Exploring Dickinson

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Exploring Dickinson
My growth as a writer Fall 2005
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This semester I focused primarily on poetry.
Within my pieces I attempted to

• Mirror the style of Emily Dickinson

• Incorporate better diction into my work

• Write about diverse subjects

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Ive learned a lot since I started writing
poetry. Heres an example of a piece I wrote
while a sophomore in Creative Writing I
THE LIFEBOAT Love is a lifeboat, Languidly
floundering upon the sea. Waves crash about my
head, And threaten to prevail. Thrashing through
the icy murk, I take hold of its side. Hands
reach down and pull me, Into its serene
interior. My fear is gone with the wind and
waves, I sink into its gentle embrace, And know
the worst is over.
Has obvious problems with rhythm Shows little
organization Anyone can slap words on a page
that sound nice together I wanted to write
poetry with a definite form So I turned to the
work of Emily Dickinson
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The first I read by Emily Dickinson is a famous
one
XXXII   Hope is a thing with feathers That
perches in the soul, And sings the tune without
the words, And never stops at all,   And sweetest
in the gale is heard And sore must be the
storm That could abash the little bird That kept
so many warm.   Ive heard it in the chillest
land, And on the strangest sea Yet, never, in
extremity, It asked a crumb of me.
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I was immediately drawn by her steady rhythms,
fascinating subjects, organization, and
natural rhyme So I set out to emulate her style.
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My first attempt at writing like Dickinson took
pages and pages of editing before it sounded
right
Creeping Mortality   A sickness dwells within my
bones It seems that none can see I daily hear its
morbid tones Creeping Mortality   A weakness
seems to rule my flesh Pernicious darkness
there Pervading with a cruel finesse And leaving
blank Despair
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The more I read her work, the more I discovered
patterns in her writing. She used inverted word
order. She wrote in iambic meter, usually with
lines of six and eight syllables. She capitalized
common nouns she thought important (e.g. Love,
Death, Adversity, etc.) She often used dashes to
isolate important words or phrases.
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The next week, writing in Dickinsons style came
more easily because I was more familiar with it.
Its true that you will write like what you read!
A Different Shade   How foreign does a frequent
feel When Ive been far away Though threads are
same beneath my heel Seems strange the bed I
lay   Though walls reserve the same memry Appear
they different shade The shadows cast by ancient
tree At noontime still do fade   But sunset here
seems paler hue Than when I said goodbye And now
that Ive come back to you Its changed I know
not why.
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One of her poems directly inspired two pieces of
my own
A poor torn heart, a tattered heart, That sat it
down to rest, Nor noticed that the ebbing
day Flowed silver to the west, Nor noticed night
did soft descend Nor constellation burn, Intent
upon the vision Of latitudes unknown.   The
angels happening that way, This dusty heart
espied Tenderly took is up from toil And carried
it to God. There, - sandals for the
barefoot There, - gathered from the gales, Do
the blue havens by the hand Lead the wandering
sails. Emily Dickinson
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Effortlessly Broken   My unmarred heart, so
ethereal Effortlessly broken Though still pure,
gossamer shrouded Flesh that feels. Those caustic
words pierce My indigenous shell
Good diction Lacks definite rhythm and other
stylistic devices Odd number of lines (rarely
done by Dickinson)
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The Ebbing Day   The ebbing day, it flows
away Below the darkening clouds Its melting down
without a sound A brilliant puddle lay   Then
gathers, rushing, ever hushing Silent round my
feet A glow invades and darkness fades On the day
we meet
borrowed the phrase the ebbing day
unknowingly (this poem was written 2-3 months
after reading Dickinsons) it exhibits iambic
meter with lines of 8 and 6 syllables rhyme
found within the lines
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Variation in subject. (connotation of
words) Uses phrasing more like Dickinsons
Iambic, 8-6 lines. Punctuation Characteristic
Of Dickinson
Encumbered   A word is such a flimsy thing Yet
carries so much weight Bags bulging
implications Drag cumbrous in its wake   How does
it carry such a load Upon its spindly frame? If
only we could see the depth Contained beneath a
page!
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Recreants   There I within a stony towr A zephyr
stirs my hair And feckless I must watch the
hour Remain, however, fair   A lonely eye cast
down below To spy them gallivant Recreants
inspire my woe Yet serenades they
grant   Enamoring, they gain my heart Then deem
my towr too high Renege their vow and, careless,
part For sultry nough, not I
Longer than most of my other pieces. Uses words
with altered syllables towr nough
etc. Inverted word order. Iambic, 8-6 syllables.
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Sunsets frequent subject of my pieces. Describes
sunsets as the accident of a painter. (man-made
beauty never intentional) Some natural
rhyme, no rhyme scheme.
Cerulean to Indigo   A painter dropped his
palette It spilled upon the sky The colors, every
hue, Seeping, shades intensify   Cerulean to
indigo Carmine enough Yellow ochre and
vermilion Coalesce above
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Frenetic   A zephyr dances by In rustling skirts
and whispers soft Of grumbling men behind Her
step aroused, she madly spins Dark visages
appear And grisly gray seeps through the
blue Trees murmur anxiously The foliage chorus
rattles on The sun deserts the scene Soon oaks
sway to her sultry dance Evergreens bowing
low Frenetic nature all joins in A protuberant
drop falls
Iambic, 6-8 syllables Builds to climax Extended
personification characteristic of Dickinson Last
line 6 syllables for variety