No. 301
I reason, Earth is short--
And Anguish--absolute--
And many hurt,
But, what of that?
I reason, we could die--
the best Vitality
Cannot excel Decay,
But, what of that?
I reason, that in Heaven--
Somehow, it will be even--
Some new Equation, given--
But, what of that?
-- Emily Dickinson --
The Complete Poems
Is the fourth line of each stanza dismissive of the previous three lines?
Is Emily Dickinson, therefore, being dismissive of the commonly expressed belief by many Christians that in the afterlife, the good will be rewarded for leading a good life, while the evil ones will finally be punished, even though they may have flourished while they were alive? That justice will be done in the afterlife?
Is she suggesting that there is no justice either during this life or afterwards?
R.T.--Yes, everybody knows and admits that reason can be fallible, even those who are the staunchest defenders of reasoning, but I have yet to hear staunch defenders of faith admit that faith can be fallible also and can lead to horrible consequences.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to side with those who admit fallibility. I find them much more "reasonable."
R.T.--I didn't realize you were referring specifically to the poem. I saw it as a general statement about reasoning and faith.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand though--for in the second stanza does she "reason" that we could die? Does faith then tell her differently that we don't die, and this in spite of her many poems about death?
interesting selection... the last line of the each stanza, i immediately assumed meant: "so what?"... but that might be a jump in the wrong direction... but otoh, it has to mean something like denying what has just been stated... the first three lines in the first two stanzas refer to commonly held knowledge about conditions of life on earth; it seems to me she is extending the same "reasoning", in the third stanza, to apply to heaven, questioning, as it were, whether such a place is normally understood in the same way as the propositions in the first two, if that makes any sense.... sort of a self-questioning poem, putting spiritual speculation of a sort into verse form...
ReplyDeleteR.T.--I think so, but I'm not sure, which is why I asked questions instead of making a commentary. Yes, she again leaves me wondering just where she's at.
ReplyDeleteMudpuddle--I agree. I took it as being dismissive, but will definitely consider other interpretations, as I'm frequently uncertain about my readings of her poetry.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could sit down with her and talk about this one.
I could be dead wrong, but I get an existentialist vibe out of this. I agree with Mudpuddle's initial thought. So what? seems to be the theme. Even the first three lines are true, it all means very little.
ReplyDeleteBrian--that's pretty much my tentative thinking about the poem, also. The poem poses some serious questions, which is why I posted it as soon as I had read it.
DeleteI probably shouldn't even be commenting because I'm horrible at interpreting others' meaning. But what of that? (ho, ho) here goes:
ReplyDeleteI think Dickinson was an incredibly lonely person whose thoughts preyed on her. She could very well be questioning traditional Christian thought, I don't know.
Of course, now she knows.
Sharon--she certainly seems to be questioning something. According to what I've read, she isolated herself later in life, but no one seems to know why.
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