Paragraphs+on+Poetry

Add your analytical paragraphs to this page!

**THIS IS MY LETTER TO THE WORLD**

//FROM MRS LOW:// //Make sure when discussing this poem that the first technique that you discuss is the use of the extended metaphor of the letter. Explain what the letter stands for and the fact that the letter frames the entire poem. Then go on with closer analysis.//

CASSIE H & MARIE T:

Despite an awareness of barriers that can prevent one from belonging, one can still yearn to belong. Through the poem ‘This is my letter to the world’ Dickinson aims to convey that despite the inevitability of barriers that obstruct belonging, the persona still seeks to be accepted. This is demonstrated in the reference in stanza 1 to “The simple news that nature told” and in the final entreaty, “For love of her, sweet countrymen, judge tenderly of me!” In the first quote, nature is personified as someone who told the persona a message. This positions nature as an intimate companion to the persona. This unique link with nature has prevented the persona from connecting with society; ultimately preventing belonging. In the second quote, the persona directly addresses the audience. She uses the imperative 'judge tenderly' to demand the attention of society, commanding that those who love nature accept her, the persona, too. This is the persona's attempt at reaching out to the world in order to belong. Therefore, despite the barrier of her unique connection to nature, the persona yearns and actively strives to belong.

KATHERINE & ALEKS: The poem, ‘This is my Letter to the World’, by Emily Dickinson reveals that despite an awareness of barriers which prevent belonging one can still yearn to belong. The poem reflects the tension between an intimate connection to nature and a yearning to belong to the wider world. The persona is positioned as having an intimate relationship with nature, in which nature’s message is revealed to the persona, who feels that it is her duty to share these messages with the world. In the line, ‘The simple news that Nature told/With tender majesty’, nature is personified with the use of capitalisation and the use of the verb ‘told’. This presents nature as an intimate companion of the persona that shares messages with her. Furthermore, the oxymoron ‘tender majesty’ embodies the contradictory ways of nature as ‘tender’ holds connotations of soft, gentle feelings, while ‘majesty’ holds connotations of royalty and distant regard. Through this oxymoron the persona’s relationship with nature is shown as complex and difficult to fully explain to the reader, as the persona belongs to nature and yet is isolated from the outer world. The persona is aware that this connection is a barrier from belonging to the broader world, yet continues to plead for acceptance from this ‘World’. The final line of the poem ‘For love of her, sweet countrymen. judge tenderly of me’ conveys the persona’s persistent desire to belong. The direct address ‘sweet countrymen’ allows the persona to speak directly to the responder and evokes the plea for acceptance. The adjective ‘sweet’ is a positive term which evokes a sense of respect and admiration for the people to which the persona wishes to belong. Therefore, despite her separation through a close connection to nature, the persona still desires the experience of belonging. The persona’s respect and admiration for her countrymen conveys just how much she wishes to belong. Therefore, Emily Dickinson’s ‘This is My Letter to the World’ reflects the tension between an intimate connection to nature and the yearning to belong to society.

MADELINE & OLIVIA: The Emily Dickinson poem, ‘This is My Letter to the World’ reveals to the responder that by belonging to a rich internal world we can create barriers and alienate ourselves from the rest of society. Dickinson uses a range of techniques and ideas to reveal this concept to readers. Primarily, the poet's ideas are transmitted through the use of an extended metaphor of a letter which the persona writes 'to the World'. Through this image, the persona conveys the lack of reciprocity or communication that she has hith erto received from society. The persona adopts a hurt and bitter tone in the high modality statement,‘That __never__ wrote to me’. The tone and use of high modality are incorporated to communicate the persona’s strong sense of rejection, which causes her to feel as if she is being excluded by society and therefore the rest of the world. Her exclusion is evidently a result of her intimacy with nature, the relationship which the persona has chosen to pursue in favour of a relationship with the rest of society, even though this will only prove to further alienate herself from the rest of the world. The persona is represented as reliant on her connection to with nature, which is highlighted through the use of personification in the beginning of the second stanza, ‘her message is committed to hands I cannot see’. Nature is personified as femaile, conveying the intimate bonds of companionship between the persona and nature. This intimate connection is juxtaposed with the 'hands I cannot see’ of society - an image that illustrates the persona's isolation or blindness from society. The intimate relationship shared between the persona and nature has proven to be a barrier to possible relationships that could alternately have been formed with the rest of society. Ultimately, by belonging to a rich internal world, it can create barriers which alienates oneself from the rest of society.

CASSANDRA T & MAREE P: Emily Dickinson's 'This is my letter to the World' conveys the notion that without experience and interaction with society, a sense of belonging is compromised. The persona is positioned as a visionary with direct access to inspiration from nature, as shown in the line 'the simple news that nature told'. This connection ultimately causes a distinct separation from society for the persona. The reader is first exposed to the notion of one's belonging being compromised through the poem's opening statement, 'This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me.' Dickinson's use of high modality, conveyed through the word 'never', highlights her vast rejection and lack of reciprocity from society. This creates a tone of hurt and bitterness, which invokes pity in the responder. Another example which exemplifies that belonging is compromised without interaction with society is when Dickinson writes, 'Her message is committed to hands I cannot see.' Dickinson effectively utilises personification of Nature as a female entity to illustrate the firm connection between herself and this powerful force. This is juxtaposed to the 'hands I cannot see', which are the hands of future readers - 'the World'. This once again suggests that, whilst the persona has an intimate relationship with nature, the connection to society is limited and compromised.

__Stephanie and Alex- __

//In the poem, ‘__This is my Letter to the World’__ by Emily Dickinson expresses the desire to be accepted whilst being aware of her limitations. Writing is an expressive act of connection with others although the persona attempts to maintain her barriers of isolation. This is evident in the first stanza, ‘This is my letter to the world that never wrote to me…’ the use of the personal pronouns of ‘my’ and ‘me’ highlights the notion that it is personal and deeply related on the life and inner feelings of the persona. This positions the letter as a confession which effectively draws the responder and adds authenticity. The letter is addressed to the ‘world’, which suggests connotations of vast expanse positioning the audience to understand that the persona is disconnected and rejected by the world she yearns to be accepted. The relationship between the ‘persona’ and the ‘world’ presents a juxtaposed connection, conveying a lack of acceptance. This aims to display feelings of isolation through the bold contrast. Dickinson’s use of High Modality, ‘never’ creates a tone of bitterness and invokes pity in the audience. This tone aims to intensify the feelings associated with the loss of connection with the world.// //The second stanza is inspired by the persona’s intimate connection to Nature, which acts as a limiting force in her to contribute to society’s ‘norms’. This is highlighted within the line, “The simple News that Nature told, with Tender Majesty”. The personification of Nature suggests that through conversational speech with the persona, she channels an intimate connection with Nature, Treating it as a ‘gift’ which acts as a barrier towards interaction with society. //

**I DIED FOR BEAUTY**

IRENE, JENNY & MICHELLE: Emily Dickinson’s poem __//I died for Beauty//__ explores the idea of belonging in life and death, and how although it can be found in shared ideals, this connection is inevitably subsumed by the march of time and nature. Dickinson appears to subvert the notion of belonging, and in particular questions its enduring nature. Through the unusual imagery of a tomb setting, she calls attention to connotations of stillness, imminent mortality, and separation from the world of the living. The setting alone in which the persona is placed sets her apart from other humans; these implications are further supported by the opening words, “//I died for Beauty//”, positioning the persona as a corpse. The use of the personal pronoun “//I//” gives the impression of a declaration; this is eerie and unsettling, since corpses traditionally do not speak. It is this notion of going unheard or being silenced that suggests a life of aloneness or separation from others. However, this is contradicted by the presence of “//one who died for Truth//” in an “//adjoining room//”. The connotations of “//adjoining//” suggest connectedness, linking and attachment, which lessen the extent of the persona’s isolation. Contrary to her supposed aloneness, the persona now has someone to whom she can relate. The capitalisation of both “//Beauty//” and “//Truth//” emphasises their importance and gives them shared or equal value. They are positioned as ideals wholly worth dying for and give the two corpses a point of similarity: “//Themself are One//”. The fact that there are now two people in the tomb who have died for their ideals banishes the notion that the persona is alone. In fact, having acknowledged that their values are one and the same, the corpses consider themselves “//brethren//”, sharing a special and intimate connection akin to that of family members. As seen in this complex clash of belonging and not belonging, death is given the power to both disconnect people from their worldly life and unite them in the afterlife. From the very beginning of the poem, Dickinson challenges the notion of belonging has having the potential, or indeed lacking the potential, to endure or transcend death.

NATALIE & LUCY: Emily Dickinson’s ‘I Died for Beauty’ explores the mortality of humans along with their connections. She suggests that what we belong to and fight for will ultimately be forgotten and thus deemed unimportant. Such ideas are achieved through the use of imagery and symbolism. The poem’s context is set within the Romantic period, where concepts such as truth and beauty were heavily focused upon. Dickinson challenges the idea of needing to live for such connections as she implies that the inevitability of death will eradicate ones connections along with them. The poem first focuses on two corpses with the common association of dying for an ideal and the importance of it to the corpses’ lives. Although, she goes on to mock those who have died for such connections within the final lines ‘until the moss had reached our lips/ And covered up our names’, symbolising their loss of identity and connections to the world in which they fought for. The imagery created with the moss covering the corpses’ lips signifies that what they had spoken and fought for was overpowered by nature along with their identities as the moss had also covered up their names. Emily introduces the harsh reality of the inevitable through the morbid imagery and symbolism within the final stanza as the responder is positioned to be reminded of the power of nature to eliminate ones connections to the world.

EMMA & JULIANA Emily Dickinson's poem 'I died for beauty' essentially explores the notion that a sense of belonging can not transcend life after death. The poem reveals the persona's struggle with belonging to ideals and establishing connections with others. An example which successfully conveys this notion is found in the second stanza in which the persona questions, "Why I failed?" The double meanings associated with the word "failed" reveal the figurative death and literal failure of the persona's desire to connect to an idea beyond her death. The fact that she was unsuccessful highlights the futility of pursuing a quest until death, since all her earthly connections were vanquished once she had died. In addition, the statement, "until the moss has reached our lips - and covered up - our names," in stanza three also portrays the concept that a sense of belonging cannot transcend life after death. This is achieved through the morbid imagery conveyed through this statement. This emphasises the impossibility of connecting as one's efforts will be mocked in the face of death. Consequently, it is evident that a sense of belonging is difficult to achieve and maintain beyond death.

KATERINA & ASHLEY Personal ideals can prevent one from belonging but death has the power to unite and erase everything. Emily Dickinson’s ‘__I died for beauty’__ reflects the futility of mortal connections to the earthly world. This idea is exposed in the opening stanza “I died for beauty but was scare/ Adjusted in the tomb/ When one who died for truth was lain/ In the adjoining room.” By alluding to the Romantic context, the persona creates a connection to a set of ideals that may have isolated these two individuals during their life span. This reveals that barriers such as personal ideals can isolate an individual during their life, but are irrelevant as death consumes and accepts everyone. This concept is expanded in the final lines of the poem “Until the Moss had reached our lips/ And covered our names.” The use of gothic imagery reminds the responder of their mortality as death and nature are positioned as unstoppable. The moss taking over the corpse’s ability to speak and veiling their identity is symbolic of the power the natural world possesses as it is able to eradicate an individual’s personal messages and identity. Thus, the notion that personal connections to the wider world are irrelevant after death is successfully communicated to the responder. Even though personal ideas can prevent one from belonging to the wider world, death has the power to steal our identity, silence our message and unite us all.

__Lara and Chantelle's Analytical Paragraph__:

In the poem, //__I Died For Beauty__,// Dickinson seeks to present the idea that the quest to belong to an ideal is inevitably futile, as humans only truly belong to death, nature and the turn of time. Dickinson challenges the responder to reflect on the vulnerability of human beings in contrast to the consuming power of time and nature. She presents this concept immediately when she states that "I died for beauty..." The use of a personal pronoun results in an intimate connection with the responder, allowing them to be subject to her confession. The connotations of beauty reflect its Romantic context in which beauty is an attribute that is readily pined after. Ironically enough, the persona's struggle for beauty was obviously unsuccessful, emphasised through her factual tone, the responder is forced into the realisation that this quest for beauty is inevitably futile as she still died. Dickinson develops this idea further when she states "And I - For truth - Themselves are one/ we Brethren are." The aphorism expresses the unity of beauty and nature and the connectednes of people through these ideals. This creates a sense of irony, as whilst the persona talks of these romanticised ideals like kinship, beauty and nature, she is still dead. This highlights the fact that we human beings are ultimately consumed by death and there is little merit in our life quests for these ideals. Dickins solidifies this message in her final statement; "Until the moss had reached our lips/ and covered up our names." The morbid, gothic imagery and the symbolic smothering of the lips and names enforces the message of mortality to the responder. This statement seeks to remind the responder of the power of natural world, strength enough to destroy even your identity and eradicate your message over time. It is through this symbollic exploration of nature and the immediacy of death that Dickinson presents the futilty of human beings and their constant quest for belionging and fulfillment within an ideal. __//I Died For Beaty//__ is a reminder that in the end, human beings only truly belong to the inevitable power of death, time and the natural world.