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Emily Dickinson Similes

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Emily Dickinson 's father was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Amherst, Massachusetts, and he even led a parade in honor of the first train. This proceeds to explain why, among her many masterworks, famous romantic poet Emily Dickinson included a poem entitled “I like to see it lap the miles” that can be interpreted as idolizing trains. Through artful verse, this poem expresses Dickinson’s admiration for the train through similes comparing the train with heavenly or religious items, two prominent shifts in the poem, and powerful description and imagery that further exemplifies her veneration of the iron horse. To begin, Dickinson’s poem is written without any direct statement that she was referencing the train. However, this quickly …show more content…

The similes “neigh like Boanerges” and “punctual as a Star” (Dickinson) outwardly express Dickinson’s reverence for the train. Noticeably, both “Boanerges” and “Star” are capitalized in the middle/end of the line. This employment of capitalization proposes that these words are key to this part of the poem. A star is in the heavens, high above the Earth, and phenomenal. Similarly, a Boanerges is a loud, loquacious preacher, who teaches about religion; something that is heavenly, and often difficult to explain. This wordage allows for the reader to assume that Dickinson is attempting to display the majesty and wonder of the train by comparing it to heavenly or religious things. Additionally, the opening of the line “and neigh like Boanerges” includes the verb “neigh”. Horses neigh in order to announce their position to the rest of the group. By using this verb, Dickinson shows how the train announces itself as it “neigh like Boanerges” (Dickinson), and announces a better way, much like a preacher. Although, the train is announcing a better, faster, way of transportation, rather than a religion. This use of figurative language is one of many methods in which Dickinson described the glory of

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The writer starts the passage by saying, “Ten miles from the river we passed Sutter's fort, an old looking heap of buildings surrounded by a high wall of unburnt brick, and situated in the midst of a pleasant fertile plain, covered with grass and a few scattering oaks with numerous tame cattle and mules. We walked by the wagon and at night cooked our suppers, rolled our blankets around us and lay down to rest on the ground” , this gives the reader a deeper understanding of the setting the writer is in. Since the reader understands the setting, they can connect to the story on a more intense level. Then the writer says, “with pan in hand sallied forth to try our fortunes at gold digging. We did not have very good success being green at mining, but by practice and observation we soon improved some, and found a little of the shining metal.”

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They show the narrator’s thought-provoking opinions and indirect form of imagery. Though not describing something tangible or visible they create a vivid image of what it means to try and hide something behind words. That the more words they know to talk about their private sufferings the less so they have to confront it since it is behind a wall of words that may not even be true. The last two lines of the poem, “A train whistles through the far hills. One day I plan to be riding it.” , exhibits a picture of a train in rolling hills far away while whistling and gives the reader a sense of determination.

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To Dickinson, darkness seems to represent the unknown. The focus of this poem is people trying to find their way in the dark, where nothing can be foreseen. Sight is a prevalent theme in Untitled, achieved through words like

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This poem shows the trait of aspiration. At the beginning of the poem, Dickinson has a darker tone. She explains that people adjust to the dark. Literally, our eyes adjust to different shades of light, but also figuratively. What she means in lines 7-8, where she says “Then - fit our Vision to the Dark / And meet the Road- erect” (7-8), is that the darkness is the unknown and the road is our future.

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An example of this is when she states, “My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun, - In Corners - till a Day, The Owner passed - identified, - And carried Me away -, And now We roam in Sovreign Woods -, And now We hunt the Doe -, And every time I speak for Him, The Mountains straight reply -”. The use of capitalization and hyphens shows how before the anger is released, the writing is in short bursts, like anger, and when it is released it flows more, similar to peacefulness. This more flowy writing is continued until the last stanza, where the gun returns to being unused and the anger is not able to be released. Dickinson’s style choice adds to the writing because in real life people with built-up anger are often very short-tempered and have quick outbursts, and after they release that anger they are slow to anger and

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Dickinson uses the image of a sunset, the horses’ heads, and the carriage ride to establish

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