Poem of Definition: After great pain, a formal feeling comes
This poem analyses the condition of the mind following the experience of great pain.
Typical of Dickinson’s poetry, mental experiences are described using concrete
language and images.
IMAGES
The nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs -
The stiff Heart questions ‘was it He, that bore,’
And ‘Yesterday, or centuries before’?
The Feet,
mechanical, go
round
Why does Dickinson use body parts? In your answer please include these key words: synecdoche,
personification.
Which words in the above quotations suggest a numbness, rigidity, paralysis, hardening or death?
What is the significance of using this semantic cluster?
Poem of Definition: After great pain, a formal feeling comes
What question is being raised about Christ’s suffering: ‘Was it
He, that bore…Yesterday or centuries before.’? Did Christ’s
suffering alleviate our pain?
NB: Consolation in Christianity is a key aspect
of modern attitudes. The idea that Jesus gave
his life for our sins leads to a common belief
that can be summed up crudely as ‘it will be
alright’. Does this poem support or refute this
attitude?
What is the effect of Dickinson’s analogy of the condition of the mind as
the feeling of freezing? Please refer to at least two interpretations. How
does the freezing relate to an emotional state? How does it relate to
loss of faith?
In how many different ways could you interpret the last line: “letting go” ?
What is Dickinson suggesting about suffering? Does it lead to revelation or catharsis or healing?
Poem of Definition: After great pain, a formal feeling comes
STRUCTURE
What is the effect of the spondee in the second foot of the first line: “great pain”?
What is the effect of the four dashes in the final line?
Can you find examples of half rhymes? Why have these been used?
The first stanza has longer lines of iambic pentameter. Does the rest of the poem follow this
pattern? Give reasons why.
EXTENSION QUESTION: AO4
The numbness interests Dickinson because it reminds her of death, and gives her yet another
opportunity to consider the condition or state of being dead or dying. How does this compare to
other presentations of death?