NAME:______________________________________________PERIODS:________ WEEK OF: Feb.16-20, 2014
“There is no Frigate like a Book (1286)”
by Emily Dickinson (1800L)
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
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Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
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This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
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How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human Soul –
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Source for the three poems: ​
The Poems of Emily Dickinson Edited by R. W. Franklin​
(Harvard University Press, 1999) Silently read the poem. As you read the poem for a second time, choose ​
all​
the words that you do not know the meaning of. List
the words below and write what you think they mean using context clues from the text. Use the dictionary, thesaurus, or other
reference material to write a synonym or definition for each word.
Word
My definition
Dictionary/other source definition
Reread the poem, “There is no Frigate like a Book (1286).” Analyze each couplet (pairs of lines of verse) and write your answers on
the lines provided.
Determine the theme of the poem using details from the text.
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Cite two examples of similes in the poem, “There is No Frigate like a Book.” Explain what two things are being compared for each
example.
1.
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2.
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Cite an example of alliteration in the poem, “There is No Frigate like a Book.”
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According to the Emily Dickinson Museum website, “Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst at the Homestead on December 10, 1830.
Her quiet life was infused with a creative energy that produced almost 1,800 poems and a profusion of vibrant letters.
“Her lively childhood and youth were filled with schooling, reading, explorations of nature, religious activities, significant
friendships, and several key encounters with poetry. Her most intense writing years consumed the decade of her late 20s and early
30s; during that time she composed almost 1,100 poems. She made few attempts to publish her work, choosing instead to share
them privately with family and friends. In her later years, Dickinson increasingly withdrew from public life. Her garden, her family
(especially her brother’s family at The Evergreens) and close friends, and health concerns occupied her.
“With a few exceptions, her poetry remained virtually unpublished until after she died on May 15, 1886. After her death, her
poems and life story were brought to the attention of the wider world through the competing efforts of family members and
intimates.”
It is obvious that Emily Dickinson was a prolific writer. Please read another one of her famous poems.
“We grow accustomed to the Dark (428)”
We grow accustomed to the Dark When Light is put away As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp
To witness her Good bye A Moment - We uncertain step
For newness of the night Then fit our Vision to the Dark And meet the Road - erect –
And so of larger - Darknesses Those Evenings of the Brain When not a Moon disclose a sign Or Star - come out - within The Bravest - grope a little And sometimes hit a Tree
Directly in the Forehead But as they learn to see –
Either the Darkness alters -
Or something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight And Life steps almost straight.
Do you think her life experiences affected her writing? Why or why not?
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What do you notice about the use of capitalization and punctuation in Emily Dickinson’s poems?_____________________________
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Does it make any difference in the reading of the poems? Why or why not?______________________________________________
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“’Hope’ is a thing with feathers (314)”
“Hope” is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops - at all -
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And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard And sore must be the storm That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
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I’ve heard it in the chillest land And on the strangest Sea -
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Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
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Analyze each stanza of “’Hope’ is a thing with feathers (314)” using the lines provided.
Identify a metaphor in the poem, “’Hope’ is a thing with feathers (314).” Explain what two things are being compared.
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On a piece of notebook paper, draw a double bubble thinking map or a Venn diagram, and compare and contrast two of Emily
Dickinson’s poems. Be prepared to defend your answers based on evidence from the texts.
Rock’n Researcher: Go online to ​
http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/​
and navigate this website. Write down three interesting
facts that you learned about Emily Dickinson.
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