Parallels between Emily Dickinson's "39" and the Biblical Book of Job

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In one of my favorite poems by Emily Dickinson, ‘39’ or [49] published in 1858, she almost parallels the life of Job in the Bible who lost all he had, but because he was faithful all of his loss was restored; I like that there are so many ways to interpret the loss and blame in this very short poem; for example, her loss could be a loss of possession or a loss of a child because “in the sod” could refer to either to an actual plot of land with its crops and the possessions that would come with it or to burying deceased children; to be a beggar could mean that she is literally poor and landless, which would mean that she had no way to provide for herself, or that she had no children and prayed for them; when she says that angels “reimbursed her store” twice it could indicate either the miracle of pregnancy or to being endowed with property when in need; I also love that in the last two lines that she both blames God and implores him; at once she addresses him as both burglar and father in the closing of the poem.

In another one of my favorite poems by Emily Dickinson ‘1773’ or [17...

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