Prose
Emily Dickinson
Face to Face: Unpublished Letters
The Soul selects her own Society (303)
The
soul selects her own society,
Then
shuts the door;
To
her divine majority
Present
no more.
Unmoved,
she notes the chariots pausing
At
her low gate;
Unmoved,
an Emperor be kneeling
Upon
her mat.
I’ve
known her from an ample nation
Choose
one;
Then
close the valves of her attention
Like
stone.
Stanza
1.
Involves a form of alliteration in
lines one and two. Dickinson’s soul is what is making the choice, with setting
her expectations high. As I imagine it “shutting the door,” means closing a
final chapter. When she mentions “divine majority” divine to me makes me think
of a higher power and majority resembles most.
Stanza
2.
The vocabulary Dickinson uses
resembles the social class she’s describing throughout the stanza such as,
chariots, low gate, and emperor kneeling. I began to wonder as I was reading
line three is she being courted? He is kneeling before her even though her soul
appears to be unpleased.
Stanza
3.
Within this stanza, Dickinson states
“ample nation” referring to her narrowing in on one lover. The soul close’s
“the valves”; valves cannot receive anything if they are closed shut. Just like
stone, when I think of a stone I think cold and hard.
*
All of the lines within these three stanzas are enjambed lines, making the
reader continue reading to understand the whole poem.
Unrequited Love
The mind chooses his
paradise,
Then unlocks the heart;
To his mortal inferiority
Absence no more.
Moved, he notes models
awaiting
At his high gate;
Moved a muses poise
Upon his studios fate.
He’s known her from insufficient
kindom
Chosen word;
Then opens the avenues of
his minds fixation
Like Vogue.
