The saddest noise, the sweetest noise

1. The saddest noise, the sweetest noise Emily Dickinson Lecture 15th Nov 2011 Alison Aitken

2. The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, The birds, they make it in the spring, At night’s delicious close Between the March and April line, That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near. It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here. By separation’s sorcery Made cruelly more dear. It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go, and sing no more. An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear; We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near.

3. The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, (a) (8) The maddest noise that grows, (b) (6) The birds, they make it in the spring, (c) (8) At night’s delicious close (b) (6) Between the March and April line, (a) (8) That magical frontier (b) (6) Beyond which summer hesitates, (c) (8) Almost too heavenly near. (b) (7?) It makes us think of all the dead (a) (8) That sauntered with us here. (b) (6) By separation’s sorcery (c) (8) Made cruelly more dear. (b) (6) It makes us think of what we had, (a) ( And what we now deplore. (b) We almost wish those siren throats (c) Would go, and sing no more. (b) An ear can break a human heart (a) As quickly as a spear; (b) We wish the ear had not a heart (a) So dangerously near. (b)

4. Superlatives “est” – bird’s song = extremes of sad, sweet, mad (erratic, complex) Begins with noise – not with subject (birds) = immediate aural confusion The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, The birds, they make it in the spring, At night’s delicious close “Birds” (first in line), “make it” – creators Sing-song melody, created by abcb, 8/6 meter, “delicious” and “night’s close” = romantic, atmosphere.

5. Line/frontier – battle line? Between / line – transitional (think noon in others) Magical – enchanted, romantic, fairy-tale feel? Between the March and April line, That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near. The giddy, anxious, quivering of “in between” think back to Hungry… “trembling” moment just before… Expectation: love, romance?

6. Opens with ponderous lofty/ whimsical line Finishes with…all the…dead (subtle contrast/incongruous word choice) It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here. By separation’ssorcery Made cruelly more dear. Sibilant s – whispered, slapping – sinister atmosphere Oppositions: cruel and dear = complexity of emotional experience stimulated by birds’ song Sauntered: walk slowly, no rush

7. It makes us think of what we had And what we now deplore We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more Birds’ song has become “siren” Throat – biological (practical, no longer magical) We – inclusive - humanity, universal emotional experience> The birds’ call brings pain – so much that the P wishes they would “go and sing no more”.

8. Simple, effective simile: sounds can break a …heart/as quickly as a spear An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear; We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near. Danger – to feel pain of lost friends Spear – weapon, rapid, piercing, horrific In ED’s usual style, its deceptively simple conclusion - is hard to comprehend! We wish – inclusive persona Does ED belong with us??