The Soul Selects Her Own Society

1. The Soul Selects Her Own Society By: Emily Dickinson

2. Stats • Number of stanzas: 3 • Number of lines in stanza: 4 • Number of lines in the poem: 12

3. Parts of Speech • Alliteration: Soul Selects…society • Personification: Soul shuts the door/ She notes the chariot. • Simile: Close the valves of attention like stone • Metaphor: Compares the soul to a person in the entire poem. • Symbolism: The door symbolizes religion/ Chariots are other religions/ emperor is God. • Imagery: Abstract • Repetition: Doors, gates, valves

4. What is the story of the poem? What is happening? • The soul in this poem will have to make a choice/ path to go down and live with those choices for the rest of it’s life. • Emily explains this by using many different figures of speech.

5. Who is the speaker in this story? To whom is the speaker speaking to? • The one whose soul is needing to decide something is the one speaking. This person could be anyone in today’s society. • The speaker is talking to his/her inner self and is trying to find meaning in her life.

6. What is the mood of the poem? • The mood in this story is depressing as well as mysterious. • Emily makes the reader think about all the possible options for the true meaning to this poem.

7. Are the stanzas related? What do they have in common? How are they different? • Each of these choices are talking about different paths the soul can take. (metaphorically) • In each she is making a decision but the outcome of each one is different.

8. What is the rhyme scheme to this poem?Is there a rhythm? • The first stanza has a rhyme scheme. • The other stanzas all include slant rhyme. • There is no rhythm.

9. What does the soul select? In this poem the soul has to select a religion to stick by and follow. • From how many does the soul select just one? The soul chose one out of many because there are many religions in this world and by the soul selecting just one shows how important the decision is. • How does the length of lines 10 and 12 reinforce the meaning? The shortness of them help make you focus back in on the ending. • In the second stanza, what does “she” refer to? What does she not respond to? She is representing the soul and how the soul does not respond to the chariots noting. • In stanza three, what is suggested by the word “valves”? Here the word valves refers to the different doors that are possible and when it says it fills like stone means that she has made up her mind and choice and is going to stick to it. • How has the third stanza become more specific? This stanza becomes more specific due to the fact that she has now chosen just one and she closes the doors to all the others.

10. A Bird Comes Down to the Walk By: Emily Dickinson

11. Stats • Number of stanzas: 5 • Number of lines in the stanzas: 4 • Number of lines in the poem: 20

12. Parts of Speech • Personification: Oars divide the ocean. • Onomatopoeia: Splashes • Simile: Like one in danger/ they looked like frightened beads. • Metaphor: wings to the oars/ ocean to the sky • Imagery: Describes the bird as the action in great detail.

13. What is the story of the poem? • There is a bird in this story that comes down from the sky to eat a worm. Then a beetle comes along and the bird steps aside for it. After which, the bird sees a person and the flies away.

14. Who is the speaker in the poem? • The speaker in the poem is just a casual gazer who could be anywhere. • He is talking/ thinking to himself about the wonder and beauty of the bird.

15. What is the mood of the poem? • The mood of this poem is really laid back and calm. It is also, at the same time, lively and energetic due to the fact the bird is hunting a worm.

16. Are the stanzas related? • Yes these stanzas are related due to the fact that they are all talking about a bird and its prey. Along with this it describes the bird to other ideas such as the ocean.

17. Is there a rhyme scheme to this poem? • The first two stanzas have a rhyme scheme but all of the other ones have a slant rhyme scheme.