Before I Got My Eye Put Out - The Poetry of Emily Dickinson: Crash Course English Literature #8

[@rafi7126]

With Emily Dickinson poems half of the time I don't understand at all whatsoever, and the other half I'm blown away with how much sense some of the poems make.

[@whit2642]

That’s normal with poetry. Go back to it later. You will see it differently

[@nakiarobby3996]

@@whit2642 agree

[@RachelZamstein]

I feel like I could spend 10 years studying her poetry. Like it could be it’s own major.

[@kaitlin3102]

Same, I’d love it if there was an entire class dedicated towards analyzing Emily Dickinson’s life and her poetry.

[@ieatgremlins]

Go to grad school 😊

[@GiuliaSocolof]

“Dickinson rarely left her house and often talked to visitors through a closed door.” Sounds like my standard Saturday with Netflix

[@AlexisGonzalez-tj6hl]

+Giulia Socolof Netflix and dickinson ... think about it

[@Dedonarivl96]

+Alexis Gonzalez hahahahahahaha blatant penis reference man you are quite the connoisseur of jokes my friend

[@AlexisGonzalez-tj6hl]

like netflix n chill. but dickinson...... nvm lmao

[@rosebranan675]

Do you where sad cloths and write deeply depressing poetry?

[@emmerz22]

Giulia Socolof yeah but she’s actually using her mental energy to create something that lasted.

[@thistles.and.thread]

'i heard a fly buzz when i died' is an extremely important poem for me. my 11th grade american literature teacher read it to our class, and the "blue" uncertain stumbling buzz of the fly made my head hurt, because the sound of a fly buzzing is brown, not blue. my teacher then threw out the term 'synesthesia' which finally gave me a name for the weirdness i always had of seeing and feeling colors where there supposedly weren't any. anyway, thank you for this miniseries, john! it was awesome.

[@AxelQC]

Dickinson is by far my favorite poet. She's the most relatable and the most subversive to her time.

[@nakiarobby3996]

Same

[@TheaterRaven]

"Between 1858 and 1865, Emily Dickinson wrote over 800 poems." Sure, she was becoming more of a recluse at that time, but still, over 800 poems in seven years? Wow. And here it's been six years since I started writing my novel and I'm only on the second draft.

[@sanchitagolder]

still waiting on that novel

[@gameoverman-h1r]

That’s only about 3 poems every day every day for 7 years

[@erinsolomon7774]

Yay! A fellow writer!

[@erinsolomon7774]

Maybe the dashes are there to allow the reader, or even Emily herself, to take in what was written. She wants us to contemplate them and not just be willing to immediately move on to the finish line. Each line is meant to be a poem unto itself as well as to be a poem of a whole. There's the individual line - expression of the individual, vs the poem as a whole - expression and interpretation of society.

[@TwentySeventhLetter]

Why do any of the comments _not_ start with "Mr. Green, Mr. Green!"?

[@FROPDESAI]

Genius!

[@meganb.2249]

They don't start with "Mr. Green" because society has lost the vast majority of its mutual respect for elders and their wisdom."

[@rangus_jangus]

Why is THIS the top comment? also Whovians for the win

[@tbh7244]

@@meganb.2249 boo hoo

[@patriciamcgeorge2575]

Mr Green, Mr Green! Why doesn't this comment start with "Mr. Green, Mr. Green!"

[@Altorin]

I suffer from social anxiety disorder too, and rarely leave my room. time to write poetry I guess.

[@Paycorn1]

Who said she had social anxiety? I'd say it was agoraphobia.

[@katesanders6715]

Paycorn1 The two often go together, agoraphobia an expression of social anxiety. My best friend struggles with this.

[@dustinmorgan4363]

same.

[@tempestas2920]

@Back Bay Man52 Same dude

[@MasterMonkshot]

Altorin Definitley dealt with this, I think empathic action is essential in reintroducing yourself to the world.

[@sarkasticchik9133]

"The history of the United States matters to you because we're always meddling in your affairs." Never thought I would hear an American say that! More reasons to love John Green.

[@sarkasticchik9133]

Never say you were, I just find what John said funny...

[@EndrChe]

So do I, largely because I agree with him. I wasn't offended, but simply felt it was worth mentioning that everyone on the planet is being represented by someone they probably wouldn't even ask to check on their dog for them.

[@sarkasticchik9133]

Che Marshall Okay :)

[@EndrChe]

Karl Hiramanek Meaning?

[@SapphireLily13]

Sarkastic Chirk, Savage :)

[@aislingmcnamara7813]

Dear crash course peeps, I am currently binge watching crash course literature in an attempt to sleep on the night my best friend, my grandfather has passed away. thank you for being able to do this, and for making these lovely videos

[@alicereidstories]

I wish this series had existed when I was in high school. I suck at reading, and I didn't like a lot of the books that I was "supposed" to read as a teenager. Crash Course does a good job at explaining why these books matter, why they resonate and why they're still so powerful today. It makes me want to read again.

[@rueluxprince6982]

Why I love Crash Course: It tells you exactly what you need to know without all of the stupid introductory paragraphs and only one line of actual stuff. I passed almost all of my exams in school because of you guys, so thank you I guess.

[@BeneficialCuts]

A crushing testament to the school system.

[@simar5878]

8:08 "This discomforting lack of closure is a hallmark of Dickinson's poetry, also of most of my romantic relationships" Hahaha same Mr Green.

[@liamniallryan]

I think you should do a 6 part series on the Romantics (Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats) It would be epically awesome!!

[@whit2642]

Liam Ryan I love Coleridge and Wordsworth. I agree. Please do all these!

[@ximenapliego1160]

PLEASE John Green We need more videos on literature!

[@TheFireflyGrave]

She Called red 'Fire's common tint.' I dare say that's a mega-burn.

[@lm8772]

Pun alert! I like puns!

[@ediesongbird3163]

TheFireflyGrave punny

[@namratagogoi2763]

I am not getting it

[@meganscotford]

I seest what thou hast done therefore.

[@anonnymus1227]

I was annoyed this video ended too soon. I need more Emily Dickinson analysis.

[@AvihuTurzion]

She used the same amount of dashes in her cake recipes because CAKE IS POETRY! (and a lie, but mostly poetry)

[@Emma-zv1jr]

I see what you did there lmao

[@adityasrinivasulu]

Add a dash of vanila

[@jrexgaming7546]

if cake is a lie, what is pie?

[@KeithThedfordII]

@@jrexgaming7546 Oh boy what flavor? PIE PIE PIE!

[@clarinetato]

Actually, don't do flies come when bodies starts to rot? I'd guess that broken stillness, almost sacred and wished for after a lifetime of fearing death, is also a glimpse for what's coming; a sudden intruder of the real amidst ideal(ized) moments. An the dash as as a resting body, as an eye closed, as a horizontal I.

[@pablo_brianese]

Now that's full of awesome

[@veteratorvulpes1116]

How stunned I was here to find - an insight of poignance and probity - in these notes hence left behind - delivered, itself, in subtle poetry

[@ashleyrose1570]

i wish i could reply in a fashion more - delicate but i am afraid those portions of my conscious are not so- intricate

[@misselliebelly]

this is absolutely amazing

[@pallavisuri960]

@Larisa Emanuela mine too💚😍

[@caoimheoriordan9620]

Is it weird that I am really annoyed that I don't get to study Dickinson?

[@josephdestaubin7426]

I would be super annoyed. This often happened at University. Not with Dickinson per se, but with a number of people that I felt were important. But trade-offs have to be made. None the less, skipping Dickinson in American lit class is just wrong.

[@whit2642]

No. Not at all. Many poets we are forced to study are OVER RATED and many like Dickinson are far over looked. I love her rhyme and meter. I love her play on words/ actions/ feelings. She says a whole lot with a little.

[@denaerangel]

Damn I'm sorry

[@Topher118]

Study it yourself. That's what I did

[@brokenrecord3523]

You just did

[@nalmada]

Ahh! I was so happy when I saw that you did one on Emily Dickinson! She is my favorite poet. I always found her poems about disconnecting with society a bit more interesting than those about death, though. Such as in "I'm nobody, who are you?". She was said to go out and play games with children but go back inside the moment any adults came around or lower baked yummies out her window for children to eat, showing a particular fondness (respect?) of children over adults. Wonderful video, sir!

[@chriselliott3064]

I really appreciate this series. I am in highschool and I have trouble reading critically, however when I watch this show you make it very enjoyable to listen to. I love learning but my body likes to inhibit my ability to focus. Thank you crash course for helping me get over my own brain.

[@omegasavant]

You might want to try using audiobooks. It's a different way of digesting the same material, and it can make it much easier to get through some of the denser texts you have to read.

[@sarty]

I don't know if you take requests, but I would LOVE to see more of these literature episodes. I'm just really loving them!

[@Absenteeee]

After she got her "I" out out, she was Emly Dckenson

[@davidshi451]

gamingLegacies Genius! Er, Genus.

[@dawnqwerty]

Only after "I" was released from her "dick" was she known as dckenson....Wait what?

[@kevinpatty119]

I you say it fast it still sounds the same! :3.

[@noufa6337]

“Dickinson rarely left her house and often talked to visitors through a closed door.” *MISINFORMATION* Emily Dickinson actually loved to be out in the open, since she loved nature

[@poetryquotesgoodreads3430]

“From the wounded soul, comes poetry and music. In return, music and poetry heals the soul.🎶 I came across this quote in a hauntingly beautiful poetry book, “12:12 Midnight” by Danielle Ever Rose

[@23anasp]

"Poetry isn't just a series of images, it's rhythmic, metric and we crave the closure of a good rhyme at the end of a poem. That's why there are the sonnets and couplets"

[@Oneirophrenic123]

More on literature please!

[@livemynd]

"But my [non-US viewers] friends, even if you don't live here, the history of the United States matters to you -- because we're always meddling in your affairs." So Stephen-King true, and not just in the "we come (ostensibly) to defend you" sense, but also as the most influential source of cultural material in the world today.

[@nikolaast]

no issue there, but you guys operate under the false pretense that yours is the only culture and history that matters. everything else is a punchline or a foot note in your story to you.

[@livemynd]

If you were directing that comment at me, then I would have to point out that I am not American, though American culture does take up a significant fraction of my personal culture. If you were directing that comment at the producers of the video, then I grant that there is value to your argument, though it offers no suggestion to improve and appears to be meant primarily to inflame rather than constructively criticize.

[@AnnaClara-od3qk]

that's not necessarily good

[@ZakIsWin]

I'd love to see an expansion on this series including The Bell Jar as well as some more poetry.

[@dibn1308]

Love her works & her eccentricity...which made her write those Precious works...

[@brandontrost9292]

Dashes are the best punctuation mark, and if you disagree - like some sort of uncouth idiot - I will fight you.

[@yaggayaggaya9918]

Dashes, specifically long dashes, look so aesthetically pleasing.

[@momothain]

We're all wondering why you didn't use dashes-specifically long dashes-in your interjection.

[@mewtwo616gnostic5]

Morgann Thain "kid Koon" only likes it when others --------------- dash

[@joelfry4982]

The line "Before I got my eye put out" probably refers to a verse in the New Testament where Christ says, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is single your whole body will be full of light." Otherwise she would have used "eyes."

[@abesapien9930]

Poets are very sensitive to the length of words. She may have chosen "eye" simply because it appeared cleaner or she didn't want a "z" sound in that line. Poets agonize over small choices like that.

[@dancebackthesea]

I was an avid reader Ms. Emily as a teenager, and learned much of my punctuation from her - which I still use to this day. Her letters to the master really giving the dash a serious place in how one speaks on the printed page. Funny, but 30 years later I am still chronically suicidal, have major depression and social anxiety - and of course am agoraphobic. Too bad I'm not a poetess!

[@taskingflyer]

I love the 'Crash Course Literature' series! Please bring it back.

[@ZygoChris]

Why did you stop Crash course Literature? Please think about doing some more !! Please, please !

[@irenemiller9205]

yes

[@sarasotaguy4598]

Is anyone besides me here after watching Dickinson?

[@haroon8285]

Please don't stop making crash course episodes on books, your videos give me a better understanding and appreciation on books I've read in class. Also you're better than all my English teachers combined

[@Bluey306]

I'd be very interested to see more of these! Perhaps a dystopia novel? 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and maybe even my particular favourite Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro?

[@heatherhattle4893]

I agree I would like to see John's take on it

[@rosecoloredchloe]

Well I think Emily Dickinson's a lesbian. _Partial credit_

[@thebinlgbtisbabadook7832]

She's bisexual, I think? She had 2 male romantic interests and 1 female alleged lover (her sister-in-law Susie).

[@rettyleal]

I love this

[@marafortune3713]

Love this John Mulaney reference! This definitely made my day :D

[@perkinsvalentine]

who wasn't?

[@arefinrafee]

I am repenting! Why did it take so much time for me to find this awesome channel? I've always wanted someone to explain English literature to me.Thanks for your contents!

[@sarahburton9374]

I very rarely comment on KZbin videos, but I just have to say that I absolutely loved this miniseries and I truly with that you would expand it. As an English teacher I would love to see you do Frankenstein or Macbeth.

[@minnierae1991]

How have you been? 540-303-7957 call me asap please and congrats! You guys will be great parents

[@kandilyn]

"Even if you do not live here, the history of the United States matters to you because we are always meddling in your affairs."

[@Creationwest07]

This is by far my favorite Crash Course video to date. I love learning more about not just Emily Dickinson, but also myself.

[@theamazingfuzzlord]

This is one of my most favorite videos you've made. You can't find a video as deep and thought-provoking anywhere on KZbin.

[@sandraluisebuchner9766]

After my first acceptance of a poem by Emily Dickinson, I have now set my own poem to music.

[@bungklacos]

Wish you guys made more of these! Hopefully in the future there will be a continued Literature mini series? Thank you any ways!

[@SwordWhisperer]

When I was in reader's theater, I was taught that a dash was used to imply that the next line was an interruption to the previous line. With that concept in mind, having the dash at the end of the poem means an interruption to the end of the poem by no sound, if just read with the eyes, the poem was interrupted by no sight. Which is awesome!

[@celesi]

I really hope we'll see more Crash Course literature after US History. This has been my favorite series so far!

[@GloriaJWimberley]

Enjoyed this well-done video on the inimitable "Moth of Amherst", literary lioness Emily Dickinson...one of my favorite influences :-)

[@gianghuynh9570]

This mini series is great. Have you thought of continuing it with more works of literature? I have never heard of these novels or poems but I still understand what is going on and it motivates me to get access to the real thing.

[@StargazinGummybears]

I hope there is a revival of this mini-series of literature in the future! Maybe after American History? BTW I'm taking AP American History next year, timing couldn't have been better! Thanks for being awesome!

[@rekuma]

In all of my junior high and high school English books there was only one poem by Emily Dickinson, "Heart we will forget him." I knew she'd writing copious amounts of poetry yet never managed to hear the lyrical quality in them. Heart, we will forget him! You an I, tonight! You may forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light. When you have done, pray tell me That I my thoughts may dim; Haste! lest while you're lagging. I may remember him!

[@jessiebatten1108]

I'm a student teacher, and I used this video in my Emily Dickinson lesson a few days ago. Both the students and my cooperating teacher really enjoyed it! I'd like to echo others' sentiments and hope you'll continue this series as your schedule allows.

[@shmeetheoriginal]

What if the - was just her emote for a 'blink.'

[@AbCDef-zs6uj]

or a micro-phallus

[@evernightrose5152]

Wow. That is insightful

[@MarukuMedia]

Please make more Literature videos! For what it's worth, I'd say the foot "-ness in", as part of the line "The stillness in the room", isn't iambic but is more like a use of Pyrrhic substitution. She's putting emphasis on the syllables "still" and "room" in that sentence, which contrasts with the use of the word "buzz" in the previous line. (And "buzz" is I think emphasized by a use of trochaic substitution when you listen to it carefully!)

[@EllaMuersofNerdfighteria]

Awwh, without his chair rollin at the end he looked genuinely lost XD Like- no wheels- no arm rests- what am I supposed to do while I talk now?!

[@TheSlicesofLife]

Please continue the Crash Course literature series! I've enjoyed it immensely and was very disappointed to see it end so soon. There's so much more!

[@teekay9718]

Please continue to make videos like this one. I'm a literature student and these are of great help.

[@DougGCMweb]

Wow. That was ten minutes already?! Went by quickly. I love Emily Dickinson.

[@lahadc]

Do a episode on Lewis Carroll please!!!!

[@jwjch12]

#😠😠😠😠😠😠😬😬😬😬😬😬😤😤😤😠😠😠😤😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😤😤😤😤😤😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠👄👄👄👄👄👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👄👄👄👄👄💜👣💛xxz💚💗💗💗💗💗💚💗💗💚😥😤😥😥😦😥😕😕💚💚💚💚💚💗💗💚💚💚💚👃💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚👃👃👃💚💚💚💚●●●●●●▪¤●●●○••●💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💛💚💛👃💚💚💚💚💛💛✋✋✋✋💞💞💝

[@jwjch12]

#😠😠😠😠😠😠😬😬😬😬😬😬😤😤😤😠😠😠😤😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😤😤😤😤😤😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠😠👄👄👄👄👄👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👄👄👄👄👄💜👣💛xxz💚💗💗💗💗💗💚💗💗💚😥😤😥😥😦😥😕😕💚💚💚💚💚💗💗💚💚💚💚👃💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚👃👃👃💚💚💚💚●●●●●●▪¤●●●○••●💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💛💚💛👃💚💚💚💚💛💛✋✋✋✋💞💞💝

[@Dedonarivl96]

+jordan smyth DONT CLICK THIS LINK WTF DUDE

[@jwjch12]

sorry must have been my 2 year old

[@calamityamity3706]

yes! how could he possibly be overlooked?

[@TheMoozette]

I'm only here because I have an english literature final tomorrow that I haven't started studying for... but this was so useful!

[@hayleym2363]

Maddie Regulska lol you suck

[@nagratna793]

Maddie Regulska I m also a student final year English literature

[@Galasriniell]

We are on the poetry unit in my English class and today we were discussing "I heard a fly buzz when I died." I felt like a genius. Thank you Crash Course!

[@OeNoesRAWR]

My English Lit Exam was about that book and we studied it for quite a while; i'd love to hear a CrashCourse about it, despite it being frustrating it wasn't around when I was studying the book!

[@theducksanctuary951]

📍Ha now it is a movie! If only she could have ever known, good for her! My mother always read her poems & had many, many of her books. All filled with short poetry and long sonnets. 📚 as I grew up I also started to read her poems. 📖 I loved the shorter ones, which I could read easier as a 10 -14 year old. As I started to grow, and read more and more. Also studied her in college. Sad she was truly only famous after her death. A woman truly a head of her time. 🕯🏞 🏆

[@Lucols4]

Too bad this is so short. It'd be really awesome if he covered Twain or Stoker

[@fruitbythebecbec7165]

He just released a new video, saying crash course lit is coming back!

[@VeayaStembridge]

More literature!

[@HawkHeads]

Because of this miniseries, I now read everything in John's voice. It makes boring case studies much more bearable :)

[@Noonewilleverknow100]

You guys should continue doing this show Crash course on Literature is the best It''s been a few months but I still have faith and not having new episodes kills me It really does...best wishes -Adam R (Iambic Pentameter? How thoughtful.)

[@smac_x]

Came here after watching Dickinson on Apple TV. Hailee Steinfeld did an amazing job playing the character.

[@trinsteatime2171]

You guys need to do a video over The Strange Case of Mr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde

[@ElementBlazeT]

You are pretty - Trinity

[@trinsteatime2171]

+ElementBlazeT thank you!

[@abdulrhmandarkazanle3630]

Really you are so pretty!

[@carlosspragge6627]

Please do more poetry

[@RPGWeyr]

Definitely putting down a comment for another series of Crash Course Literature! It would be great to see you guys bring it back in the future as a full length series.

[@TheBlaqb2st]

I love how i’m doing homework and john green just appears

[@chibikona100]

I really like Emily Dickinson's poems :)

[@RebecaC12]

Miss these videos ;-;

[@Pinxsea]

***** fairy tail

[@Takara358]

I think the fly may be even more sinister than death... What if it had something to do with Beelzebub? And the fact that the fly came between the deceased and the light is referenced by Dickenson's flip-flopping between religious or not.

[@hannahvlevene]

Whyyy must it end? Please more! This is one of the best videoseries ever and extremely motivational. And you've hardly used any writerswears... and and and... just pleeease!

[@jjjjjj6882]

I've never been so happy and surprised when I played the video to cram for an exam and John appeared lol

[@futureDK1]

Please do crash course quantum physics/mechanics please!!!

[@raptor4211]

Make new series about engineering and computer science!

[@jacobsilcoff]

YES! COMPUTER SCIENCE!

[@deriznohappehquite]

The "h" in Amherst is silent. Massachusetts town names are really confusing.

[@alex13taylor]

Theres also an amherst in NH

[@MoonGoddessArtemis]

I can't believe you talked about Emily Dickinson and you didn't even mention my favourite poem and possibly the greatest four lines ever written: Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all, It goes on but youtube comments are too short. I would like to also say you are Awesome! and second the many requests for more Literature Crash Courses. Maybe with more poetry.

[@abigailmercado6664]

please make more of these 🙏🙏🙏

[@Otra_Chica_de_Internet]

Wait... is this John Green THE John Green??

[@luellaanderson1697]

Yup

[@evernightrose5152]

Mr. Green Mr. Green what do you think about the new Netflix series 'Dickinson'?

[@_Alimm]

Will you do Sylvia Plath's Bell Jar

[@whit2642]

GirlYouAlreadyKnow Oh why? Such a daunting and dry read. What can you not figure out from it?

[@HetaliaLover123]

The scarlet letter would be fun to look over with John and the Team; I would really enjoy it.

[@ivae3493]

This mini-series has been an awesome and insightful reawakening for me - thank you for taking your time, amongst the depth and breadth of literature, to focus on Gatsby - the novel that inspired me to become an English teacher! A humble and heartfelt request - don't leave literature by the wayside! Your novels inspire my students in so many ways, and your literary Crash Courses have only just begun to do the same!

[@amethystrain8553]

The Dalek made me very happy.

[@loulouadora5136]

Why was this so depressing

[@amethystrain8553]

LouLou Plays because its Emily Dickenson

[@redwanhasan1721]

Well Bra was not introduced before 1893 and was not even widely accepted before 1904 so that Pink one that was hanging on the line might be a bit historically incorrect thing.

[@kbees123456789]

I'm sure she wouldn't have worn a tshirt with a mongol on it either lol

[@adonaiyah2196]

you must be fun at parties

[@charliehutch3533]

EEEgh. wrong: and I quote: "Lengberg Castle, first documented in 1190, was rebuilt into a representative palais in the 15th century by adding a second floor. During extensive reconstruction in July 2008, a vault filled with waste was found beneath the floorboards of a room on the second story of the castle, where it was dumped during the 15th-century reconstruction. Due to dry conditions in the vault the organic waste, mainly consisting of worked wood, leather (shoes) and textiles had been extremely well preserved, and four of the linen fragments resemble modern bras." making you the largest fool man on the planet poor thing everything you know is wrong would be a start. :P

[@charliehutch3533]

lets take your stupidity just a little further: "Ancient Greek women wore a form of bra called an apodesme. Both Roman men and women wore a loincloth or shorts called subligaculum. Women also wore a band of cloth or leather around their chest called a strophium or mamilare.'.

[@charliehutch3533]

Redwan Hasan blatant stupidity does it for me :P everytime.. How can a man live as long as you and have so many facts wrong ? Answer if you dare ! 'If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.'

[@amethyst_cat9532]

America: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me a Triple Cheeseburger." What a time to be alive.

[@Loseven7]

I NEED MORE EPISODES. THEY ARE SIMPLY AWESOME. YOU CANNOT STOP!!!

[@ivae3493]

Please keep it up! And thank you to you and to Hank for remaining so endlessly passionate about what you do!

[@soulpunker3870]

Here after the trailer

[@MWTravesty]

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[@fabrizio483]

You got it all wrong. Since Dickinson was a pious woman, I believe poem #591 to be about salvation anxiety. The King in the poem representing God, the Light representing Salvation, and the fly representing Judgement, which stands in her way of achieving grace. At the end of the poem she is not certain she will achieve it. That’s how I see it, at least.

[@phoebelambdon]

I can believe both of these interpretations. Yours is really good though, hadn't thought about it that way before

[@callies8907]

Calling Dickinson a pious woman is a bit of a stretch. She had a complex relationship with religion at best. In college, the headmistress kept two lists--one of all the "good" girls ready for salvation, and one of all the "bad" girls who were literally unsalvageable. Emily here made the very top of the latter!

[@callies8907]

She may have had an unconventional understanding of God (for her time, anyway), but she definitely wasn't an unquestionable atheist. She explores the nuances of her beliefs in her poetry and appropriates religious symbols in order to question the church and complicate her own interpretations of them. In any case, you're allowed to interpret her poetry however you like as long as you have the textual evidence to back it up.

[@arxsyn]

I think the "dash" (I prefer to think of it as a hyphen here) it's like a visual gag/reminder of the nature of poetry in it's written and spoken forms. If you read the poem aloud, it sounds complete (silence). In it's written form it's not, you are left expecting more. Proving that What the eye sees is different from what the ears hear

[@jsomeone64]

You guys do excellent work. I never cared about about literature or poetry until I started watching your channel. It was your history series that really caught my attention.

[@R.T_W]

here after watching (Dickinson)