Ambiguous ‘for’:- died ‘in the cause (name) of’ or ‘ to achieve ’

1. Ambiguous‘for’:- died ‘in the cause (name) of’ or ‘ to achieve’ Just barely/almost not Beauty & Truth = noble acts of sacrifice which unite these two persona’s in death. ----------------- Romantic theme of identity of truth and beauty famously enunciated by Keats poem ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’. Where beauty = art(expression of self) truth = humanity/reality (universal) ‘beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know’ --------------- Identifying what is true of life with its beauties, challenging religious and even moral conceptions of truth by elevating the artistic fashioning of life. means:- to be located or situated in a certain position / to tell an untruth / deviates or perverts the truth (irony?) Links the personas but still functions as a physical boundary between the two. 67 Truth = male Implying lack of connection is sensitive issue; not spoken of. Reference to Keats used to indicate the importance and value of aesthetic beauty and it’s necessity in creating connections. Reference to Keats Dickinson mocks the primitive way of thinking – ‘bretheren’, ‘kinsmen’ - it’s function to repress and isolate her both as a woman & poet. Alludes to social assumptions about the need to belong, and inability to belong as failure. I died for beauty, but was scarce Adjusted in the tomb When one who died for truth was lain In an adjoining room. He questioned softly why I failed, ‘For beauty’ I replied. ‘And I for truth. Themself are one. We bretheren are’ he said. And so, as kinsmen met a night, We talked between the rooms, Until the moss had reached our lips And covered up our names. Truth is equal to beauty – belong together bretheren = brother, kinsmen = blood relations Masculine patriarchal =‘fitting in’ defined by gender Aesthetic beauty = principles of beauty – good taste (conventions of valued poetry) Truth = patriarchal society which defines, categories (her and determines where she belongs.) inclusive These oppressive ways of thinking restrict her from obtaining the connectivity, meaningful relationships and acceptance she seeks out. Loyal, brave Natures effect is to make all things equal It is only through the death of patriarchal conventions ‘names’/labels that individuals in society (like Dickinson) will be free to make connections – acceptance and belong. Soothing effect of nature as it takes away/strips identities / distinctions Apply to Dickinson – her poetry does not fit valued conventions, therefore she failed to be accepted as poet and this aspect of her identity failed too. Irony – representatives of truth and beauty are eventually forgotten – in death we are all equal >(uncalvinist ideology)

2. 67 – Belonging 67 ‘I died for beauty, but was scarce’ makes the following statements about belonging:- • All humans are ultimately searching for acceptance and belonging. • Belonging does not always stem from physical/social connection with others; this sense may be achieved through abstract connections with ideals (e.g. ‘beauty’ or ‘truth’) – do others have to accept/recognise you, in order for you to belong? If you call yourself a poet does that make you one? • In death people become equal and ultimately belong – society’s labels and our identities become forgotten & lost. • Society equates inability to belong and lack of acceptance to failure – what about those who choose not to belong?? • Dickinson’s poetry values belonging to oneself over all else.

3. 67 ‘I died for beauty, but was scarce’ Application to Dickinson: • Dickinson’s poem 67 ‘I died for beauty, but was scarce’ conveys the poet’s struggle with her own identity as an artist and her search for acceptance within her own society. • The poem depicts how Dickinson’s identity will forever struggle to create an equitable balance between the two (art & society) and eventually alienate itself as a result (two separate personas ‘beauty’ & ‘truth’). • Within the poem Dickinson’s struggle to reconcile the two sides of her identity (two personas) has proven fruitless and left her stripped of her identity – personas died for truth and beauty. • Nature’s final act is to free Dickinson of the social conventions that prevent her belonging in the human world by erasing her identity. ‘Until the moss had reached our lips And covered up our names.’