读诗心得(1)
星期五 三月 16, 2007 7:53 am
Two years ago, when I read Emily Dickinson’s poems, I felt them very strange. Yet I was still deeply punched and attracted by them.
I seldom read theory about poetry since my personality was kind of hunting for freedom.
The evidence is very clear, I can dance by myself very well, but if someone teach me how to dance, then I am totally lost. But a few days ago, I borrowed a book “the Art of poetry”, then I found the way what I interpreted Emily Dickinson’s poems was just spontaneous, I was not really sure why I loved them and why she wrote like that. But now with the guide, they seem much deeper and more meaningful. I admire her skills and creativity.
Here I would like to show some examples.
Four Trees--upon a solitary Acre--
Without Design
Or Order, or Apparent Action--
Maintain--
The Sun--upon a Morning meets them--
The Wind--
No nearer Neighbor--have they--
But God--
The Acre gives them--Place--
They--Him--Attention of Passer by--
Of Shadow, or of Squirrel, haply--
Or Boy--
What Deed is Their's unto the General Nature--
What Plan
They severally--retard--or further--
Unknown—
Emily Dickinson’s life was a mystery. This poem is the same. The ending “Unknown—“is very striking, yet peaceful. It shares such deep insight: things just exist and are beyond knowing.
I especially love Dickinson’s vision about life, freedom and truth. She used her unique way to present a world beyond our knowing, remote and solitary….
In this poem, she tried to avoid verb, and used minim puncanations. Instead, she introduced dash. For me, a sign of continuing, yet breaking or halting…
Four trees are observed by a quiet heart and random focus with wondering thoughts.
It seemed to raise questions casually, what deed, what plan… They retard—further unknown…
The idle natural scenes are merely connected by a set of almost unconnected nouns: trees, sun, wind, place, shadow etc. Objects simply appear one beside or after the other and the whole relationship remain unclear.
After reading this poem, I believe readers will be left to pause, wonder and hang on those images… what deed, what plan…then unknown
Dickinson creatively broke the grammar rules, hang her thoughts and images in the idle and disconnect objects just like her lines here. She made a unique and silent scene and image by displaying words with fragmental grammar checking.
