Idea in Bernadette Mayer and Emily Dickinsons Poems - Essay Example

Exploring the Recurring Theme, Image or Idea in Bernadette Mayer and Emily Dickinson’s Poems Emily Dickinson’s poetry works revolve around the struggles that exist in the life of man (Liverpool). There is no doubt to claim that according to her, nothing in life comes easy since everything requires time in order to be achieved. In fact, her poems exhibit a lot of imagery that calls for deeper understanding of her work. For instance, when critically analyzing her poem sparrow, image is used to give analysis to biblical words. In this poem she tries to show how God is equal to all his creatures. When looking at the book of Matthew 10. 29, we are told that two sparrows (insignificant creatures) are sold but not one of them is forgotten by God. Nevertheless, the same book emphasizes each individual’s importance to God by conveying that our air strands are numbered by God. This poem seems ironical to most of her poems as most the other poems seem to depict the unfairness that co-exist within man’s life adventures. Liverpool asserts that the poem Victory Comes Late is one of the most ambiguous poems of Dickenson as it deeply explores the theme of theology. In this poem, she seems to partially concur with God’s idea of the sparrows. However, her main problem in the whole idea is, “why do people have to struggle too much and in the end they hardly have a chance to taste the fruits of their struggles!” Form the very first words (victory comes late) in her poem, one can undoubtedly conclude that she is confessing struggle. Unfortunately, the gains and rewards of the struggles are only achieved at the eleventh hour. In this particular poem she uses an image of a wounded victorious fighter who is just about to say goodbye to his life, after a long battle. The fighter has no even a single drop of strength in him to feel the results of what he was fighting for. This is portrayed in the lines, "Too rapt with frost” and “To take it". Such depiction shown in this poem is true since in life there are many heroes who have struggled for change, but rarely do they taste the fruits of their labor (Liverpool). She wonders if God was just being mean by allowing us to just taste a drop of our results or nothing at all. According to her it would have been satisfying and sweeter if we had a full taste of our victories. She asks, “Was God so economical?” To a deeper understanding she does agree that God is our provider. He gives us all that we ask for, although his way of giving is very ambiguous. She says that Gods table lies too high that we can only reach it by stretching. Liverpool explains that it is of fact that when you reach something through stretching you hardly get hold of it. Thus to her in life we are doomed to the curse of ignoring enjoyment and rather focus more on achievement. It is hence one’s choice to either stand comfortably and get the crumbs falling off from the table, or stand on tip-toes and taste the main dish. This signifies that God impresses hard work, thus only those who struggle can attain their desired ends. The line, “Cherries suit Robins” is an image indicating that God is our best suit since He knows what is best for us. Consequently, even the bible tells us this in the book of proverbs when God says, “If I give you too little you might steal, but if I give you too much you might forget me” This suggests that God provides with us what He knows is enough for us (Liverpool). Thus acquiring more calls for struggle though you cannot achieve more than that God has for you in store. Critically, this may be the reason why people may struggle too much and finally they do not taste their sweat. Her outermost prayer to God is to keep mankind safe. This is demonstrated in the line “God keep His Oath to Sparrows” Similarly, Bernadette Mayer broadly explores man’s life experiences in a humorous but honest way. All the dramas which unfold in all aspects of man’s life are presented to us like tiny explosions that happen one after the other. She utilizes her education to its heights incorporating innovation to her works of poetry. To start with let us consider her poem entitled All aboard. This poem is symbolic of the adventures and struggles of man in life. Her as an example, she had to put her innovative skills to maximum use in the field of linguistic, if only she wanted to succeed. According to her nothing comes easy thus men are required to pick up their pieces and carry on after a fall. The first words of the poem, “Tumbled down an incline at Bash Bish…” are a clear indication of the challenges that are faced by man during his lifetime (Mayer). She is trying to emphasize that people are likely to stumble as they pursue their goals. All that therefore matters are the actions to be taken thereafter. In this poem she says that being spring it was clouded over and most probably ready to rain. Clouds are likened to the magnitude of the challenges, implying that it does not mean tackling one you become challenge proof. Hence, a wise man is likely, not to waste time since he might be caught up in another challenge before fully tackling the first one. By waiting you might end up being overwhelmed by challenges. Moreover, people should be sharp to identify opportunities and set appropriate strategies of utilizing them. If you cannot grasp any opportunities that come your way fast, probably you will miss them. She presents the world scenario as a struggle for the limited resource where only the fittest sails through. Her words in the line “or move over in a spring flood” stresses essence of facing the challenges without fear (Mayer). Her encouraging phrases in this poem are a true reflection of the world today. The few successful individual in the contemporary society are those who are not easily weighed down by negative occurrences. These individuals are also fast in identifying opportunities and utilizing them. Meyer’s overall advice in the poem is that just like an eagle we should never shelter in case of rain but rather device ways of working through the rain. The element of time is also taken into consideration when she says that what was seen yesterday might not be the same tomorrow. Instead, it might be against you today though yesterday it was working well with you. In other words, Meyer’s words can be simplified by saying that time waits for no man. It is a race of man’s events against time. As a result the effort that people employ in their daily endeavors, determines the possibility of attaining their goals. In conclusion, Meyer and Dickinson explore the theme of life experiences in depth. Both writers present their themes in a consistent and coherent manner, where events unfold like in a movie (Mayer & Liverpool). The challenges and struggles in life are said to be unavoidable since they form part of man’s life. Consequently, both writers assert that to attain success, you need to work harder than the rest. To them in life nothing is achieved in a silver platter rather though sweat and struggle. Meyer addresses life’s challenges from a practical point of view and advices people to struggle. Dickinson on the other hand, does not understand why God allows life to be unfair that after a long struggle people do not get a chance of tasting their results. Works cited Liverpool, Fransz. Victory comes late, Analysis. Elite Skills Classics, 2007. Web. June 11 2012. . Mayer, Bernadette. All Aboard. The Buffalo News, 2011. Web. June 11 2012. Read More