Emily Dickinson was an American poet who lived in the 19th century between 1830 and 1886
Dickinson was obsessed with and very afraid of death, with one of her closest friends dying of typhus when she was 13
Between the age of 10 and 25, Dickinson's bedroom overlooked a cemetery in which five of her friends were buried
Dickinson was a recluse who left the house less and less frequently in her adulthood, acting as a carer for her declining mother
Fewer than a dozen of Dickinson's poems were published in her lifetime, suggesting her writing was very personal
Imperceptibly
So slight, gradual or subtle as not to be perceived
Elapsed
Vanished or expired
Perfidy
Deceit
Distilled
The purification or shortening of something to only its essential meaning
Sequestered
Isolated and hidden away
Courteous
Polite
Harrowing
Distressing
The poem's title "As Imperceptibly as Grief" foreshadows the theme of death
The dashes in the poem represent the fragile and unstable mind of the speaker, as their thoughts become tangential and fragmented due to the weight of grief</b>
Nature is personified as an isolated woman, which could reflect Dickinson's own feelings of isolation
The "quietness" and "sequestered" imagery suggest the isolation associated with grief is peaceful and comforting
The imperfect rhyme scheme reflects the speaker's imperfectfeelings and the pain of grief
The passing of grief
Compared to the passing of summer
Harrowing grace
Something positive (grace) has become unsettling or distressing
Morning
Personified as a guest who wants to leave, reiterating the idea that time must pass
The poem contains many dashes, suggesting the speaker's thoughts are becoming increasingly fragmented as they panic about time moving on
The final four lines
Contain a shift in mood, becoming more logical and like a conclusion as the speaker has rationalized their grief and is ready to moveon
"Beautiful"
Suggests the passing of grief is something worth celebrating
The poem shifts from being reflective and mournful to slightly more positive by the end
" The Summer lapsed away "
what is " as Imperceptibly as grief"?
A simile that may suggest that like summer passing away , grief fades away
what does the use of everyday language suggest?
that the feeling of grief and loss is a normal and universal experience
" Twilight long begun "
" Nature spending with herself "
what happened after 1865?
Dickenson rarely left her home but she was a prolific letter writer
what did Dickens experience in 1858?
an unknown trauma
what did Dickinson think about marriage and domestic life?
she thought it was a drugary and limiting
" And thus " ?
volta suggest a change in tone - conclusive and ready to move on
" Our Summer made her light escape into something beautiful "
what does the light symbolism show?
hope and weightlessness and ambiguous ending which is both joyful yet mournful