Jirawoot Sararit (B.A. English & Linguistics) 1st Class Honors, SWU, Thailand
Success Is Counted Sweetest Success Is Counted Sweetest is a well-known poem written by Emily Dickinson in 1859. It is obviously seen that the message of the poem is that people who do not succeed are those who truly understand success for what it is (Cummings, 2013). In other words, deprivation can lead to greater understanding and appreciation of what people lack. This paper is composed of three points including how the unity of the paradoxical idea of the poem is presented, how the poem can be viewed historically and biographically in feminist aspects, and how the central idea of the poem is responded.
The Unity of the Paradoxical Idea in
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To begin with, the use of the word "nectar‟ along with the word "sweet‟ in the first stanza implies femininity. It can be assumed that there is a message from a woman‟s point of view. According to history and her biography, Emily Dickinson had modernist ideas that women should have as equal rights as men which they did not have at that time. In fact, women, especially wives, were treated as the slaves of men in the eyes of the law even though women can do several duties that men cannot. Therefore, women started to work and to express their voice. (Leiter, 2007). This background knowledge can be understood to explain when success „to comprehend a nectar‟ changes to „victory‟ in the last two stanzas. The image of a battle which causes physical and mental pain to the defeated soldiers (men) is mentioned as „agonized.‟ It is clear that even though men are strong, they still have weaknesses as shown in the image of losing the battle. It is showed that both genders have weaknesses. Therefore, both of them should be equal. This feminist idea is considered to be a dominant one during Emily‟s lifetime.
The Response to the Central Idea of the Poem After reading the first stanza, the central idea of the poem seems absolutely right to me. The whole poem captivates my attention to realize the value of what I am deprived. It can be
In the poem “Success Counted Sweetest” Ms. Dickinson uses differnt imagery,Metaphors, Diction,Tone and symbolism to express her attitude thoughout the poem. “Soliders dying in triumph of victory “, her tone in the poem was ambitious and sad because the soldiers was dying and would really be missed. In the poem “Emily uses symbolism to represent a veteran in the purple host. Paul also uses multilple techniques to convey his attitude with in the poem, “Mr. Laurence goes back in time to when slavery was going on and people were getting beat . “Whose feet have pressed the path unshod” may smile upon defeated care”, The people who were being own were depending on a smile for the freedom of
It uses phrases like, 'grow up to be a woman', and 'be helpless like my mother', and that may seem like it is actually promoting a patriarchal society. However, that is just how the speaker is seeing things. The next few lines are the ones that truly show the feminism at this part of the poem. 'I didn't realize the kind of guts it often took for her to just keep standing where she was.' This line seems to contradict the speakers earlier words of her mother being helpless. However, that is the point. Choosing the word helpless but then contradicting that word with 'the kind of guts it often took' shows the reader that the speakers mother is strong because she is seen as helpless. She is looked down upon by others, including her own daughter, but has the guts to keep on
Emily Dickinson was one of the best American poets, but she is very famous for being a secluded writer. Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1846 in Amherst, Massachusetts and she died on May 15, 1886 at the age of 55 in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her isolation from the outside world still confuses literary critics and readers of her poetry and letters. There are many theories developed over time about her seclusion. Some people believe her secluded way of life was her own choice but she was very close to her family. Emily Dickinson lived in a happy home and went to a school during her life. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1830 and lived there all her life most of her life. An introduction into Emily Dickinson’s poetry themes, and discussion about the isolation in her life, and discussion about the isolation in her poetry will be examined in the paper.
Emily Dickinson, born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts, is regarded as one of America’s best poets. After a poor experience at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, where she was regarded as a “no hope,” her writing career took off in full swing. Although her family was more conservative, regular churchgoers, and socially prominent town figures, Dickinson preferred a socially reserved lifestyle that renounced the traditional values of her day (Baym, 1189-93). The iconoclastic spirit pervasive in Emily Dickinson's poetry reflects her conflict with the traditions of New England society.
Emily Dickinson was one of the best American poets, but she is very famous for being a secluded writer. Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1846 in Amherst, Massachusetts and she died on May 15, 1886 at the age of 55 in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her isolation from the outside world still confuses literary critics and readers of her poetry and letters. There are many theories developed over time about her seclusion. Some people believe her secluded way of life was her own choice but she was very close to her family. Emily Dickinson lived in a happy home and went to a school during her life. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1830 and lived there all her life most of her life. An introduction into Emily Dickinson’s poetry themes, and discussion about the isolation in her life, and discussion about the isolation in her poetry will be examined in the paper.
Emily Dickinson’s “Success is Counted Sweetest,” doesn’t cover all four resources of language. It is a poem that does not call for action but does create an emotional appeal for the people. Throughout her poem, she created an emotional appeal for success and its value and the desire and want for success. We see how she creates such emotion when she states, “The distant strains of triumph break, agonizing and clear.” What Dickinson means by this is that gaining success can be the most beautiful accomplishment but at the same time, agonizing to reach. This creates an emotional appeal for those who are living through the Civil War, making the people have a desire for peace, but they have to go through bloodshed in the process of gaining success.
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson is one of the best poets in America. She is known for her uncommon way of writing poetry. There was a great deal of problems going on in her life. She spent mostly her entire life living in her home and only left unless she needed to do so. Unlike other poets, she did not have any order to her writings. She just wrote what she was feeling. Her work was anonymously published and later became known after her death.
Emily Dickinson is perhaps one of the most intriguing American poets studied. The remote look in her eyes mirror her life, which she mostly spent secluded in her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. While leading an outwardly reclusive life, she unleashes the faculties of her mind in her powerful poetry. She addresses compelling themes such as death, depression, human despair, individual capability, and the art of poetry. Her feelings on these subjects emerge in her poems, but her exact thoughts are difficult to uncover since her poetry is so highly enigmatic. Likewise, the subject matter of Christianity in her poetry remains one of the most inconsistent of Dickinson’s recurring themes. Emily Dickinson posses an uncanny ability to wrestle down the perfect diction, thus creating worlds of hope, despair, faith, and endless questioning.Through her use of imagery, Dickinson displays her linguistic prowess and the intricacies of language.
Emily Dickinson is one of the most famous authors in American History, and a good amount of that can be attributed to her uniqueness in writing. In Emily Dickinson's poem 'Because I could not stop for Death,' she characterizes her overarching theme of Death differently than it is usually described through the poetic devices of irony, imagery, symbolism, and word choice.
The society always queries about the role of women and for centuries, they have struggled to find their place in a world that is predominantly male oriented. The treatment of women was remarkably negative; they were expected to stay home and fulfil the domestic duties. Literature of that time embodies and mirrors social issues of women in society (Lecture on the Puritans). But, slowly and gradually, situation being changed: “During the first half of the 19th century, women 's roles in society evolved in the areas of occupational, moral, and social reform. Through efforts such as factory movements, social reform, and women 's rights, their aims were realized and foundations for further reform were established” (Lauter 1406). Feminist poets like Emily Dickinson and Anne Bradstreet talked substantially about feminism in different lights in the past two centuries. They were very vocal and assertive about their rights and the ‘rights for women’ in general. While they might have been successful at making a good attempt to obliterate gender biases but still there are lot of disparities between the two genders. Nevertheless, their poetry reflects a deep angst.
While much of Emily Dickinson's poetry has been described as sad or morose, the poetess did use humor and irony in many of her poems. This essay will address the humor and/ or irony found in five of Dickinson's poems: "Faith" is a Fine Invention, I'm Nobody! Who are you?, Some keep the Sabbath Going to Church and Success Is Counted Sweetest. The attempt will be made to show how Dickinson used humor and / or irony for the dual purposes of comic relief and to stress an idea or conclusion about her life and environment expressed by the poetess in the respective poem. The most humorous or ironic are some of the shorter poems, such as the four lined stanzas of "Faith" is a Fine Invention and
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born December 10, 1830, into an influential family in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her father helped found Amherst College, where Emily later attended between 1840 and 1846. She never married and died in the house where she was born on May 15, 1886.
Emily Dickinson is described as “outspoken” , “defying the 19th century expectation that women were to be demure and obedient to men” , although this view is not clearly evidenced through her poetry.
Emily Dickinson is one of the most interesting female poets of the nineteenth century. Every author has unique characteristics about him/her that make one poet different from another, but what cause Emily Dickinson to be so unique are not only the words she writes, but how she writes them. Her style of writing is in a category of its own. To understand how and why she writes the way she does, her background has to be brought into perspective. Every poet has inspiration, negative or positive, that contributes not only to the content of the writing itself, but the actual form of writing the author uses to express his/her personal talents. Emily Dickinson is no different. Her childhood and adult experiences and culture form
The role of women in the society is always questioned and for centuries, they have struggled to find their place in a world that is predominantly male oriented. The treatment of women was extremely negative; they were expected to stay home and fulfill domestic duties. Literature of that time embodies and mirrors social issues of women in society (Lecture on the Puritans). But, slowly and gradually, situation being changed: “During the first half of the 19th century, women 's roles in society evolved in the areas of occupational, moral, and social reform. Through efforts such as factory movements, social reform, and women 's rights, their aims were realized and foundations for further reform were established” (Lauter 1406). Feminist poets like Emily Dickinson and Anne Bradstreet talked substantially about feminism in different lights in the past two centuries. They were very vocal and assertive about their rights and the ‘rights for women’ in general. While they might have been successful at making a good attempt to obliterate gender biases but still there are lot of disparities between the two genders. Nevertheless, their poetry reflects a deep angst.