EMILY DICKINSON IS one of the most famous 19th century american poets. although, she was not very popular in her lifetime, and only started to garner attention and fame posthumously; her family found some 1800 poems after her death that nobody knew about.
dickinson often wrote about nature and death, and her works also included religious undertones. she was heavily inspired and influenced by romantic poet john keats, who infamously wrote the poem ‘to autumn’. death was also ever present in her life. her bedroom window overlooked a cemetery and diseases like tuberculosis ravaged the population during the time. dickinson also watched her own mother succumb to disease, occurring during the time she was thought to have written this poem (1865, and her mother passed away later in 1882). dickinson was a recluse: she isolated herself for the last two remaining decades of her life, dedicating the rest of her time to endlessly writing everything she thought and felt in verse, speaking only through metaphors and imagery.
‘As imperceptibly as Grief / The Summer lapsed away — ’
this is a poem about the changing of the seasons from summer to autumn, which dickinson compares to the onset of grief. here, much like her contemporary keats, she personifies the season. the word ‘imperceptibly’, meaning something that moves in a way that is so slight, so gradual and subtle that it cannot be perceived, is what she uses to describe the transition. unnoticeable. summer is leaving and yet we can’t see it, much like how grief begins to consume us before we can even pinpoint the emotion.
it’s interesting that dickinson used this particular change in seasons to compare to grief; summer to autumn is, in my opinion, one of the most noticeable ones. summer, melodious and beautiful, the time of year that we associate with days that seem to last forever and nights encapsulated in warmth; outings with friends, colourful sunsets, ice cream that melts in your hand under the heat. summer, with all her charms, slowly dies to make way for a new season that’s bleaker. colder.
‘Too imperceptible, at last, / To seem like Perfidy’
one thing i noticed is that throughout the poem, dickinson, through her words, seems to describe the five stages of grief. here, we appear to be at the second stage — anger.
‘perfidy’ means to be deceitful or untrustworthy. dickinson uses this word to describe summer’s departure. it’s almost as if she’s accusing summer of betraying her, but in a way that is so discreet, almost meticulously planned, that it’s ‘too imperceptible’.
‘A Quietness distilled / As Twilight long begun,’
we are starting to see the signs of autumn’s arrival. summer and her bright music are starting to fade, as the subdued sound of autumn slowly condenses into the atmosphere. twilight, the time of day where the sun sits below the horizon and adorns the sky with its mellowed rays, further indicates the summer leaving to make way for the new season. the transition, just like a sunset, just like grief, is invisible, but look away for a moment and the scene that greets you is a different one from before.
‘Or Nature, spending with herself / Sequestered afternoon — ’
‘sequestered’, isolating, retreating: nature sees the world is changing and decides to hide herself away. plants start to die and animals begin to hibernate. the once bustling summer is no longer here.
dickinson also uses times of day to create her image; the late afternoon, when people retreat to their homes, preparing to lay down and sleep in the coming hours. quiet and somewhat melancholic, as the day dies.
nature could also represent dickinson, and her experiencing the 4th stage of grief: depression. she’s retreating into herself, shutting herself away, struggling to accept the loss she is enduring.
‘The dusk drew earlier in — / The morning foreign shone — ’
autumn is becoming more prominent now: the days are becoming shorter and darker. the morning, usually associated with waking up and the beginning of a new day is now ‘foreign’ to the sky, a stranger to the place it was once so eager to fill with its light with.
it’s reflective of the mood. the 4th stage of grief is showcased by the skies. light is no longer welcome here.
‘A courteous, yet harrowing Grace, / As Guest that would be gone — ’
a stark contrast from lines 3–4: dickinson is now describing summer as a welcomed guest, rather than someone deceitful and treacherous. she describes summer as someone polite, someone dear to her who has enjoyed their time in her presence but knows they have overstayed their welcome. their leaving is inevitable, and dickinson knows this, but it doesn’t mean it hurts her any less. summer, in her politeness, doesn’t leave abruptly, but her words and expressions indicate that soon, it’ll be time for her to go. dickinson is starting to accept this — we’re at the 5th stage of grief.
‘And thus, without a Wing / Or service of a Keel / Our Summer made her light escape / Into the beautiful.’
and just like that, the last of summer is gone. these lines radiate a more positive, hopeful energy than the rest of the poem, again telling us that dickinson has finally accepted the departure of the season. it also seems she’s starting to appreciate autumn too. the light from summer has now become beautiful in autumn, matured and blessed with an auburn hue.
‘the beautiful’ could also refer to heaven itself; dickinson is accepting the loss of a loved one and reassuring herself that they are somewhere better now, a nirvana amongst the skies.
the change of seasons and the onset of emotions are processes that are gradual, but once they engulf you, you can feel them with your entire being. the sudden chill in the air, the agony of a breaking heart. the light shifts, the mood changes. but, like everything else, they come to pass. fleeting, but it doesn’t mean you felt it any less. and when you embrace that shift, that change, the beauty of life shows itself once again.
