论艾米丽·狄金森矛盾的观点

Chapter I: Emily Dickinson’s Poems about Nature
　　　Emily Dickinson had her own definition to poetry. She wrote in the 324nd letter: “If i read a book it makes my whole body so cold no fire ever can warm me , I know that is poetry.If i feel physically as if the tope of my head were take off, I know that is poetry.” Poetry is beauty and truth to Emily Dickinson and she was willing to die for them, as her poem—I died for beauty—but was scarce. Emily Dickinson thought that poetry should be full of thoughts and proclaim the truth. She emphasized that poetry should express intense feeling and relieve pain and comfort people’s hurt. She hoped that her poetry breathes with vitality and energy and live forever. To Emily Dickinson ,poetry meant immortality.
　　　Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems in her whole life. Nature was one of her favorite subjects,on which she wrote about 500 poems. She loves nature and nature inspires her afflatus of creation.The main objects in Emily Dickinson’s poems were animals,sceneries and seasons. According to the three different objects,let’s us divide her nature poems into three part now.
1.1:Poems about Sceneries
　　　In Emily Dickinson’s poem,flowers,grass,trees,sunset,sunrise,sea.etc. were beautiful landscapes. Dickinson was good at observing and describing sceneries and interosculating all kind of different images and giving them connotation.She depicted sceneries thoroughly and lively. In her poem,the most common sceneries became unusual and particularly beautiful. As we all know, Emily Dickinson lived in her father’s house and rarely went out. She was indifferent to family things and any social affairs. She spent all her time on this garden and what she love most in her daily life was reading and creating poems.As she wrote in poem324: “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church – /I keep it, staying at Home –/With a Bobolink for a Chorister –/And an Orchard, for a Dome –/Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice –/I, just wear my Wings –/And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,/Our little Sexton – sings.” From this poem, we can see that she would rather “stay at home”than go to church in the sabbath. At the same time,we can know that the poet doubted the religion. Emily Dickinson thought that human is one part of nature and human had to understand nature after they could understand themselves. What’s more, Emily Dickinson took natural scenery as the portraiture of inner world of people.Therefore,she paid a tribute to nature scenery and believed that nature scenery is beautiful,magnificent and benevolent; on the other hand, she discovered the horrible factors of nature and thought that nature scenery is mysterious,lonely and depressed.
1.1.1:Beautiful、Magnificent、ordered and Amiable Sceneries
　　　Compared with her contemporary poet’s view of nature,Emily Dickinson was interested in nature itself. By the careful observation of nature around her,she tried to describe all kinds of nature phenomena and her perception of them from an artist’s perspective. As poem 318:
I’ll tell you how the Sun rose —
A Ribbon at a time — The Steeples swam in Amethyst —
The news, like Squirrels, ran — The Hills untied their Bonnets —
The Bobolinks — begun — Then I said softly to myself — “That must have been the Sun”! But how he set — I know not — There seemed a purple stile That little Yellow boys and girls Were climbing all the while — Till when they reached the other side, A Dominie in Gray — Put gently up the evening Bars — And led the flock away —
This poem shows Emily Dickinson’s keen perception to the sunrise and sunset. In the first half of this poem,Dickinson adopts some metaphor to show the vitality of the sunrise. “ Ribbon”refers to the sun is moving up little by little beyond the horizon. “ Amethyst”is used here to show the purplish rising sun in the early morning. The “steeples”seems to swim in the“Amethyst”.It’s a fantastic picture of sunrise.“News”and“Squirrels”are used here to describe the sunlight spreading fast across the land and touching everything on the earth tenderly. “Bonnet”refers to people can clearly see the hills when the sun rises.Emily Dickinson presents the dynamic beauty of early morning with the rising sun to people. In the latter half of this poem,she portrays a picture of sunset with grandeur like a artist.the latter half of this poem need give full play to the reader’s imagination to imagine the magnificence of the sunset.
　　　To Emily Dickinson, nature is an ordered nature and nature influences her poetry.
A sepal–petal– and a thorn Upon a common summer’s morn — A flask of Dew — A Bee or two — A Breeze – a caper in the trees — And I’m a Rose! (poem 19)
　　　At the beginning of this poem, three main parts of rose–“A sepal–petal– and a thorn”is showed by the poet, just as the rule of trinity in the nature. The rose blossoms in “a common summer’s morn”, so the common morning becomes uncommon. The dew,the bee,the breeze and the birds all come here because they want to celebrate the prosperous period of the rose. All things in this poem consists a attractive picture. The poet also used the rhythm of the poem carefully.there is inner feet(seal,petal)in the first line. In the second line,there is out feet(morn,thorn). They stand for the ordered nature. The poet enjoys the summer scenery and want to fuse in nature, so she announces “And I’m a Rose”in the last line.
1.1.2:Mysterious、Lonely and Depressed Sceneries
　　　As some of the victoria writer,Dickinson took flowers as the best way to express her feelings.Rose was common one among flowers. Human used rose stand for the sweetness of love. However, Dickinson took it to reflect her own calamitous and lonely life because its life is so short and unknown.As her poem 35 shows:
Nobody knows this little Rose- It might a pilgrim be And lift it up to thee. Only a Bee will miss it- Only a Butterfly, Hastening from far journey- On its breast to lie- Only a Bird will wonder- Only a Breeze will sigh- Ah Little Rose-how easy For such as thee to die!
This poem expresses Dickinson’s feeling in strong,clear and direct
Language. In the beginning of this poem,people feel the atmosphere of sadness. Nobody knows this little rose. It maybe “pilgrim” if I have not picked it up. Only a bee and a butterfly will missing this little rose. It is a very lonely,poor and depressed rose. Nobody knows this little rose because it is so small and puny. They withered silently at last, just as Emily Dickinson.
　　　Sometimes,Emily Dickinson found that nature scenery is very mystery and horror. Let’s see the poem 1624:
Apparently with no surprise To any happy flower The Frost beheads it at its play– In accidental power– The blond Assassin passes on– The Sun proceeds unmoved To measure off another Day For an approving God.
　　　From this poem,the reader knows that “The frost ” beheaded the flower, then the frost “passes on”. The sun proceeds unmoved because of ignoring its own duty. In order to show the life and death rule of nature, the poet used irony in“Apparently with no surprise”, personification in “happy flower”and metaphor by taking “Frost” as “Assassin”. Obviously,
Emily Dickinson was not only describing the nature’s mystery and horror, but also she satires the people , who admire the violence.
1.2:Harmonious and Humanized Animals
Birds, insects, bees, butterflies, frog even snakes and spiders are involved in Emily Dickinson’s poem. In her eyes, animals are friend of her. She treat them very kindly.
The Bee is not afraid of me. I know the Butterfly. The pretty people in the Woods Receive me cordially —
The Brooks laugh louder when I come — The Breezes madder play; Wherefore mine eye thy silver mists, Wherefore, Oh Summer’s Day? (poem 111)
　　　In this poem, Emily Dickinson regards “butterfly” as “the pretty people in the woods”. “ The bee” is not afraid of me and gurgling flowing stream will laugh louder when I come. In her eyes, the other creature in nature has the characteristics of person. She describes the animals as close friends by means of personification and treated them equally. She thinks that human is a part of nature and human shall harmonize with all of the creature in nature, as she indicates in poem214: “ I taste a liquor never brewed -…/ When “Landlords” turn the drunken Bee / Out of the Foxglove’s door / When Butterflies – renounce their “drams” / I shall but drink the more”….
　　　Another special animal in Dickinson’s poems is spider. To most os the others writer, the spider is a horrible and emulative animal. However, Emily Dickinson thinks that the spider is diligent and fortitude. A spider can also do something to change the circumstance and do something helpful to human.
　　　 A Spider sewed at Night Without a Light Upon an Arc of White. If Ruff it was of Dame Or Shroud of Gnome Himself himself inform. …. (poem 1138)
　　　This poem let the readers know that the spider is diligent craftsman who “ sewed at Night” and his net is taken by the “Dame” as a decoration of her ruff. In the poem of The Spider as An Artist, the spider is considered as an infidel artist live in the christian world. In Emily Dickinson’s poetry, animals was completely humanized.
1.3:The Animate and Lonely Seasons
The four seasons are very important part in Dickinson’s nature poem.
Human’s daily life is closely related to four seasons. In Dickinson’s eyes, the four seasons arouse human’s feelings and imaginations with their different colors. Emily Dickinson has a keen perception of the four seasons. On one hand, she portrays the charming spring, gorgeous summer,the fruitful autumn and the winter of peace and quiet; on the other hand, the season’s circulation, spring to winter, makes her feel dread, oppression and sad.
　　　Emily Dickinson opens her arms to welcome the spring because spring makes her happy and she can feel a colorful world, as her poem “I Can not Meet the Spring–Unmoved–”.She sings the praises of march in “
We Like March–His shoes are purple–”. To Emily Dickinson,spring means new life.
New feet within my garden go — New fingers stir the sod — A Troubadour upon the Elm Betrays the solitude.
New children play upon the green — New Weary sleep below — And still the pensive Spring returns — And still the punctual snow! (poem 93)
　　　In this poem, Dickinson regards the spring as the new image. In her eyes, everything in spring is full of vitality. Despite all this, she heard a voice of “ solitude”. The wakening of spring gestates death, spring to winter, everything in the world will be covered by snow. Facing of the attractive spring scenery, yet she is pining for the snow. In this poem, readers can feel that the spring causes disappointment and sorrow in Dickinson’s heart.
　　　Emily Dickinson does not describe directly the charming summer, but she feels depressed and lonely when the summer goes away. Everything seems to be normal in the forest, yet she feels that something is changing.
　　　 Further in Summer than the Birds– Pathetic from the Grass– A minor Nation celebrates Its unobtrusive Mass.
　　　 No Ordinance be seen– So gradual the Grace A pensive Custom it becomes– Enlarging Loneliness.
　　　 Antiques’ felt at Noon– When August burning low Arise this spectral Canticle Repose to typify–
　　　 Remit as yet no Grace– No Furrow on the Glow Yet a Druidic Difference Enhances Nature now.
　　　The reader can feel that the sad screaming of the cricket. It shows that the summer is coming to end and the next two season is coming. There is a key word in each stanza in this poem, which is the “Pathetic”in the first stanza, the “Loneliness” in the second stanza, the “Spectral” in the third stanza and the “Enhance” in the fourth stanza. These words make reader feel sad. The phrase of “Antiques’ felt ”makes reader feel a reminiscent mood and the word of “Druidic” gives reader a feeling of mysterious. In addition, reader can also knows that the summer warmness is still here. “ No Furrow on the Glow” tells reader enjoys the disappearing scenery of summer.
　　　Autumn is a very warm waves of poetic golden harvest season. Dickinson sings for the harvest of autumn in her poem 1407: “A Field of Stubble, lying sere / Beneath the second Sun — / Its Toils to Brindled People thrust — / Its Triumphs — to the Bin — / Accosted by a timid Bird / Irresolute of Alms — / Is often seen — but seldom felt / On our New England Farms —”
　　　To Emily Dickinson, winter means dread and oppression.
There’s a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons – That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes – Heavenly Hurt, it gives us – We can find no scar, But internal difference, Where the Meanings, are – None may teach it – Any – ‘Tis the Seal Despair – An imperial affliction Sent us of the Air – When it comes, the Landscape listens – Shadows – hold their breath – When it goes, ’tis like the Distance On the look of Death —
　　　The poet’s feeling of fear is weaved in each line of this poem. The poet uses these words : “oppresses”, “Heft”, “Hurt”, “scar”, “Despair”, “affliction” and “ Death ” to describe the gloomy mood in winter. In a depressive winter afternoon, the slant of light makes reader feel suffocation. It is “ Heavenly Hurt” and the “An imperial affliction” that cause the change of reader’s mood. It is them who make “We can find no scar”. Even the hills and the water can not survive from this. This poem makes reader acknowledge that the whole thing in the world is covered with “Death”. This poem shows the sad feeling of winter. Nature has great power and human is insignificance.
　　　Nature is the major source of Dickinson’s work. She loves nature deeply and enriches herself with nature. Her afflatus of writing comes from everything in nature. Dickinson’s poems about nature reflect not only the inner feeling toward the outside world, but also reveals her attitude to life and universe. In the Bible, nature is unclear and Man has tried but failed to fuse himself into nature. Nature itself proves the law of the jungle. In Dickinson’s eyes, nature is harmonized with human beings; on the other hand, nature is mysterious and has the greatest power, which can dominate life and death.
Chapter II:Emily Dickinson’s Paradoxical View on Nature
Emily Dickinson is keen on nature,and she writes 500 poems about nature. Dickinson’s understanding of nature is different from other romantic poets. She seeks in her poem is not the primitiveness and romanticism of nature.
　　　In Emily Dickinson’s early years, she thinks that nature is harmonized with all the thing known by our sense and intuition and nature is a perfect dwelling place for many creatures. She feels that she is
linked with nature closely. Nature not only meets Dickinson in motion, but renews her mind and builds a shelter for her weary soul. As is showed in her poem 668: “”Nature” is what we see–/ The Hill–the Afternoon–/ Squirrel–Eclipse–the Bumble bee–/ Nay–Nature is Heaven–/ Nature is what we hear– / The Bobolink–the Sea– / Thunder–the Cricket–/ Nay–Nature is Harmony–/Nature is what we know– / Yet have no art to say– / So impotent Our Wisdom is / To her Simplicity.” in this poem, nature is a beautiful picture of paradise and a harmonious music. The hill stands upright, the squirrels is jumping from here to there, the growl of sea and the whisper of the cricket. Nature is really charming and harmonious.
　　　However, Emily Dickinson finds another aspect of nature in her later poem. She thinks that human and the other creature in nature don’t seem to be in complete harmony. She sees that they are isolated from each other and human is difficult to dissolve themselves into the outer natural word.
2.1:Paradoxical Views towards Nature
Emily Dickinson’s poetry is based on her own experience,sorrows and joys. She has a very complicated feeling to nature. On the one hand, she loves nature. She sees and depicts it with her inner mind. She is obsessed with all things in nature. To her, nature is very beautiful and amiable ; on the other hand, she suffers from pain which wounded her deeply. The reason is that she does not know nature because it is a puzzling place and full of mystery.
2.1.1: The Beauty and Benevolence of Nature
Emily Dickinson is obsessed with nature deeply. All things of nature in her eyes is very attractive. The blooming flowers, the singing birds, the dancing butterflies, the flowing stream, the grandeur of sunrise.etc. are drew in her poetry by her. What’s more, she regards nature as the gentlest mother who attends tenderly all her children.
Nature, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child, The feeblest or the wayward-est, Her admonition mild
……
Her voice among the aisles Incites the timid prayer Of the minutest cricket, The most unworthy flower. When all the children sleep She turns as long away As will suffice to light her lamps; Then, bending from the sky With infinite affection And infinite care, Her golden finger on her lip, Wills silence everywhere.
　　　The poet sees the benevolence aspect of nature, so she describes nature as “the Gentlest Mother”. “Child” in the first stanza makes us fell that human is a very important part of nature and the nature often take care of human. The word of “Addition” not only shows a amiable mother, but also shows a stately mother. From another perceptive, this poem reflects the religion view of Dickinson. She uses mother instead of God because the image of mother is more real and is worthing praising. The second stanza shows the greatest love of mother in personification. The third stanza tells the reason that mother deserves respect. Mother’s voice is so gentle that “the minutest cricket” and “The most unworthy flower” are willing to sing a pray song. She lights thew lamps and bends to whisper a benediction when “When all the children sleep”. To Emily Dickinson, nature is benevolence.
2.1.2 :The Indifference and Mystery of Nature
In Emily Dickinson’s nature poem, nature is not always the harmonious heaven, gentlest mother and trusted friend, but nature is the ruthless assassin and the mysterious stranger. To Emily Dickinson, nature is merciless at lots of time. She thinks that the normal natural phenomena a kind of disaster. Nature shows the cold as assassin in her poem 1624:
Apparently with no surprise To any happy flower The Frost beheads it at its play– In accidental power– The blond Assassin passes on– The Sun proceeds unmoved To measure off another Day For an approving God.
　　　This poem shows the rule about life-and-death of nature. “The Frost” goes away as if nothing happened when it kills the “happy flower” without any malice. The flower is not feel any surprise because this accident often happen in nature and the flower is very familiar with this kind of murder. The sun is witnessing the whole process of this accident, but it has any sympathy and help. From this poem, the reader can know that the sun is cold and ruthless because it has ability to stop this accident but it refuses. The reader acknowledges that nature is merciless,cold and different.
　　　To Emily Dickinson, nature is vivid and mysterious. She can portray the charming nature, however, she can’t describe and explain the mysterious nature. She describes a mysterious nature in the poem 1.400.
　　　 what mystery pervades a well
The water lives so far A neighbor from another world
　　　 Residing in a jar.
…. The grass does not appear afraid, I often wonder he Can stand so close and look so bold At what is awe to me. Related somehow they may be, The sedge stands next the sea — Where he is floorless And does no timidity betray But nature is a stranger yet; The ones that cite her most Have never passed her haunted house, Nor simplified her ghost.
　　　Emily Dickinson shows the mystery of nature in the beginning of this poem. She regards “Well” as “Jar” and “water” as “A neighbor from another world” in metaphor. Human does not know the boundaries of the well and water comes from. Man just knows the deep and dark of the jar,which makes people feel awe and fear. What is the reason of“The grass does not appear afraid”? From this poem,the reader considers the reason is that there is no relationship between the grass and the well. Man is afraid of the well because they can not explore the mystery of the nature and never disclose the secret of it.so “nature is a stranger.” in this poem, Emily Dickinson shows a mysterious nature to readers.
2.2:Paradoxical Views towards the Relationship between Human and Nature
　　　Emily Dickinson wrote more than five hundred poems are about nature, in which she expressed the skepticism about the relationship between man and nature. One one hand, she agrees with the transcendental predecessors who believe that harmonious relationship between human and nature existed. On the other hand, she feels about the nature’s inscrutability and indifference to human. Therefore, human lacks of understanding of nature because it is never giving human a chance to understand it. So the separation between Man and nature is inevitable. 2.2.1: The Harmonious Relationship between Human and Nature
　　　In Emily Dickinson’s eyes, the bees and the butterflies in the poem of The Bee is not Afraid of Me is her friends. She treats them very kindly.
　　　 A BIRD came down the walk:
　　　 He did not know I saw; He bit an angle-worm in halves And ate the fellow, raw. And then he drank a dew From a convenient grass, And then hopped side wise to the wall To let a beetle pass. He glanced with rapid eyes That hurried all abroad, They looked like frightened beads, I thought He stirred his velvet head Like one in danger; cautious, I offered him a crumb, And he unrolled his feathers And rowed him softer home Than oars divide the ocean, Too silver for a seam, Or butterflies, off banks of noon, Leap, plashless, as they swim. (poem 328)
　　　The image of this poem is a lovely birds. The poet describes the bird’s daily life so objective. The language of this poem is very simple. The birds and the “angle-worm” are formed to a food chain. Although“He bit an angle-worm in halves” seems to be very cruel, they obey the law of nature. The “dew” can quench the bird’s thirst.The bird “let a beetle pass”
and the poet treats the bird very kindly. The poet uses a series of kinesthetic images(came down, bit, ate, drank.etc.) to depicts the bird at ease. In the end of this poem,the poet describes the beautiful flying posture of the bird, which is more attractive than oars and butterflies. The sky is real paradise of the bird. From this poem, the reader can feel the harmonious relationship between animal and animal, animal and mature,human and nature.
2.2.2:The Irreversible Separation between Human and Nature
In Emily Dickinson’s poem, the reader can feel the state of opposite between human and nature because human can not understand the mysterious nature really.
　　　In the poem of A Bird Come down the Walk ,the bird flies in the sky when the poet offers it a crumb out of kindness. The bird flies away in a hurry because it is afraid of “me”. From this perspective, human beings try to use their own way to conquer the nature,as “ I offer a crumb to the bird. However, the nature has his own way to deal with human, as the bird flies away in a hurry. Human beings feel embarrassment because human try to approach nature, but was refused by it. So the gap between human and nature is can not change and the alienation of Men and nature are inevitable.
　　　Emily Dickinson continues to explore the similar relationship between human and nature in the poem 986.
A narrow fellow in the grass Occasionally rides; 
You may have met him,–did you not?
His notice sudden is.    
The grass divides as with a comb, 
A spotted shaft is seen; 
And then it closes at your feet 
And opens further on.    
He likes a boggy acre, 
A floor too cool for corn. 
Yet when a child, and barefoot, 
I more than once, at morn,    
Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash 
Unbraiding in the sun,— 
When, stooping to secure it, 
It wrinkled, and was gone.    
Several of nature’s people 
I know, and they know me; 
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality;    
But never met this fellow, 
Attended or alone, 
Without a tighter breathing, 
And Zero at the Bone–
This poem makes reader feel puzzle. The reader will not know that this poem describes snake until he reader the last stanza. At the beginning of this poem, the poet successful disguises the subject of this poem. In the second stanza, the poet uses the word of “comb” and “spotted shaft” to a way the snake moves through grass. The poet reminisces that she meets snake at noon. The poet seems to feel closeness to these creatures because she uses the word of “transport” and “cordiality” in the fifth stanza. In the end of this poem, the poet shows that she is freighted with a tighter breathing and feels “Zero at the Bone.” snake is the foe of human according to Bible. But Dickinson thinks differently because she believes that there exists a delicate relationship between snake and human. one one hand, the poem describes the elegant posture of the snake riding in the grass. And the poet feels very familiar with it because she met it at noon when she was a child. On the other hand, when the poet moves too near, it “ It wrinkled, and was gone ”, as the bird in A Bird Come down the Walk. After all, the snake belongs to nature, it is the embodiment of
Nature. Human want to change nature but failed. So the separation between human and nature is unavoidable.
Chapter III:Different Causes for Emily Dickinson’s Paradoxical View on Nature
　　　
　　　Emily Dickinson loves the charming nature.poems about nature nearly one third portion of her whole poems. Transcendentalism and Puritanism express their own viewpoint to nature and the relationship between nature and human. Dickinson inherits those idea, but her thoughts is different from those idea. She is an artist, a philosopher and a
poet. She depicts not only the real nature itself, but the significance of it.
She explores the nature, but she respects the mystery and independence of it. So her thought is paradoxical, which is expressed in her poetry.