It was not death

By Emily Dickinson, 1830 - 1886

ENTIRE POEM

– It was not Death, for I stood up,– And all the Dead, lie down—– It was not Night, for all the Bells– Put out their Tongues, for Noon.

– It was not Frost, for on my Flesh– I felt Sirocos—crawl—– Nor Fire—for just my Marble feet– Could keep a Chancel, cool—

– And yet, it tasted, like them all,– The Figures I have seen– Set orderly, for Burial,– Reminded me, of mine—

– As if my life were shaven, – And fitted to a frame,– And could not breathe without a key,– And ‘twas like Midnight, some—

– When everything that ticked—has stopped—– And Space stares all around—– Or Grisly frosts—first Autumn morns,– Repeal the Beating Ground—

– But, most, like Chaos—Stopless—cool—– Without a Chance, or Spar—– Or even a Report of Land—– To justify—Despair.

– My poem is a free verse

– Has no rhyme scheme

– Six stanzas- four lines in each

– Twenty Four lines

Organization, structure, form

Theme/lesson

– She is presenting a depressing and hopeless setting. The speaker is attempting to define or understand her own condition.

Authors Purpose

Biography

– Dickinson began writing as a

teenager. Her early influences include Leonard Humphrey, principal of Amherst Academy, and a family friend named Benjamin Franklin Newton. Newton introduced Dickinson to the poetry of William Wordsworth, who also served as an inspiration to the young writer

Stanza 1

It was not Death, for I stood up,

And all the Dead, lie down—

It was not Night, for all the Bells

Put out their Tongues, for Noon.

Literal meaning

Death you cant standDead lay down It wasn’t night because people bells had rang for noon

Stanzas one and two tell us what her condition is not.

Stanza 2

It was not Frost, for on my Flesh

I felt Sirocos—crawl—

Nor Fire—for just my Marble feet

Could keep a Chancel, cool—

Literal meaning

The speaker did not have frost on his skin Cold numbs you and he felt sirocos Nor was fire on his skin just was his feet

Stanza 3

And yet, it tasted, like them all,

The Figures I have seen

Set orderly, for Burial,

Reminded me, of mine—

Literal meaning

You cant taste when your deadI've seen some bad and crazy things

Stanza three pulls together the possibilities she eliminated

Stanza 4

As if my life were shaven,

And fitted to a frame,

And could not breathe without a key,

And ‘twas like Midnight, some—

Literal meaning

Like my life was trimmed or cut and put in a frame And was breath less with out a key

Stanza 5

When everything that ticked—has stopped—

And Space stares all around—

Or Grisly frosts—first Autumn morns,

Repeal the Beating Ground—

Literal meaning

When every clock stops And space is all around Frost from morning in fallAbolish the ground

Stanza 6

But, most, like Chaos—Stopless—cool—

Without a Chance, or Spar—

Or even a Report of Land—

To justify—Despair.

Literal meaning

Like chaos you cant controlWith out arguing To explain distress