested not her limited experience but the power of her creativity and imagination. She was on the whole a pessimistic poet. Her poetry reflects her spiritual unrest and her awareness of the human predicament.

Dickinson found a lot of similarities between her and the little bird in quality，so she often regarded the robin as the embodiment of herself. Whats more，there were all together up to 33 poems which have mentioned robin. The following is one of the poems.

I shall keep singing!

Birds will pass me

On their way to Yellower Climes —

Each — with a Robin's expectation —

I — with my Redbreast —

And my Rhymes —

Late — when I take my place in summer —

But — I shall bring a fuller tune —

Vespers — are sweeter than Matins — Signor —

Morning — only the seed of Noon –

In this poem，Dickinson did not describe any detail about robin；she only referred to it，using its symbolic meaning. However，the symbolic meaning of robin can not easily figure out from the poem，because Dickinson used many ellipses，which made the poem sound obscure. If we add the omitted part of the poem，it will become clear in meaning and also the image of the robin will come into sight.

I shall keep singing!

（Though other）Birds will pass me

On their way to Yellower（and more mature）Climes —

（The poet is like the robin）Each — with a Robin's expectation —

I –（also）with my Redbreast —

And（also）my Rhymes —

（I come）Late –（if）when I take my place in summer –

（The summer belongs to the others birds，because they have beautiful songs）

But — I shall bring a fuller tune —

Vespers — are sweeter than Matins — Signor —

Morning — only the seed of Noon –

So now the implied meaning of the poem has been spoken out. And the “Robin's expectation” is the key to wholly understand what the poet was talking about. First，there is some basic knowledge about the little creature. Robin is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is around 12.5-14.0 cm in length，the male and female are similar in coloration，with a red breast and face lined with grey，brown upperparts and a whitish belly. The robin has fluting，warbling song in the breeding season. It is relatively unafraid of people and likes to come close when anyone is digging the soil，in order to look out for earthworms and other food freshly turned up. Indeed，the robin is considered to be a gardener's friend and for various folklore reasons the robin would never be harmed.

Whats more，robin was held to be a storm-cloud bird and sacred to Thor，the god of thunder，in Norse mythology. More recently，it has become strongly associated with Christmas，taking a starring role on many a Christmas card since the mid 19th century. The association with Christmas probably arises from the fact that postmen in Victorian Britain wore red uniforms and were nicknamed “Robin”；the robin featured on the Christmas card is an emblem of the postman delivering the card.

In the 1960s，in a vote published by The Times newspaper，the robin was adopted as the unofficial national bird of the UK，representing the sturdy and brave England spirit.

So the “Robin's expectation” indicated that the poet is very strong in mind. She would do what she thought right，without being disturbed by other people. She is the bird with small body but has great expectations. “Morning — only the seed of Noon –” indicates that this is only the beginning. And when the Christmas comes，all the other birds were stopped singing，the robin，or the poet，will persist in singing. So “I” with my distinctive red breast and my own rhythm will finally be heard by the entire world. This is the poets expectation，or the robins expectation in the poem. And Dickinson has already achieved her goal after decades of her death.

Works Cited

[1]  Dickinson，Emily. The Poems of Emily Dickinson. US：Electronic Classics Series Publication，2003.

[2]  Johnson，Thomas H.，ed. The poems of Emily Dickinson. Cambridge：Harvard UP，1995.

[3]  Kirszner，L. G.，and S. R. Mandell. Literature：Reading，Reacting，Writing. Ed. HU Na and ZHANG Bing. 5th ed. Beijing： Peking UP，2006. 1039-97.

[4]  Li Juan，and Wei Yuqi，ed. “Matthew 10”，New Testment. Tianjin：Tianjin Peoples Publishing House，2003.

[5]  Martin，Wendy. The Cambridge Companions to Emily Dickinson. Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，2003.

[6]  劉守兰，《狄金森研究》。上海：上海外语教育出版社，2006。

[7]  刘晓晖，”百年艾米莉·狄金森研究管窥”，《国外文学》1（2007）：28-36。

[8]  王晓燕，“论爱米莉·狄金森的自然诗”，《内蒙古财经学院学报》（综合版）7（2009）：72-74。