Emily Dickinson is one of the most famous poets in American history. She is known for her unique style of writing, which often includes short, blunt lines. “I Started Early – Took My Dog” is one of her most popular poems. It tells the story of a woman who takes her dog for a walk, and how the simple act turns into an adventure.
Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, but left after only one year. She spent the rest of her life living at home with her family. Emily was a private person and rarely left her house. She did not marry or have any children.
Emily Dickinson began writing poetry when she was a teenager. She quickly gained a reputation for her unique style, which was characterized by short, often blunt lines. Her poems were often about nature and everyday life, and explored themes such as love, loss, and mortality.
One of Emily Dickinson’s most popular poems is “I Started Early – Took My Dog”. This poem tells the story of a woman who takes her dog for a walk in the countryside, and how the simple act turns into an adventure. The speaker describes watching horses run wild in the fields, hearing birds singing in the trees, and encountering all sorts of wildlife on her journey.
Despite these moments of excitement, however, she always remains focused on returning home to take care of her dog. Through this poem, Emily Dickinson celebrates the simple joys of life, and reminds us that even the most ordinary moments can be special.
Suicide was not a major concern in the 1800s, yet it frequently appears as a theme in many literary works of the time. The act of committing suicide is not a recognized psychological illness, but there are several cases where suicide is the end result. This is why suicide is such a prevalent topic within contemporary psychology. Dickinson’s poem “I Started Early- Took My Dog” may be read as making obscure allusions to self-murder.
In Emily Dickinson’s poem “I Started Early- Took My Dog,” the speaker takes her dog for an early morning walk, but as they venture further into the woods, it becomes clear that there is more to this outing than just a leisurely stroll. The final stanza reveals that the writer has committed suicide, suggesting that her life was so unbearable and hopeless that death became her only option. While the exact cause of this depression remains unknown, possible contributing factors may include social isolation, trauma or abuse, mental illness, and substance abuse.
Despite being a taboo topic in 1800s society, suicide was much more prevalent in literature at that time than many people realize. Many writers used their works to explore themes of despair, hopelessness, and mental anguish in an attempt to understand these complex emotions. As such, Emily Dickinson’s poem “I Started Early- Took My Dog” can be seen as reflecting the cultural attitudes and mindset towards suicide during this period.
Today, however, we are better equipped to recognize suicide as a serious mental health issue that requires treatment and support rather than judgment and shame. If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help immediately. There are many resources available to provide assistance and support, including counseling services, hotlines, and online forums. With the right help and support, it is possible to overcome suicidal thoughts and live a fulfilling life.
According to Freud, suicide is a result of loss (real or imagined), but one in which the individual’s sorrow and fury over that loss are not expressed but remain unconscious, weakening the ego. “Suicide is a reaction to loss (actual or symbolic), although one in which the person’s anguish and rage over it are not vented but rather remained unconscious, thus weakening the ego,” says Freud (p. 246).
Dickinson employs several elements in her poem to express this idea, including tone, imagery, and rhyme. It is presented from an unknown speaker’s first-person perspective. Dickinson begins her poem with iambic tetrameter and switches to iambic trimeter for the second line.
Emily Dickinson’s poem “I Started Early – Took My Dog” is a prime example of successful use of both meter and rhyme. Emily Dickinson was a prolific poet who wrote over 1800 poems in her lifetime, but only seven were published during her lifetime. This poem was published posthumously in 1891 by Thomas Wentworth Higginson. It is one of her most anthologized poems.
Emily Dickinson’s poem “I Started Early – Took My Dog” is about a woman who sets out on a journey with her dog. The speaker in the poem never says where she is going or why she is going there. The tone of the poem is playful and lighthearted. The first stanza talks about how the speaker started her journey “early” and took her dog with her. The second stanza describe the scenery that the speaker sees along the way.
In the third stanza, the tone of the poem changes and becomes more serious. The speaker talks about how she “came to a cave” and how she “heard a voice within”. The voice tells her to “enter” and she does so without hesitation. The fourth stanza is the shortest one in the poem. In it, the speaker talks about how she found herself in a “strange place” where she saw “people marching two by two”. The fifth and final stanza is the most significant one in the poem. In it, the speaker reveals that she has committed suicide and that death was her only option.
The poem’s rhyming scheme works particularly well in complimenting the poem’s subject, the sea. When a reader looks at the poem, it is easy to see how the lines grow longer and shorter, just as nature’s tides do. Early I went out with my dog and visited the seas- The Mermaids in the Basement Came out to look at me. (Dickinson 1-4) The waxing and waning action of the text might suggest a continual cycle of life.
Instead of taking steps forward, they seem to be held back by their own indecision. Emily Dickinson uses short and simple lines in this poem but the overall message is complex and leaves the reader with a sense that life may not always be clear-cut.
Through her use of language Emily Dickinson conveys a similar message as Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” in which he too talks about how messy and complicated life can be. Ultimately Emily Dickinson wants readers to feel connected to her poem through its simplicity while also creating a sense of mystery around the meaning behind it.
She makes readers think about their own lives, as well as their relationship with nature, by using lyrical language that is easy for anyone to understand. Overall Emily Dickinson’s poem “I started Early- Took my Dog” is a short and sweet poem with a lot of hidden depth. Emily Dickinson’s short poem “I Started Early – Took My Dog” is a complex poem that uses simple language to talk about the speaker’s life and their relationship with nature.
Emily Dickinson’s “I started early- Took my Dog”, is a poem about a person who has thought long and hard about suicide, but never taken the final step. The poem reflects on the individual’s feelings and emotions before coming to the ultimate decision.
The poem employs different types of literary devices in order to get its message across to the reader. Emily Dickinson uses metaphors extensively throughout the poem to compare the narrator’s desired death with things that are seemingly innocuous. For example, in lines 3-4, the speaker compares her longing for death with that of a mermaid wanting to be on land. In line 5, she compares her desire to die with a bird wanting to fly. These comparisons help the reader understand the speaker’s feelings in a more relatable way.
Emily Dickinson also uses personification in the poem to give human characteristics to inanimate objects. In line 6, she personifies the stars by saying they are watching her. This allows the reader to understand that, even though death may be something the speaker wants, there are other forces at work that are beyond her control.
The poem ends with the speaker making the decision not to go through with suicide. She says that she did not stop for Death(10) because she wanted to live her life on her own terms. This final line is significant because it shows that the speaker has made a choice to live, even though it may be difficult. The poem is ultimately about making the decision to live, even when death seems like the easier option.