Emily Disckinson: The Ultimate Emo

Disclaimer: I've been organizing my files in my laptop and found some school stuff i'd like to share to the world. Some of them have been posted already in my previous blog. I just think it's timely and fitting for the season. lols. 

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Renunciation-is a piercing Virtue-

The letting go

A Presence-for an Expectation-

Not now-

The putting out of Eyes-

Just Sunrise-

Lest Day-

Day's Great Progenitor-

Outvie

Renunciation-is the Choosing

Against itself-

Itself to justify

Unto itself-

When larger function-

Make that appear-

Smaller-that Covered Vision-Here-

A Piercing Virtue Indeed 

Poem 745, “Renunciation—is a piercing virtue—“, tries to tell us how pain plays a necessary role in one’s life. The pain of loss or of lacking enhances our appreciation of victory or success. Moreover, the pain of separation indicates the degree of our desire for union with another being or thing.

First, the persona in the poem could be someone who wanted to let go or renounces something she already have for a need of something or someone. But most probably the persona is a female since Dickinson’s secluded life could only give her a female point of view which is also apparent in her other poems And the addressee is not any particular person that could be named.

In the first line of the poem, Dickinson has already established the main thought of her poem. She has posed the gist or the general picture which will be put into detail on the lines after it.

Lines 2-3 could mean that the persona wanted to let go of her present situation for something or perhaps someone she expects that would make her present situation better.

Lines 4-9 may imply that before one must let go of the present, the decision to be made must be thought of very well for fear that the days would wither out and the chance would be lost. The phrase ‘Not now’, in line 4 suggests to think twice before making the decision and ’Just sunrise’ signifies the passing of time. We can see in line 5, ‘the putting out of eyes’, which is a kind of synecdoche may well connote that the persona suggests to the addressee to have a foreshadowing or a vision of the consequences of his or her renunciation. It may also suggest the use of the rationale or reason instead of just the senses.

Like in her other poems, she also used a lot of dashes to replace comma or period to emphasize her points in the poem.

Lines 10-13 imply that in letting go, the question is not whether to let go of A for B but rather, the better question is whether to do it or not. ‘Itself’ in line 11 pertains to renunciation. It perhaps signifies that the action will be justified if the addressee would refute renouncing when the function or the means for doing so is much more important--making renunciation appear smaller or less important. And that would cover whatever vision one may have.

Therefore, renunciation is indeed a piercing virtue. It is piercing in a sense that it could be painful. Like poking the skin with a needle or like piercing an earring to an ear, it penetrates into the skin swiftly and leaves an excruciating feeling. The only good thing about this is that, after the painful feeling is lost, only the beauty of the earrings will be left. And I think that is how Emily Dickinson makes letting go a virtue.

*9/12/07 07:31 pm - i felt a funeral in my brain (i really did)