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English(Belonging) DickinsonEssay(2)

Thisismylettertotheworld(No.66)

Thisis

my

letter

to

the

world

by

Emily

Dickinson

isa

poem

written

in

the

form

of

ahymn.

ThispoemaswiththemajorityofEmilyspoemsisconsistentwithherindividualstyle.Her

poemscrosstwogenres,romanticandmodernist.NearlyallofEmilyDickinsonspoems

havenoorlittlesenseofthetimeinwhichshelivedbutaremorerelatedtoEmilysmind.

Emilysworldwasboundedbyherhomeanditssurroundingcountryside.EmilyDickinson

wasarecluseinsocietyandthereforethispoemfitsintothesituationsheisburiedwithin.

ThepurposeofthispoemwasforEmilytosharewiththeworldhersenseofalienationand

isolation.

Thispoemisessentiallyaboutthetensionsbetweendistanceandproximityandbelonging

andnotbelonging.Sheexplorestheworldaroundherthroughherchoices.Emilychoseto

withdrawfrom

the

world

and

therefore

chose

her

life

of

isolation

and

is

content

with

that,

althoughshestillwouldprefertonothavetoworryonbeenjudgedforhersomewhat

unusualchoices.Emilysworlddoesnotrecogniseherasshehasbeensoreclusiveandnever

steppedfarintothegreatersociety.Throughherwritingsheissomewhatpredictingthat

futuregenerationswillexplorethispoemandsoshewantstosharehermessagesonwhat

naturehastaughther.Inthelasttwolinesofthepoem,sherequeststhatpeopleenjoyher

poemsandnotcritiquethemharshlyasshownbythewordsJudgetenderlyofme.

TherhymeschemeofThisismylettertotheworldissimplebeingABABCBDB.Thisiswhat

givesthepoemitssomewhathymnlikecharacteristics.Slantrhymeisusedonthewords

worldandtoldendinglines1and3.Thisandperfectrhymegivethepoemitssenseof

rhythmand

contribute

to

the

idea

of

aconnected

world

with

afew

outsiders

as

the

slant

rhymecanrepresent,nearlytherebutnotquite.Thetoneofthepoemisoneofcomfortable

acceptanceandcontentaslongaspeoplejudgeEmilyandherworkstenderly. Emilyis

speakingforherselfouttotheworld.Themoodofthepoemislonelinessandrealisation.

Thispoemisasimpleyetcomplexpoemwithitsvariousintertwinedmeanings.Youcantake

thepoemliterallytomeansheissendingalettertotheworldorthatEmilyistryingtosay

sheissecludedandtheworlddoesntmakeanefforttoreachouttoher.ThetitleThisis

mylettertotheworldcontrastsasenseofbelongingassheiscontributingherideastoa

worldthatalienatedher.Theactuallettersymbolisesherownrecognitionofisolationtothe

worldandthesecondlinesupportsthisThatneverwrotetomeisaworldthathasnt

communicatedwith

her

to

keep

her

in

contact.

The

simple

news

that

nature

told

is

the

poemscentralmessageandsymbolisesachangeinnatureduringtheyearsofherisolation.

Thislinetogetherwiththenextline,ThesimplenewsthatnaturetoldWithtender

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majestyusespersonification.Thisgivesthenewsofnatureaphilosophicalviewthatitfeels

itshouldsharewiththeworld.Theemphasisofthewordmajestypointsouttheimportance

ofnatureseverchanginglife.Oxymoronisusedonthewordstendermajestytoshow

hownaturecanbedisconnectedandtoexaggeratethebeautyandpowerofnature.Syntax

supportstheideaofThisismylettertotheworldbeingwritteninhymnform.

Thenextstanzaexploresnaturesmessagetotheworld,butEmilyfeelsuncertainthather

messagewill

be

safe

as

it

is

given

To

hands

Icannot

see.

This

worries

Emily

as

she

has

lost

controlofhermessageaboutthewonderofnature.HermessageiscommittedtohandsI

cannotseeisagainpersonificationofnaturesmessagetothefutureandwecantellthe

personaisafemale.Thelaststanzaisalmostahopelessplea.EmilyDickinsonswordchoice

showsthatyes,shehasbeenjudgedbynaturessweetcountrymenbuttheyhavebeen

judginghertenderly,orsoshehopes.Fromthiswecanassumethatshedoesntmind

beingjudgedasmuchasonethoughtandperhapsitwasmorethefactthattheworlddid

notunderstandherthatshefulfilledherroleasarecluse.Throughoutthepoemthereisa

constantcontradictionandparadox.Emilybelievesshebelongstotheworld,butnotall

conceptsasshechoosesnottobelongorconformtomainstreamsociety.

Themost

prominent

theme

in

This

is

my

letter

to

the

world

is

nature

as

asource

of

inspiration.Wecangatherfromthispoemthatshewasveryclosewithnatureandfeelsshe

belongsmorewithitthantheoutsideworld.ThepoemimpliesthatEmilyherselfistheonly

onethattrulyunderstandsnatureandforthisreasonshehascommittedthemessageofits

beauty.Successisanotherthemeinthispoem.Emilybelievesthatforthebeautyofnature

anditsmessagetoliveon,shesuccessfullyneedstoshareitsbeautywiththeworldthrough

herletters.Thispoemexplorestheideaofpsychologicalstatesasthepersonafeels

alienatedanddespairinginsocietywithherunknownabilitytoeducatethefuture.

BelongingisexploredthroughDickinsonssenseofbothconnectionandbelongingtothis

worldaswellasdistanceandisolationfromit.Emilyfeelslikesheisacceptedinnatureand

feelsasomewhat

strong

connection

with

it

and

its

ever

changing

beauty.

In

This

is

my

letter

totheworld,thefeelingsofalienationandestrangementarestronglyfocusedon.Emily

andthepersonabothfeelalienatedfromtheirsocietyastheyapparentlyunacceptably

dontconformtothenorm.IsolationisevidentinthepoembythelinesThatneverwrote

tomeandthisisoneofthereasonsthatitisbelievedthatEmilylivedalifeasarecluse,she

washappybeenisolatediftheworlddidntvalueherwordsandideas.Thatneverwroteto

meisalsoanexampleoftherejectionshefacedbysocietywithheralternatewayoflife

andviews,evidentinthispoem.Itseemsthatthroughoutthepoemitisonlynaturein

whichsheisconnectedwithanddevotedherlifeto.Withthisrelationship,shechosenotto

belong.TheletteristheDickinsonssenseofbelongingtonaturethathasresultedinher

turningawayfromtheworld.

ThispoemiswellwrittenbutIfoundithardtounderstandwithoutathoroughexplanation.

Itcontradictsthefeelingsofbelongingandnotbelongingandwhetherthepersonalikes

feelingisolatedandalienatedornot.OnceIgatheredabetterunderstandingofthepoemI

agreethatitiswelladaptedtothecoretopicofbelongingandisagoodpiecetostudyfor

HSCEnglish.Overallthepoemcleverlyincorporatedmultiplemeaningsideasin2short

stanzas.

Teacherscomments:

A,welldone

Dontrefertothecomposerbytheirfirstname