Poem no. 9 of Matric Poetry Set. Summary and line-by-line analysis of "The Wind Begun to Rock the Grass" by Emily Dickinson. With a particular focus on theme, personification, punctuation, flow, rhythm, metaphors, and non-examinable poet information. Hopefully to give a little context and meaning ...
‘The Wind begun to rock the grass’
By Emily Dickinson
Poet:
- Had extensive schooling (she hated chores, the idea of being a mother or wife)
- Became a recluse (a person who lives a solitary life and tends to avoid other people.)
About:
Stanza 1-3 (describes the approach of the storm)
Stanza 4 (Animals seek shelter as the storm arrives)
Stanza 5 (The approach of the storm toward her house)
Personification: Used to describe the effect the storm has on the environment.
Structure:
- 20 lines
- 5 Stanzas (4 lines each)
Rhyme Scheme: non
- Although syllable pattern (8, 7,8,6…etc)
- Creates flow / rhythm and unity
- Creates tension (pace increase slow – quick)
- Emphasises the nature of the storm
Theme: Transformation and Change
Literal:
- Storm causes things to change, except her father’s house.
Figurative:
- Storm is a metaphor for her life and environment around her (reclusiveness + social
anxiety)
1|Page Created by Jaimie Morgan
, Important Poetic Elements/Figures of Speech:
Personification The attribution of a personal nature or human
characteristics to something non-human, or the
representation of an abstract quality in human
form.
Metaphor A Direct comparison between two things
without the use of like or as
Irony The use of language that normally signifies the
opposite of its usual meaning, typically for
humorous or emphatic effect.
Oxymoron A figure of speech in which apparently
contradictory terms appear in conjunction.
Enjambement An enjambed line lacks punctuation, so the
reading is carried smoothly and swiftly—
without interruption—to the next line of the
poem.
Title:
‘The Wind Begin to Rock the Grass’
The title is the same as the first line of the poem, because Emily Dickinson didn’t name her poems.
Stanza One:
“The Wind” (capital letter) – Personified
“He” – refers to the wind
“rock the grass” – rocks grass gently like a
mother rocks a baby.
The Wind begun to rock the grass
With threatening Tunes and low --
“Tunes and low” – signing like a lullaby
He flung a Menace at the Earth --
“Threatening” - Ironic / contradictory
A Menace at the Sky.
pairing with lullaby and baby imagery.
“flung” + “menace” – wind is intensifying
and becoming threat.
“menace” – there is also a threat brewing
in the sky (storm)
2|Page Created by Jaimie Morgan
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