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October 11, 2005
Emily D
Emily Dickinson (selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
"He traverses familiar,
As one should come to town
And tell you all your dreams were true;
He lived where dreams were sown."
This is a quote from Emily Dickinson's poem "In the Library." I really liked this poem. It talked about this "him" that leads people through unseen lands and voyages. The "him" is a book. This is an awesome thought! I mean, those posters that say something to the effect of: "Fly to outerspace, dive to the ocean bottom, and run with the lions...in books!" are exactly what Dickinson is saying here. She's commenting on the value of books. She personified a book, like she personified her garden in "I have not told my garden yet." I think this poem was about her death. It seems very pleasant, but that she doesn't want to let on that she's dying or the narrator is dying. I tried to find a year for this poem to see if it closely preceded her death, but it was in vain. I did find another poem of hers that was about death. I liked this more than some of the ones we read. Check it out
Posted by MeredithHarber at October 11, 2005 08:30 PM
Comments
I too thought the same with her "In the library" poem. She was ahead of her time with the whole "books can transport you" idea that we see on posters (as you mentioned) today. Books definetly had a great value to Dickinson, partly because she spent so much time indoors. They truly did "transport" her to places she did not know.
Posted by: Vanessa at October 12, 2005 12:05 PM
I got that too. I said the same exact thing, that the "him" was a book. I like the idea of a book being something that can take you on a journey. I know that once I start a good book it is really hard to put it down.
Posted by: Stacy at October 13, 2005 12:52 AM
Agreed. Because Dickinson did not get a chance to travel, it seems that books were her way of escaping from reality. I think that she is one of the most brilliant poets of not only her time period, but of all time periods. I think that you Meredith hit that right on the head, and Vanessa brought up another good point about escape.
Posted by: Jason Pugh at October 13, 2005 01:51 AM
Vanessa--
Yeah. She's crazy psycho about those books and I think it's pretty cool. I think she found comfort in them in her saddest days. It was her coping mechanism.
Posted by: Meredith Harber at October 13, 2005 03:07 AM
I liked this poem, too, because books are so valuable...more so back then than now to people. I say this because now we have the internet and books have become a commodity. Its a shame, but the truth, even when people do research...the internet is usually the first stop. I think books are so valuable because they can be so historical and amazing of people long ago. We never would have got to read the stuff we've been reading if it weren't for books! Emily has the right idea to write her feelings on such an object, because its more.
Posted by: Ashley Holtzer at October 13, 2005 08:06 AM
I agree Meredith, the second poem was better. And you both are exactly right, Dickenson was ahead of her times with the whole book thing.
Posted by: Lou Gagliardi at October 13, 2005 08:51 AM