In many of her poems Emily Dickinson touches on what I may term a kind of "quarrel with God." There are some poems of hers where this quarrel is not very gentle either, but the following is among the first you can find in her collected poems and it is a truly interesting case. So here's the poem in question (it's # 49 in the standard edition of her poetry):
I never lost as much but twice,
And that was in the sod.
Twice have I stood a beggar
Before the door of God!
Angels - twice descending
Reimbursed my store -
Burglar! Banker - Father!
I am poor once more!
It is clear that a little reading between the lines tells us what Emily Dickinson is doing in this poem. It seems that twice before the present occasion she has lost someone to death. And so twice before she turned to God for consolation over her loss. And it seems that twice before she did receive the consolation she was looking for. This is what's going on in the first six lines. Then come the final two lines, and that's where the poem becomes really interesting.
Notice how at first Emily accuses God of being a burglar, a thief, someone who yet again "stole" a loved one from Emily. She never identifies the ones she has lost to death, just mentions the fact. But having accused God of being a thief, she immediately changes her tune and calls God a "banker." This metaphor needs a bit of elucidation. What do we do in banks? We put our money in there for safekeeping. So if the loved one Emily lost now has been banked by God, as it were, that person is now seen in the poem as being in God's keeping. And then, softly, Emily calls God "Father" for the third time. It's quite a quick run-down from anger to reconciliation. We can assume that once more God has sent Emily "angels" to "reimburse" her "store."
As I said in my first blog here, Emily Dickinson's poetry always makes us think. Her simple language covers deep thoughts. And gives us great insights into the human condition.
No comments:
Post a Comment