Loaded Gun Symbolism Depicted in Emily Dickinson's Poem, 754

2006 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in Emily Dickinson's poems

In the beginning of Emily Dickinson’s poem “754,” the narrator immediately compares her life to a weapon, “My Life had stood -- a Loaded Gun --” (754). Usually, when one thinks of a gun, he or she might think of death instead of love. In most cases, when a person owns or has a possession of a gun, that person might use the gun for protection. A gun is an inanimate object that has the potential or power to take the life of a human. From analyzing the poem “754,” the narrator symbolizes a loaded gun, full of potential, full of power, waiting to be in the possession of its owner for protection just as a bride waits to be wedded by her husband.

The owner, assumed to be male, claims the narrator, assumed to be female, in the first stanza of the poem such as a husband claims his wife by marriage. As established, the first line of the poem describes the narrator’s life as a weapon, or in other terms, an object with prospective. As the poem continues, Dickison illustrates a location where the object exists, “My Life has stood -- a Loaded Gun / In Corners --” (754). The narrator is waiting for someone to give her meaning. She has rested lonely in a corner. However, she is filled with purpose like a gun filled with bullets. The speaker is “loaded” and has the potential to be used to a certain degree. Soon the narrator’s potential is recognized and is suddenly taken into possession, “Till a Day / The Owner passed -- identified / And carried Me away --” (754). This image of the owner taking the narrator away can be compared to a groom carrying his bride away after a wedding.

Similar to husband and wife, the narrator and the owner becomes one in the second stanza. Dickinson shows the two become one by using the pronoun, we. Tog...

... middle of paper ...

...tance is the narrator, in the first stanza, goes from its potential state, being taken into possession, to being fully recognized of its ability in the last stanza.

In a general context, many people suppose that we all live with one essential purpose, intentionally or subconsciously, to find that one genuine love that makes us whole. A person who discovers his or her significant other can be proudly declared as one. Like the narrator in the poem, some people’s lives resemble loaded guns, full of power, but lifeless until the owner comes to claim them. Like a bride being “carried” by her groom, the narrator is taken away by her owner. “Carried” in such a way a gun is held for protection. It is only ‘til death does she part when the owner can truly live longer than the narrator, which would result in the gun being used to its full capacity or without bullets.

Show More
Related

  • Dave's The Man Who Was Almost A Man

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people have heard that having a gun makes you a man, so Dave believes that purchasing a gun would help him become one. The gun represents power, masculinity, independence, and respect, which are all things that Dave wants. The idea of owning a gun is David’s outlet, a way to quickly become more powerful and manly. The feeling of having a gun in his possession was to prevent others around him from looking at him as just a little boy. With the gun, Dave felt invincible, as if no harm could come his way and as if he is on top of the

    Read More

  • Gather Ye Ice-Cream While Ye May: An In Depth Analysis of Wallace Stevens' “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”

    1648 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the very first word of the poem, there is a command coming from an unnamed speaker. This establishes a sense of authority and gives the speaker a dominant position where they are dictating the poem to the reader rather than a collaborative interacti...

    Read More

  • Within A Dream By Edgar Allan Poe Analysis

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the poem there is only one narrator, a man or woman. The narrator is of high importance to the one being spoken too, so possibly a girlfriend or boyfriend. This narrator alludes to the idea that dreams and reality can be one in the same. The narrator says, “You are not wrong, who deem/That my days have been a dream;” (Line 4-5). The narrator explains that the moments spent with her have felt almost, if not, a perfect dream. The narrator also says, in the closing lines of the first stanza, “All that we see or seem/Is but a dream within a dream.” (Line 10-11). The narrator concludes like dreams, reality is not controlled; reality is what you make it, or what you see. Moreover, in the second stanza the narrator

    Read More

  • The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    This change in tone echoes the emotions and mental state of the narrator. At the beginning of the poem, the narrator starts somewhat nervous. However, at the end, he is left insane and delusional. When he hears a knocking at the door, he logically pieces that it is most likely a visitor at the door.

    Read More

  • Death Wins Again

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    Emily Dickinson’s “Death is a supple Suitor,” speaks of Death, as if it is an innocent, gentle caller who seeks to win the attention of his fair lady. Dickinson metaphorically tells a story of Death’s win over the one he is pursuing by contrasting the processes of courting, as a gentleman would do, and dying, as Death would occur. Dickinson incorporates many details, which will be discussed, and presents us with two sides of the running metaphor, which speaks of Death as a suitor, and also as the one who takes away life.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou and ‘No Problem’ by Benjamin Zephaniah

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author herself is portrayed in the poem as this dream, as this gift that her ancestors imagined.... ... middle of paper ... ... This suggests the metaphor of bullets where words are used as ammunition to hurt people.

    Read More

  • An Interpretation of Emily Dickinson's Poem #315

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Emily Dickinson had an interesting life, and is a profound woman in the history of America and literature. Emily wrote many poems. Some are titled, and many are given chronological numbers instead of headlining the main theme. I am interpreting Poem #315.

    Read More

  • Emotion in Emily Dickinson's “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun”

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Here Bullet By Brian Turner

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Here bullet” is a poem by Brian Turner in which the persona is struggling to coup with the situation in which he finds himself. In this poem the persona is able to establish the low point in which they have reached with lines such as “If a body is what you want, / Then here is bone and gristle and flesh.” (LL 1-2). This line establishes right from the onset of the poem that the persona is at wits in. The poem could leave a first time reader of it wondering how the persona reached this point. This point in which the persona is fantasying about death with lines like “Here is where I complete the word you bring/ Hissing through the air, here is where I moan” (LL 10-11).

    Read More

  • One Art, by Elizabeth Bishop

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    This short quote can have two meanings; on the surface it can mean that the objects she talks about are so small that they are inevitable to lose, like keys and minutes spent doing frivolous activities. However, as shown in the final stanza, this poem is truly about the loss of someone dear to her and The poet is trying to portray the fragility of a life, as it is created with the intent to be lost (death). is unavoidable and everyone must succumb to it. The speaker articulates tension between the two. own need to control specific life events and the difficulty in the reality of actually accomplishing... ...

    Read More

  • My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun

    685 Words  | 2 Pages

    She has realized that she is dependent on her owner to pull the trigger and to release her pleasure, In the last line of the poem, the speaker takes a long pause to express her sadness that she will live forever and never die. She knows she will be a loaded gun in a corner again

    Read More

  • The Runaway Pilgrim Point essay

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore, the opening “I stand” sets e assertive tone in the [poem. The speaker never falters in presenting the complexity of her situation, as a woman, a black [person], and a slave. The tone set at the beginning also aid the audience to recognize that the speaker in the “white man’s violent system” is divided by women, and black by whites. The slave employs metaphors, which Barrett use to dramatized imprisonment behind a dark skin in a world where God’s work of creating black people has been cast away. To further illustrate this she described the bird as “ little dark bird”, she also describes the frogs and streams as “ dark frogs” and “ dark stream ripple” Through the use of her diction she convey to readers that in the natural world unlike the human one, there is no dark with bad and light with good, and no discrimination between black and white people.

    Read More

  • Emily Dickinson's Capitalization and Punctuation

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...kinson likens herself to a loaded gun. She contains much energy and power, but can only be useful when taken into the hands of a master gunman. The punctuation and capitalization define “a Loaded Gun” as the theme of the poem. They also increase the strength of the metaphor. Dickinson’s capitalization and punctuation not only define her style, but they also provide added symbolic meaning and musical interpretation to her poetry.

    Read More

  • Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop for Death

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. In Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop Death,” there is much impression in the tone, in symbols and in the use of imagery that over flow with creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to an eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone and use of symbolism in Dickinson’s poem.

    Read More

  • Themes of Death and Immortality in Emily Dickinson's Poetry

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Emily Dickinson’s poetry there is a reoccurring theme of death and immortality. The theme of death is further separated into two major categories including the curiosity Dickinson held of the process of dying and the feelings accompanied with it and the reaction to the death of a loved one. Two of Dickinson’s many poems that contain a theme of death include: “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” and “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.”

    Read More

More about Loaded Gun Symbolism Depicted in Emily Dickinson's Poem, 754

Open Document