Monday, October 22, 2012

What is the main idea of Emily Dickinson's "Wild Nights?" What figurative devices does she employ?

Her main message, or meaning in the poem is just simply one of longing.  She expresses a romatic desire to be with someone, free to love and be loved, and do what they want.  She feels that her heart is in port, just sitting there, waiting, useless.  She longs to set sail, to be "Rowing in Eden" on "the sea!" with the object of her desire.  It is a romantic longing that she expresses, and longs for the "luxury" of "wild nights" moored with her love.

As for figurative techniques, she employs a metaphor (comparing two things that have similar qualities). She compares her rather boring, stagnant life to "a heart in port" and she expands that metaphor when she says a heart in port doesn't need a compass or chart because it isn't going anywhere.  This helps to emphasize her frustration with her situation; she feels stuck, powerless, and useless.  Another technique that she uses is allusion (referring to other sources); she refers to Eden, which is from the Bible.  This symbolizes what she feels being out, free, and with her love would be like, which is ultimate paradise.

As always, Emily Dickinson is short, but sweet, and uses her style and concise figurative techniques to relay the message and mood of her poems.

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