A Narrow Fellow In The Grass by Emily Dickinson
A narrow fellow in the grass
Occasionally rides;
You may have met him,—did you not,
His notice sudden is.
The grass divides as with a comb,
A spotted shaft is seen;
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on.
He likes a boggy acre,
A floor too cool for corn.
Yet when a child, and barefoot,
I more than once, at morn,
Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash
Unbraiding in the sun,--
When, stooping to secure it,
It wrinkled, and was gone.
Several of nature's people
I know, and they know me;
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality;
But never met this fellow,
Attended or alone,
Without a tighter breathing,
And zero at the bone.
Occasionally rides;
You may have met him,—did you not,
His notice sudden is.
The grass divides as with a comb,
A spotted shaft is seen;
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on.
He likes a boggy acre,
A floor too cool for corn.
Yet when a child, and barefoot,
I more than once, at morn,
Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash
Unbraiding in the sun,--
When, stooping to secure it,
It wrinkled, and was gone.
Several of nature's people
I know, and they know me;
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality;
But never met this fellow,
Attended or alone,
Without a tighter breathing,
And zero at the bone.
Analyzation:
This poem is sort of a maze in a way, it is very tricky and a bit confusing, but you have to go through it thoroughly to understand it. The subject of this poem, is a snake. In this poem Emily does not give the name away, but instead she calls the snake "A fellow creature". In the first stanza Emily compares the snake movement, to a human's movement, in the earlier days, it was common for people to ride on horseback, and claims that the first meeting with the snake is startling or unexpected.
In the second stanza, the poet compares the way the snake divides the grass to a spotted comb splitting the meadow. The snake's movements both closed and open the split in the meadow.
In the third stanza, Emily explains the moist location, that the snake enjoys. Then Emily reveals that in her childhood, she was more like a boy due to her sense of adventure and interest in exciting activites. She enjoyed being in nature, she was spellbound by snakes and bent to pick them up when she saw them unwinding in the grass.
In the fourth stanza, Emily explains how she is familiar with various creatures that she regards as equal to her, she feels an emotion, transport, of friendliness, "cordiality" ,for these creatures.
In the last stanza, Emily admits that ever times she came across this particular snake she became tense with fear. Metaphor: The poet compares the motion of a snake to a rider. She compares the quick movement of the snake’s tail to a ‘whip lash’. Animals are compared to ‘Nature’s people’.
Simile: Dickinson directly compares the body of the snake to a comb, splitting the meadow.
personification: "of the whip lash and the sun" (personification is to take human characteristics and apply to something that is not human. It's a type of figure of speech.)
lots of alliterations
simile: divides as with a comb
allusion to natures people
descriptive imagery: He likes a boggy acre, A floor too cool for corn.
This poem is sort of a maze in a way, it is very tricky and a bit confusing, but you have to go through it thoroughly to understand it. The subject of this poem, is a snake. In this poem Emily does not give the name away, but instead she calls the snake "A fellow creature". In the first stanza Emily compares the snake movement, to a human's movement, in the earlier days, it was common for people to ride on horseback, and claims that the first meeting with the snake is startling or unexpected.
In the second stanza, the poet compares the way the snake divides the grass to a spotted comb splitting the meadow. The snake's movements both closed and open the split in the meadow.
In the third stanza, Emily explains the moist location, that the snake enjoys. Then Emily reveals that in her childhood, she was more like a boy due to her sense of adventure and interest in exciting activites. She enjoyed being in nature, she was spellbound by snakes and bent to pick them up when she saw them unwinding in the grass.
In the fourth stanza, Emily explains how she is familiar with various creatures that she regards as equal to her, she feels an emotion, transport, of friendliness, "cordiality" ,for these creatures.
In the last stanza, Emily admits that ever times she came across this particular snake she became tense with fear. Metaphor: The poet compares the motion of a snake to a rider. She compares the quick movement of the snake’s tail to a ‘whip lash’. Animals are compared to ‘Nature’s people’.
Simile: Dickinson directly compares the body of the snake to a comb, splitting the meadow.
personification: "of the whip lash and the sun" (personification is to take human characteristics and apply to something that is not human. It's a type of figure of speech.)
lots of alliterations
simile: divides as with a comb
allusion to natures people
descriptive imagery: He likes a boggy acre, A floor too cool for corn.