Here’s a full analysis of the poem ‘The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants’ by Emily Dickinson, tailored towards A-Level students but also suitable for those studying at a higher level. Enjoy and feel free to leave feedback if you found it useful!
Includes:
POEM
VOCABULARY
STORY / SUMMARY
...
The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants -
Emily Dickinson
The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants -
At Evening, it is not
At Morning, in a Truffled Hut
It stops opon a Spot
As if it tarried always
And yet it’s whole Career
Is shorter than a Snake’s Delay -
And fleeter than a Tare -
’Tis Vegetation’s Juggler -
The Germ of Alibi -
Doth like a Bubble antedate
And like a Bubble, hie -
I feel as if the Grass was pleased
To have it intermit -
This surreptitious Scion
Of Summer’s circumspect.
Had Nature any supple Face
Or could she one contemn -
Had Nature an Apostate -
That Mushroom - it is Him!
VOCABULARY
, Elf - a magical creature with pointed ears, elves have a reputation for being
mischievous and haughty, thinking of themselves as superior to other magical
creatures
Truffled - made from truffles, a kind of mushroom
Opon - upon
Tarried - waited, delayed, lagged behind
Fleeter - faster
Tare - a scrambling weed that quickly grows over wheat fields and destroys crops -
in the Bible, Jesus told the Parable of the Wheat and Tares (see the context for more
info).
Vegetation - plants and undergrowth
Juggler - a circus performed who throws balls in the air and catches them
Germ - the origin or beginning of something
Alibi - in modern English, the word ‘alibi’ is used in legal terms, but in 18th and
19th-century parlance it was used more generally as an adverb meaning ‘elsewhere’
or ‘somewhere else’
Antedate - a verb meaning ‘to appear before something’
Hie - a verb meaning ‘to go quickly’
Intermit - a verb meaning ‘to stop for a period of time’
Surreptitious - sneaky, secretive
Scion - a young new shoot of a plant
Circumspect - cautious and unwilling to take risks
Supple - young, flexible
Contemn - to treat with contempt - feeling as though you are superior to something
and looking down on it with a lack of respect
Apostate - a person who rejects religious or political beliefs, in this case, a person
who rejects the laws and systems of Nature
STORY/SUMMARY
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller natashatabani. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £4.59. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
