As imperceptibly as Grief Flashcards
(9 cards)
What is the poem about ?
The one where summer is ending
“As imperceptibly as grief” is Emily Dickinson’s meditation on the nature of time. It
suggests that people don’t always notice the way that everything undergoes
gradual change, even as nothing in life stays still and death is always lurking in the
background.
End of summer represents the end of grief.
When was it published ?
1865
What is the context ?
Some of her poems were inspired by nature and are about moments which bring surprise or inspiration
Before she wrote this poem several family members and friends had died.
Emily Dickinson was a recluse. She spoke to visitors through doors, gave treats to local children by
lowering a basket from a second-story window and listened to her father’s funeral from the privacy
of her bedroom. She didn’t leave the family property for the last two decades of her life
She wrote many poems during her life in letters to friends and acquaintances but her work was only
ever published posthumously, that is, after her death in 1886.
What is the structure ?
What are the possible themes and links ?
Time passing – To Autumn and Afternoons
The natural world – To Autumn, Excerpt from the Prelude and Death of a
Naturalist
What does the tile and the first line “As imperceptibly as grief” link ?
It quickly links grief to the passing of summer
What does the melancholic tone of the quote “twighlight long began” imply ?
It implies that grief is taking over her happiness
What does Dickerson state in her poem that suggest the passing of time in nature ?
The images of the end of the day/season such as “dusk”, “twilight” and “summer lapsed away”
What does Dickerson mean by the line “our summer made her light escape into the beautiful”
It end the poem positively and it could be analysed that since Dickinson link grief with the passing of summer, that this last line being
positive could reflect Dickinson’s acceptance of the passing of time and the fact that she is going to have to face death and grieve
