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Some Keep The Sabbath Going To Church, By Emily Dickinson

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In the poem “Some keep the Sabbath going to church”, Dickinson illustrates the joy of worshiping god in ones own manner, in order to achieve personal happiness and satisfaction instead of following the pressures of the religious protocols. Furthermore, Dickinson states that such defiance may not lead her to heaven, as suggested by religious leaders, however, she merely states, “I’m going, all along”. Stating that, she herself is eternity as God is within her. Dickinson begins with alliteration using the words “Some” and “Sabbath” in one sentence, emphasising her point of view, and firmly stating the widespread practice of worship. ‘Some’ is also used as a metaphor to represent the society she lived in. She further mentions the word, ‘Sabbath’ …show more content…

The dashes allow the readers to interpret the poem in their own manner and create an infinite domain of ideas, which later are bordered by the use of the period at the end of the poem. Once again, she begins the second verse using the alliterations, ‘Some’ ‘Sabbath’ and ‘surplice’. She does this referring to the fact that although many individuals pray within the conventional confines of the church, Dickinson prefers ‘wearing her wings’ which is a metaphor for freedom, from the thought that she will not go to heaven, only because she doesn’t visit the church. This allows readers to sense her internal ambiguity of who she …show more content…

In the third verse, she sarcastically mentions “God preaches a noted clergyman - / and a sermon is never long.” In her delighted tone, she puns that God represents the clergymen to deliver long sermons, which can be boring at times, but she has sermons straight from God, thus, they are never long or boring. Here, she suggests once again, that she may not go to heaven however; she has found her own way of communicating with the eternal power and doesn't feel subordinate to God. This is indicated in the last line where she writes, “I’m going, all along” This suggests that Dickinson is self-conscious and all alone on her path in obtaining

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