The Manipulation of space
The environment around Dickinson sometimes portrays her sense of self. Her lifetime spent in her family's household has created a dynamic for Dickinson where "space" plays a major role in her poetry. Space represents a major part of her self and how she functions with the lack of physical, mental, and emotional space. Emily Dickinson, through most of her poetry, exhibits a sort of agoraphobia or fear of spaces. This fear was probably the result of her lifetime of confinement at home, and her lack of freedom and space needed. Dickinson's poem "The soul has bandaged moments" and "I was the slightest in the house" both represent space in different, unique ways. One discusses the possibility of space as being a confinement of intellectual ecstasy, and the other a representation of her space as a small and ignored "position". In addition, these portray how Dickinson always felt ignored, and underrepresented. "The soul has bandaged moments" and "I was the smallest in the house" both! represent Dickinson's awareness of the space around her and how it confines her intellectually, and physically; these poems show how Dickinson worked with the notion of space as a transcendatory aspect, where when she manipulate
Dickinson uses space as a literary tool, which helps her cope with confinement and alleviates her suffering by escapist tactics. "The soul has bandaged moments" and "I was the slightest in the house" are two poems, which show how Emily Dickinson manipulates space to her advantage. Whether intellectually, emotionally, or physically, she creates a channel for escape through the space around her. Dickinson uses the small, obscure, voiceless, demure, passive voice of a little girl who depicts her sense of space in relation to her house and others around her. "The soul's retaken moments-/when, Felon led along/ with shackles on the plumed feet/And staples, in song/The Horror welcomes her, again/These are not brayed of the tongue" (Dickinson 250). Another example of Dickinson's reasons for escape is the pressure in her household, and the detachment of her mother. Dickinson's fragmented sense of self and continuous attempts of escape may be the result of pressure at home and a lack of understanding toward Dickinson's differences. These lines depict the soul's transitory escape. What Dickinson attempts to show us is that the escape is simply transitory, and that the soul must return to the body, back to the confined space. "I never spoke-until addresses/And then, it was brief and law/I could not bear to live-aloud/the racket shamed me so"(Dickinson 234). Here, the depiction of the soul and its "bandaged moments" describe the continuous state of Dickinson and her confinement. Most often, this was her state in the household, where she could not escape intellectually, or physically. "The soul has moments of Escape-/when bursting all the doors-/ she dances like a bomb, abroad/ And swings upon the hours" (Dickinson 250). The first poem, "The soul has bandaged moments" discusses a sensory out of body experience. Dickinson uses "the soul" as a
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1256
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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