‘My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun’ by Emily Dickinson is a poem that is absolutely pouring with rage. Dickinson had started the ballad off by comparing her life to a loaded gun, which is of importance throughout the poem. What is meant by this comparison is that when someone harbours a lot of rage, they’re as dangerous and ready to blow as a loaded gun. She goes on to talk about how whenever she smiles it is as if someone with anger management issues has calmed down and let some pleasure through. It is described in the eleventh and twelfth lines. “It is as a Vesuvian face had let its pleasure through” Vesuvian, in this case, is referring to Mount Vesuvian, a volcano that had erupted and destroyed the entire city of Pompeii. Emily continues …show more content…
It was written in 1794 by William Blake. He starts off in the first stanza by describing two different situations where the narrator has felt anger. In the first scenario, the narrator was mad at his friend. He told his friend about his anger and it went away. “I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end.” However, in the second scenario, the narrator is angry with his enemy but keeps the anger to himself. This causes the anger to grow and the rest of the poem expands on this. “I was angry with my foe; I told it not, my wrath did grow.” In the second and third stanza, the narrator goes on to talk about how he heightened his anger by ‘watering’ and ‘sunning’ it with tears and fake smiles until it produced an apple. This is when the title becomes of importance because we can understand that anger is being compared to a poison tree. The apple that was created by his anger is, in this case, a reference to the poisonous apple in Snow White. The poem ends with the enemy dead, after tasting a bite from the poisonous apple. “In the morning, glad I see. My foe outstretched beneath the tree.” The main theme in this poem is anger and the destructive consequences of anger. It teaches us that anger is a normal emotion that needs to be properly dealt with. It also tells us that anger is never anger by itself. Rather, it requires fear and sorrow to actually …show more content…
Lamb wrote this poem that has a whimsical rhythm but serious content after his mother was murdered by his sister. First, he talks about how anger isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If there is a reason behind it, it can motivate you to do things you wouldn’t in a different state of mind. “Anger in its time and place may assume a kind of grace.” But, if this rage lasts too long, it will become serious and grow into a desire to do evil. “If to further lengths it go, it does into malice grow.” He then proceeds to compare different types of anger to a snake and a bee. The bee represents a short, petty anger because if you provoke a bee, it will impulsively sting you, put you through some pain, and then leave you alone for good. The anger you have dies just like the bee. As it says on lines 11 and 12, “Puts you to some little pain, But it never stings again.” The second type of anger can be compared to a snake as is explained throughout the rest of the poem. A snake represents a powerful, long-lasting anger. Although it stays hidden inside you, it is continuously producing venom. The ‘snake’ is just waiting to lash out and bite someone. Even though it could be someone innocent, someone will get hurt, as it says through lines 17 to 20, “Mean him good, or mean him harm, Whensoever fate my bring you, The vile snake will always sting you.” The message Charles Lamb is trying to get across through this poem is
This adds to the reader’s sympathy because he didn’t provoke the man’s attack and did nothing to deserve what happened to him. He was punished despite being completely innocent. Though the snake does not pose a direct threat, he is an extremely powerful creature and a great asset to the beauty of nature. He “felt no necessity of getting out of anybody’s path,” showing his confidence in himself. Though he is confident, he is not arrogant. He does not cower at the sight of the man, nor does he try to threaten him. He simply stands his ground confidently, waiting for the man to dictate his next move. This trait of the snake causes the reader to respect him and appreciate his position of power, reinforcing their sympathetic feelings. The snake’s death was slow and painful, and the author described all of the gruesome details in order to further affect the reader. The man himself admits that “it was a nasty sight”. First, he hacked about in the paper bag bush until he “dragged
The effect the reader perceives in the passage of Rattler is attained from the usage of the author¡¯s imagery. The author describes the pre-action of the battle between the man and the snake as a ¡°furious signal, quite sportingly warning [the man] that [he] had made an unprovoked attack, attempted to take [the snake¡¯s] life... ¡± The warning signal is portrayed in order to reveal the significance of both the man¡¯s and the snake¡¯s value of life. The author sets an image of how one of their lives must end in order to keep the world in peace. In addition, the author describes how ¡°there was blood in [snake¡¯s] mouth and poison dripping from his fangs; it was all a nasty sight, pitiful now that it was done.¡± This bloody image of snake¡¯s impending death shows the significance of the man¡¯s acceptance toward the snake. In a sense, the reader can interpret the man¡¯s sympathy toward the snake because of the possibility that he should have let him go instead of killing him.
The snake was not aware of the man’s intentions was cautious but not yet preparing for an attack. The rattlesnake “lay ridged” through its mistrust of the man did not feel threatened so his “body was undulant” not preparing for an attack. Because of its natural instincts the snake was wary of the man’s presence but did not feel provoked enough to set up a defense. The usual instincts would have been to give a strong attack but choose not to do so. Still attentive to the man’s possible actions, the snake presents him with a warning for both their sake. Therefore as the man raised his weapon the snake set up its rattling and “shook his fair but furious signal” warning the man he “made an unprovoked attack”. The snake had not planned on attacking the man so instead of reacting swiftly the snake had given the man a warning. By doing so the snake shows its value of life because he left the man chance in avoiding an outcome with death for either side. Consequently having misjudged the man’s intent it is left with little time to protect itself from an unexpected attack. With the man suddenly attacking the snake with a hoe it “struck passionately” until it “was soon dead”. As a result of not being able to assemble an attack the snake is left with it’s only chance of winning by striking hard but with ineffective moves. Thus readers feel sympathy for the snake because it had not called for an attack that would have taken either
In the second and last stanza of the poem we are reminded that he was but a child. The thought of losing the berries “always made him feel like crying” the thought of all that beauty gone so sour in the aftermath of lust. The lack of wisdom in younger years is emphasized by the common childish retort of “It wasn’t fair.” He kept up the childish hope that this time would be different, that this time the berries would keep and that the lust, work, and pain might not have been in vain, that others would not “glut” upon what he desired.
The poem opens upon comparisons, with lines 3 through 8 reading, “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets/ of their branches. The maples/ were colored like apples,/part orange and red, part green./ The elms, already transparent trees,/ seemed swaying vases full of sky.” The narrator’s surroundings in this poem illustrate him; and the similes suggest that he is not himself, and instead he acts like others. Just as the maples are colored like apples, he
The poetic work penned by Emily Dickinson is often viewed cryptically mainly due to the aspects of less punctuation and presence of destructive language that aligns imagery. For the purpose of analysis, the poem selected is Dickinson’s 754, ‘My Life has Stood – A Loaded Gun’ which was published in 1999. The poem has eluded critics and the interpretation of this work was carried out in a number of ways including frontier romanticism and a spirituality expression. On the other hand, the poem is underpinned with an extensive metaphor, in the light of which the life of the speaker becomes a loaded gun. The beginning of the poem depicts a typical American scene with the existence of a gun, a hunter, and a trip to the woods for hunting. The poem
The comparison of the rattlesnake to a bigger, more frightening, and yet less deadly creature makes the former seem dangerous. While a blacksnake would “flee at the sight of a man”, the rattler proved its fearlessness with the way he “held his ground”. The rattler is cocky, and for good reason, because his poison could kill the man much easier than the theoretical blacksnake could. The man is in a life-threatening situation and the reader is likely to sympathize with his fear and worry. The author uses violent diction when describing the snake to make us see him as a vicious creature, in need of killing to keep others safe. Even dead, the rattler “may still bite”. He needs to be kept as far as possible from people - especially vulnerable people, such as young children - in order to protect them. The author includes this hostile wording to bring awareness to the fact that the snake is remorseless, even in death, and that taking its life is noble and just. Finally, the snake’s “little song of death” is personified negatively by the man to show that the snake is the villain in the story. Life is, according to the rattlesnake, “dear and would be dearly sold”. It comes to light in this phrase that the snake is looking for revenge from the man’s actions. The rattler is not as innocent as he may have initially seemed. As he attempts at the man’s life to bring
In the short story of “ The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allen Poe and the poem” A Poison Tree” by William Blake a theme about revenge is used for both the story and the poem. The theme that is used is when anger is nurtured it can turn into a poisonous revenge. To develop the themes of revenge, both writings both the authors used dramatic irony and sensory details.
This is taken as the speaker allowed his wrath and anger to their foe grow and develop into a seed of revenge, illustrated as the apple on this tree grow with hate. The foe recognizes this apple as a tangible reincarnation of the speaker's desire for revenge and it is understood that through some manner this apple kills the foe and the speaker is glad that it has done so, showing no remorse. This is seen in the lines “In the morning I was glad to see;/ My foe outstretched beneath the tree”. The speaker's reaction to the death has an effect on the theme because although the speaker has killed someone he has no
This poem was written by American poet, Emily Dickinson, who was born in the 1800. This was the period where art was based on emotion; the “Romantic Period”. She was also born in the Victorian Era, where women had to be shackled to their pedestals and most had to be married by age eighteen. They were not allowed to vote, or earn money. This information should help the reader better understand the poem. When writing the poem “My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun” Dickinson thought of what format to use to express her emotions; Quatrain (four verses). This format is used to express deep emotions at any time. She uses lines in her poem that seem the same but not quite; they are “slant rhymes”. Dickinson grew up in a time where abolition rose up (which is why her poetry is so deep); and in the most religious, morally upright and independent sections of the United States. Dickinson represents herself and her life, metaphorically, as a loaded gun, a phallic symbol that is associated with masculinity; everything “women” is not. Dickinson’s studies include her affairs as well as alleged relationships in regards to her sexuality, her absurdity in a mocking sense when looking at the women of her time, as well as even challenging the idea of Dickinson as a peculiar loner; therefore, explaining her position/emotions in a feministic world.
Lawrence uses figurative language in order to present his ideas of societies expectations of a man. Lawrence changes the structure and style of “Snake” in order to highlight the struggles of the narrator. Specifically, when writing about the snake he uses repetitive and flowing words. He also uses traditional devices like alliteration, for example “and flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips.” The use of these technics gives the snake an almost human like feel that the reader can connect to. At the same time, Lawrence writes about the log used to hurt the snake in a different style creating such a contrast between the snake’s description and the log. The words describing the log are much different, “and threw it at the water trough with a clatter.” The changing styles helps emphasize the internal struggle the narrator is experiencing as he tries to figure out if he should do as society dictates and kill the snake like a man or do as he wishes and leave the snake in peace as his guest at the water
In Mary Oliver’s poem “The Black Snake,” the narrator contemplates the cycle of life with the unpredictability of death. Mary Oliver’s work is “known for its natural themes and a continual affirmation of nature as a place of mystery and spirituality that holds the power to teach humans how to value one’s life and one’s place” (Riley). In the poem, The Black Snake, the narrator witnesses a black snake hit by a truck and killed on a road one morning. Feeling sympathy for the snake, the narrator stops, and removes the dead snake from the road. Noting the snake’s beauty, the narrator carries it from the road to some nearby bushes. Continuing to drive, the narrator reflects on how the abruptness of death ultimately revealed how the snake lived his life.
In “A Poison Tree,” by William Blake is a central metaphor explains a truth of human nature. The opening stanza sets up everything for the entire poem, from the ending of anger with the “friend,” to the continuing anger with the “foe.” Blake startles the reader with the clarity of the poem, and with metaphors that can apply to many instances of life.
The first stanza opens up with saying how the speaker was young and did not have a care in the world. The first line talks about him relaxing under an apple bough, which is an apple tree. He also goes on to explain in line two that he is as “happy as the grass was green” (2), which
... Nature, including human beings, is `red in tooth and claw'; we are all `killers' in one way or another. Also, the fear which inhabits both human and snake (allowing us, generally, to avoid each other), and which acts as the catalyst for this poem, also precipitates retaliation. Instinct, it seems, won't be gainsaid by morality; as in war, our confrontation with Nature has its origins in some irrational `logic' of the soul. The intangibility of fear, as expressed in the imagery of the poem, is seen by the poet to spring from the same source as the snake, namely the earth - or, rather, what the earth symbolizes, our primitive past embedded in our subconsciouness. By revealing the kinship of feelings that permeates all Nature, Judith Wright universalises the experience of this poem.