My Life had stood-- a Loaded Gun--
Emily Dickinson's poem, 754, is one that could be interpreted many different ways. We will never know exactly which way she intended for it to be. But even the simple question of whether a man or a woman is speaking these words dramatically changes the poem. Some have speculated that it is about a relationship. Some have speculated that it is entirely literal, just about hunting. Some have speculated that it is about a sort of split personality. There are so many variations that it could be, depending on gender, how many people, and Dickinson's astounding use of metaphor. However, I interpret the poem as being about suicide.
"My Life had stood-- a Loaded Gun--
In Corners--till a Day
The Owner passed--identified--
And carried Me away--"
Here, it could be interpreted as the feelings a suicidal individual would have about their life. They always feel like they're right on the edge, skating on thin ice as whether to live or die. The gun is loaded, they have the mindset to do it, they're just waiting for the right set-off to press the trigger. The line about the gun standing in corners could refer to the loneliness many suicidal people feel. The corners symbolize not really being in a room, not really being a part of what's going on every day. The narrator may just be standing on the outside edge of society, watching everything, but not taking part. They stay on the outside, a wallflower, not participating, but seeing and anticipating pulling the trigger.
"And do I smile, such cordial light
Upon the Valley glow--
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let its pleasure through--"
This set of lines is also hugely important. I looked up the definition for Vesuvian, though we also talked about the word in relation to volcanoes. I read definitions that included:
A slow-burning match formerly used for lighting cigars; a fusee.Marked by sudden or violent outbursts: a vesuvian temper.an early type of match that was difficult to extinguish.
The term also fits the theme of suicide quite well. When someone is suicidal, they often feel like a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment. The people around them might tiptoe around on eggshells, waiting for them to "erupt", but never knowing when it will happen. The definition saying "marked by sudden or violent outbursts" also shines a light on this passage. Many times people only talk about their tendencies, or "erupt" with their emotions in outbursts. But, the suicidal thought is one that is difficult to extinguish, and it does offer some sort of pleasure to someone dealing with those thoughts.
"To foe of His--I'm deadly foe--
None stir the second time--
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye--
Or an emphatic Thumb--
Though I than He--may longer live
He longer must--than I--
For I have but the power to kill,
Without--the power to die--"
The narrator is a deadly foe of his or her own self, because they have the power to take their own life, and the mindset to do it. The emphatic thumb could be the hand on the trigger, so close to ending it, but still waiting. They have the power to kill themselves, they have the power to isolate themselves in corners from the world and the people around them. They have that power to kill themselves figuratively, just disallow themselves to participate in every day life and activities, but maybe they don't see themselves being powerful enough, brave enough, even, to really do the deed. Maybe they see what a vast thing life is, and as much as they want to end it, they cannot seem to really pull the trigger with that emphatic thumb. And still, even if the narrator was to kill his or her own self, the poem would not be dead. The poem would still exist. Suicide would not be dead. It would still exist and be an issue for a number of different people. The narrator, and every human, has the power to kill a number of things, but no one has the power to completely extinguish everything they have ever touched, made an impact on, or every thought they've ever had, because we all live by the way we interact with the world, and other people.
Overall, I loved this poem. I loved that it can be related to so many things. Emily Dickinson truly has a way with words, and I'm sure she left some of her work open to interpretation, because it is by relating to things that people enjoy them more and get more out of them. The only thing I didn't like was that some of the verses had a sort of rhyme scheme and some didn't. It was distracting to me, because I expected the second phrase to rhyme, like the first, and it did not. Only the first and last were rhyming, which may have been on purpose, but I think its better to have all or none rhyming. That being said, Dickinson has a true power with her poetry
Emily Dickinson's poem, 754, is one that could be interpreted many different ways. We will never know exactly which way she intended for it to be. But even the simple question of whether a man or a woman is speaking these words dramatically changes the poem. Some have speculated that it is about a relationship. Some have speculated that it is entirely literal, just about hunting. Some have speculated that it is about a sort of split personality. There are so many variations that it could be, depending on gender, how many people, and Dickinson's astounding use of metaphor. However, I interpret the poem as being about suicide.
"My Life had stood-- a Loaded Gun--
In Corners--till a Day
The Owner passed--identified--
And carried Me away--"
Here, it could be interpreted as the feelings a suicidal individual would have about their life. They always feel like they're right on the edge, skating on thin ice as whether to live or die. The gun is loaded, they have the mindset to do it, they're just waiting for the right set-off to press the trigger. The line about the gun standing in corners could refer to the loneliness many suicidal people feel. The corners symbolize not really being in a room, not really being a part of what's going on every day. The narrator may just be standing on the outside edge of society, watching everything, but not taking part. They stay on the outside, a wallflower, not participating, but seeing and anticipating pulling the trigger.
"And do I smile, such cordial light
Upon the Valley glow--
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let its pleasure through--"
This set of lines is also hugely important. I looked up the definition for Vesuvian, though we also talked about the word in relation to volcanoes. I read definitions that included:
A slow-burning match formerly used for lighting cigars; a fusee.Marked by sudden or violent outbursts: a vesuvian temper.an early type of match that was difficult to extinguish.
The term also fits the theme of suicide quite well. When someone is suicidal, they often feel like a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment. The people around them might tiptoe around on eggshells, waiting for them to "erupt", but never knowing when it will happen. The definition saying "marked by sudden or violent outbursts" also shines a light on this passage. Many times people only talk about their tendencies, or "erupt" with their emotions in outbursts. But, the suicidal thought is one that is difficult to extinguish, and it does offer some sort of pleasure to someone dealing with those thoughts.
"To foe of His--I'm deadly foe--
None stir the second time--
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye--
Or an emphatic Thumb--
Though I than He--may longer live
He longer must--than I--
For I have but the power to kill,
Without--the power to die--"
The narrator is a deadly foe of his or her own self, because they have the power to take their own life, and the mindset to do it. The emphatic thumb could be the hand on the trigger, so close to ending it, but still waiting. They have the power to kill themselves, they have the power to isolate themselves in corners from the world and the people around them. They have that power to kill themselves figuratively, just disallow themselves to participate in every day life and activities, but maybe they don't see themselves being powerful enough, brave enough, even, to really do the deed. Maybe they see what a vast thing life is, and as much as they want to end it, they cannot seem to really pull the trigger with that emphatic thumb. And still, even if the narrator was to kill his or her own self, the poem would not be dead. The poem would still exist. Suicide would not be dead. It would still exist and be an issue for a number of different people. The narrator, and every human, has the power to kill a number of things, but no one has the power to completely extinguish everything they have ever touched, made an impact on, or every thought they've ever had, because we all live by the way we interact with the world, and other people.
Overall, I loved this poem. I loved that it can be related to so many things. Emily Dickinson truly has a way with words, and I'm sure she left some of her work open to interpretation, because it is by relating to things that people enjoy them more and get more out of them. The only thing I didn't like was that some of the verses had a sort of rhyme scheme and some didn't. It was distracting to me, because I expected the second phrase to rhyme, like the first, and it did not. Only the first and last were rhyming, which may have been on purpose, but I think its better to have all or none rhyming. That being said, Dickinson has a true power with her poetry
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