Poet & I Didn't Even Know It

8 Steps to Follow and Questions to Ask

1.   Listening or reading the poem out loud without over analyzing it is a great way to start!

 

BY EMILY DICKINSON

I dwell in Possibility –

A fairer House than Prose –

More numerous of Windows –

Superior – for Doors –

Of Chambers as the Cedars –

Impregnable of Eye –

And for an everlasting Roof

The Gambrels of the Sky –

Of Visitors – the fairest –

For Occupation – This –

The spreading wide my narrow Hands

To gather Paradise –

2.   Articulating expectations for the poem allows readers to go into detail about where, when, and how the poem fulfills or frustrates your expectations.

I am a romantic, and I come by it honestly. When looking at Emily Dickinson's title, "I Dwell In Possibility" it excites me. I love nothing more than a possibility, because it has a positive connotation, it means anything could happen- it's possible. I think it's going to be about something she hopes for or something she wants, we know she's talking about poetry even though she never says poetry. 

3.   Analyzing the syntax of a poem allows the reader to truly understand what is being said. 

I had to look up a few different renditions of the poem to understand what exactly Dickinson was trying to accomplish. I looked up the word Prose, and I noticed when she capitalized words to turn them into a proper noun. She capitalizes the end of almost every phrase making it stand out and almost to add emphasis on the terms. 

4.   Consulting reference works for anything the poem may mention that you do not understand.

After a simple google search, I found that Emily Dickinson lived in Amherst, Massachusetts in the mid-1800's. Although part of a prominent family with strong ties to its community, Dickinson lived much of her life in reclusive isolation.

5.   Understanding who, where, when, and what happens is easier after you've come to a literal understanding of each sentence. 

Who: A poet who seeks the possibility

Where: In a house where there are grand visitors 

When: As soon as possible

What: Living a life where poetry is apart of how we live and interact

6.   Addressing those questions allows us to ponder the bigger picture questions such as why does the poem matter and what does it mean?

I think Dickinson's poem matters because she longs for this world where people connect and interact through poetry. Misunderstood herself, she longed to be heard, understood, and for people to respect her writings. 

7. How does the form of a poem contribute to its effect and meaning?

Her form is three tidy quatrains, I think it was symbolic that while it may look like a normal poem that follows all the rules, it ends up getting wild within the meters, and she is making a statement. She isn't a poet you can just put on the shelf, but she is a powerhouse who knows what she wants and how she is going to get it. 

8. Consider ways the poem both uses and departs from poetic conventions, especially those related to form and sub-genre.

Dickinson doesn't follow the generic form that was used within these types of poems, but rather uses different lengths of imab to get her point across. It's a piece about the limitless power of poetry that can awaken human imagination, so why would she write it in a constricting meter? She knows what she's doing and she does it to make a point. There is no right or wrong in poetry, but rather its as far as the imagination can percieve it to be. 

photo  credit: https://quotefancy.com/quote/7429/Emily-Dickinson-I-dwell-in-possibility