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Nature In Emily Dickinson's Poem 986

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Emily Dickinson in her poem 986, uses the description of a snake to show how nature may be intimidating at first but with time is harmless. Certain aspects of nature are always going to make people uneasy at times. Emily Dickinson shows just that, by picking one of the most controversial animals to depict. At first she only describes the animal in it’s natural state. Dickinson does this by writing, “ The Grass divides as with a Comb _/ A spotted shaft is seen (pg 1067)”. The snake exists in harmony with it’s surroundings. It is not until humans are in the equation that a change is seen. Dickinson begins to explain this by declaring, “Yet when a Boy, and Barefoot — _/I more than once at Noon _/ Have passed, I thought, a Whip lash” (1067)”.

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