Analyzing Dickinson's Poem 'I Never Saw A Moor'

I Never Saw A Moor

1.

In the first half of the poem, Dickinson clarifies that although she has never seen the sea or a moor, she knows that the sea has waves and the moor has a heather. The second half of the poem is religious; it signifies that like the sea and moor, she knows that heaven exists despite the fact she cannot see it.

A Word is Dead

2.

When the poet claims that a word “lives” once it has spoken, she is saying that the word continues to live on as it stays in our minds even after being spoken.

Brumgardt 2 Because I Could Not Stop For Death

3.

At the beginning of the poem, Death is characterized as being a gentleman and worthy of trust. However, towards the end of the poem, it is revealed that Death is actually very deceitful. This is done by a change of tone in the poem; in the beginning it is lighthearted, but as it goes on it gets darker and darker.

4.

The “house” in the fifth stanza symbolizes a coffin or some other form of a grave.

5. I perceive the final stanza of the poem being one of acceptance, but not so much confidence. My reasoning for this is because there is no language present that really signifies she is frightened of the end result; it instead seems to hold more of a calm, accepting tone. There is not much to signify that she is confident about the result either.

6. Dickinson’s poem, “I Never Saw A Moor”, reflects the time period in which she lived as during this era, religious movements and contemplation were very common. I believe this poem reflects this as she is showing that she has a firm hold on what she believes to be true, much like many others did at this time as