Emily Dickinson

1
Emily Dickinson

• If you, My life,
• The Soul.

2
If you were coming in the Fall

• The waiting is the hardest part.
• Not the amount of time, but the fact that the
  speaker does not know how long the wait for her
  beloved will be.
• The units of time increase as the poem
  progresses.
• First Stanza seasons
• Second Stanza years
• Third Stanza centuries
• Fourth Stanza eternity
• What about the fifth stanza?

3
My life closed twice before its close

• The first two separations from her loved ones of
  life most likely occurred due to
• tragedies
• disappointments
• turning points
• The partings referred to in the poem could be
  regarded as
• very final
• forced
• unwanted

4
The Soul selects her own Society

• The speaker makes the statement that people
  select their soul-mates and close the door to
  others, BUT she does not say how they do this.
  Why is she not specific?
• The speaker is determined to only let those in
  whom she trusts and feels as worthy (second
  stanza).
• Power, wealth, and fame carry no weight in her
  decision.
• Exactly how many people is the speaker willing to
  allow into her life?
• She rejects the bulk of society however, she
  gains one intimate friendship that will last the
  rest of her days.

5
p. 427

• On a SEPARATE sheet of paper in COMPLETE
  SENTENCES, answer questions 3, 4, 7, 8, 12.