What mystery pervades a well!

1. Well! Well! Well! We’ve come to the end of Emily! What mystery pervades a well! Help! I’m a 19th century poet – get me out of here! 18th March 2014

2. What mystery pervades a well!That water lives so far—A neighbor from another worldResiding in a jarWhose limit none have ever seen,But just his lid of glass—Like looking every time you pleaseIn an abyss’s face!The grass does not appear afraid,I often wonder heCan stand so close and look so boldAt what is awe to me.Related somehow they may be,The sedge stands next the sea—Where he is floorlessAnd does no timidity betrayBut nature is a stranger yet;The ones that cite her mostHave never passed her haunted house,Nor simplified her ghost.To pity those that know her notIs helped by the regretThat those who know her, know her lessThe nearer her they get.

3. She gives us a sense of depth here – perhaps it reflects (!) the distance that she feels from nature? Note this is a statement, not a rhetorical question. She seems impressed rather than puzzled. What mystery pervades a well!That water lives so far—A neighbor from another worldResiding in a jar This is a strange image – it is as if the water is not part of her everyday life. She personifies the water – “A neighbor” but gives it an ethereal distance. Think of the shape of the well. The fact the water is ‘residing’ adds to the sense of personification. This verse sets out her stall – a well, potentially very ordinary, is given a mysterious depth. Note the lack of punctuation, using enjambment to lead us straight into to stanza two.

4. The well – in fact, the water’s surface – is again personified but the water is compared (metaphor) to glass – a mirror? She continues from the previous stanza, perhaps stressing the enormity of the well. Whose limit none have ever seen,But just his lid of glass—Like looking every time you pleaseIn an abyss’s face! Dickinson seems quite casual here as if it is something exciting – we need to examine these depths. The use of the word ‘abyss’ really adds to the sense of the depth of the well. Note the rhyme scheme – ABCB but the second and fourth lines are not always true rhymes. Often they are slant rhymes (as here) suggesting things are not right.

5. Again there is a sense of personification here. Not only does she give the well human characteristics, she also makes the grass seem human. Is this something many people would consider? The grass does not appear afraid,I often wonder heCan stand so close and look so boldAt what is awe to me. The closeness of the grass to the well is something that Dickinson finds astounding as, when she gets close, she is overwhelmed. Of what is Dickinson in awe? Is it the depth of the well or is there more to it than that? We shall see…

6. Sedge is a type of grass that grows on sand dunes. Dickinson is linking this to the grass by the well. What is related here? Related somehow they may be,The sedge stands next the sea—Where he is floorlessAnd does no timidity betray Note how Dickinson splits the line to emphasise the last word, adding the end of the line to line 4. The word ‘floorless’ gives a sense of emptiness, much like the well itself. Here there is a sense that, despite the lack of support for the sedge, it is strong and fearless.

7. To whom is nature a stranger? If the grass and sedge are fearless and can see ‘into the abyss’, is Dickinson suggesting that she cannot face the abyss and come face to face with nature? Note how nature is female. Those people who suggest they are close to nature have never really come close to her. But nature is a stranger yet;The ones that cite her mostHave never passed her haunted house,Nor simplified her ghost. Is the ‘haunted house’ the well? It holds sprits in its darkness, reflected in the water surface. The nature that links to humanity is expressed through disturbing images – a haunted house or a ghost. A strange image. Is the ghost linked to the idea of a Holy Ghost? If we simplify it, do we seek to understand it? These two lines could suggest that people have neither drawn close to nature nor really understood its spirit.

8. This is a very strange verse. On the one hand, Dickinson seems to be suggesting that those who do not know nature should be pitied. So what does she regret? And why should the regret help? To pity those that know her notIs helped by the regretThat those who know her, know her lessThe nearer her they get. Those people who know nature – surely Emily is one of those – actually don’t really know or understand her… …as they draw closer to her. Is she saying that those of us who think we know or are part of nature actually are arrogant as it constantly surprises us and shows us how little we know?

9. Summary • This is a very strange poem – on the one hand, Dickinson seems to be describing a real well but, on the other, she uses it as metaphor to show the majesty and strength of nature. • Think about the words she uses to describe nature – does that give us a particular impression of nature? • There is a lot of personification here – the well, the grass etc. Nature is personified as a woman. Why does Dickinson use these ideas? • What relationship is Dickinson describing between humanity and nature?

10. THEMES How can you link this poem to others? Things to consider: Nature The relationship between humanity and nature.

11. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS RESPONSE? The first stanza opens with a rhetorical statement which compels the reader to anticipate the subject. Its exclamatory finality suggests the persona’s overwhelming response to a potentially metaphysical question. The use of the word ‘pervades’ subsequent to the word ‘mystery’ combine to create an ominous spectral tone. The persona’s sense of belonging is discrepant as reflected by the expansion and contraction of paradoxical subjects present in the latter of the stanza; a typical feature of Emily Dickinson poetry. ‘Neighbour’ is symbolic for connections, however is generalised in the expansion of its context when it is distantly addressed as belonging (‘from’) to ‘another world’. Enjambment escorts the contraction of this idea by its enervation into the confines of a ‘jar’. Contrastingly, a strong rhythm and alternating tetrameter rhyme are present, which inject a harmonious continuation. The second stanza appeals to a wider philosophical value, where the ‘lid’ to the ‘glass’ ‘jar’ can be interpreted as the desire for the human condition to contain nature; but the lid is its barrier. The simile ‘like looking.... in an abyss’s face’ encapsulates the insinuation of human futility with the personification of ‘abyss’ accumulating a metaphorical disposition to a metaphysical context. The rhythm is interrupted by the syllabic nature of the word ‘abyss’ which is reflective of the enigmatic tone. This is furthered by the half-rhyme of ‘glass’ and ‘face’.

12. AND NOW… • We need to look at the main themes we have found in the poems. • Over the course of the next few weeks we need to examine these themes, look at the poems in which we find them and consider how Dickinson portrays them.