Potential in Possibility
Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I Dwell in Possibility (1955), asserts that poetry is her path to a place without limitations. Dickinson backs this belief by using a metaphor of a house to describe the possibility that poetry has given her. Dickinson’s purpose is to explain how her passion in poetry can get her in touch with an infinite and imaginative universe inside her mind. It is both an appreciation poem to poetry itself, as well as an explanation to outsiders for her choices in life. In maybe an unintended or unconscious way, Dickinson has given readers who have ever felt trapped in a monotonous life the hope that the world has more to offer and a reason to follow their dreams instead of settling for the mediocre. In her poem, Dickinson shows the reader what it means to dwell in possibility, its attributes, how to get there, and who may enter. The character in the poem is referring to Dickinson as the writer, and the theme is centered around her dwelling in possibility. The word dwell has two meanings,
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Dickinson finishes by writing “The spreading wide my narrow hands, to gather Paradise”. There are multiple assumptions a reader can make regarding the last part of this poem. The spreading wide of her hands is fascinating language and a conclusion for why she chose to use the word hands instead of arms is because she uses her hands to write poetry. The word “narrow” could be a personal attribute of her identity or it could be used to describe a restriction she has in the ability to spread wide her hands to gather paradise. She can gather paradise, but she has narrow hands and is therefore not able to gather as much as someone else. Maybe it is because of the above mentioned depression and anxiety she suffered from. Regardless, even a touch of paradise is something to look forward to in Dickinson’s house of