Comparison of Two Similar Poems by Dickinson - Essay Example

Comparison of two similar poems Literary processes, particularly those which deal with poems, are guided by literary activities of different types and it is through these processes that the appreciation of literature becomes meaningful. Therefore, the literary activity of comparison and contrast between similar poems has great implications in a profound understanding and appreciation of these poems. Such analyses of comparison and contrast of poems can be valuable activity not only in terms of the significance of the poems, their themes, tone, literary value, meaning etc, but in terms of the wider literary process as well. Comparison and contrast between the poems by the similar poet can, additionally, be helpful in a realization of the various themes and ideas developed by the poet in a general perspective. Therefore, a comparative analysis of the two poems ‘Success is counted sweetest’ and ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes’ by Emily Dickinson can serve great purpose in a deeper understanding of her poems in general. Death and war are two of the recurring themes of Dickinson who is celebrated as a prolific private poet and the poems under discussion share several literary elements in common. However, there are also several aspects which make these poems different in the style and subject matter. In short, the comparison and contrast of the two poems by Dickinson is an illuminating literary exercise as the similarities of each poem highlight their differences and vice versa. The major themes of Dickinson include death, pain, success, failure, and war and the poet is very prolific in dealing with these topics. The various literary tools of the poet such as the style, imagery, symbolism etc contribute to the most effective depiction of her major themes. Therefore, it is significant to note that the two of her famous poems, ‘Success is counted sweetest’ and ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes’, illustrate the relation between Dickinson’s themes and literary tools. Both these poems have great implications in a reflective understanding of the poet’s general themes. Thus, one finds that there are elements of all her major themes in these poems which include death, war, pain, success, failure etc. To compare the major themes of the poems, ‘Success is counted sweetest’ as well as ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes’ deals with the themes of war and death in the most poetic manner. Through the depiction of these essential themes, the poet also incorporates other significant themes such as success, failure, and meaning of life. The passion of living which the poet enjoyed even in her secluded life is appreciably present in both these poems. In fact, the major characteristic of her poetic style is greatly evident in these poems and these have immense value in a deeper realization of the meaning of both the poems. A comparative analysis of the poetic style of Dickinson in the poems ‘Success is counted sweetest’ and ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes’ is valuable in a deeper interpretation of their meaning. In both these poems, the poet has undertaken a great attempt to seek the crux of experience which is reflected in the style of the poems. In her ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes,’ Dickinson deals with the feeling or experience of numbness by people following some terrible blow, just as an incisive scholar of human psychology. She is effective in responding to this human psychology in the most meaningful language which discards inessential elements of the language. The selection of the most appropriate punctuations is a best illustration of this careful use of language. “After great pain a formal feeling comes-- The nerves sit ceremonious like tombs; The stiff Heart questions--was it He that bore? And yesterday--or centuries before?” (‘After great pain a formal feeling comes,’ line 1-4) In these lines, one finds the best selection of the language by Dickinson and her use of punctuation is the most effective. Similarly, this incredible effect by compressing language is also evident in the poem ‘Success is counted sweetest.’ Here the poet is particularly careful to make the best selection of the grammar as well as words which helps her in the most effective conveyance of her idea. “Success is counted sweetest By those who neer succeed.  To comprehend a nectar  Requires sorest need.” (‘Success is counted sweetest,’ line 1-4) Therefore, it becomes apparent that Dickinson is at her best when she employs her poetic style in her search for the crux of experience. “Her seeking the crux of experience affected her style. As part of her seeking essence or the heart of things, she distilled or eliminated inessential language and punctuation from her poems.” (Dickinson’s Style) And the magnificent effects of her poems, as illustrated by the poems under discussion, have been the result of her compressing language. As aforementioned, there are several comparable elements in the themes of the poems ‘Success is counted sweetest’ and ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes.’ Death and war underlies the major themes of the poems which are duly linked to the other individual themes of the poems. Both the poems have individual themes and concerns. However, these are skillfully linked through the major themes of death and war. Thus, the poem ‘Success is counted sweetest’ deals with themes such as success, failure etc whereas ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes’ focuses on themes such as pain, suffering, feeling of relief etc. However, the poet is greatly effective in combining these individual themes under the framework of her general themes such as death and war. The use of several images helps the poet in relating the individual themes with her general themes. These images include ‘success’, ‘nectar’, ‘sorest need’ ‘the purple host’, ‘defeated’, ‘dying’, ‘forbidden ear’, and ‘distant strains of triumph’ etc in the former poem and ‘pain’, ‘formal feeling’, ‘tomb’, ‘stiff Heart’, ‘mechanical’, ‘stone’, ‘wooden way’, ‘hour of lead’, ‘freezing persons’, ‘snow’, ‘chill’, stupor’ etc in the latter poem. The feeling of the loser is linked to the feeling of pain and both these intense feelings have similar situation in the feeling of death. “A common idea in Dickinson’s poems is that not having increases our appreciation or enjoyment of what we lack; the person who lacks… understands whatever is lacking better than the person who possesses it.” (‘Success is counted sweetest’) Therefore, the poet expresses the feeling of the loser as well as the sufferer in terms of death and the meanings of these individual poems acquire great application to the general interpretation of her poems. The lyrical quality, rhyme scheme, the short structures, and the form of homilies in the poems etc also are useful literary devices to the poet in the depiction of her greater ideas and themes. These qualities are evident in both ‘Success is counted sweetest’ and ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes’ and they help the interpretations of their meanings in the most effective manner. “Many of Emily Dickinsons most famous lyrics take the form of homilies, or short moral sayings, which appear quite simple but that actually describe complicated moral and psychological truths.” (“Success is counted sweetest...”) In both the poems, the poet deals with her major poetic concerns through these aspects and this helps the readers interpret her meanings more meaningfully. Although both the poems share several of the common qualities of Dickinson poems such as the themes, style, meaning, lyrical qualities etc, their uniqueness is least affected. Therefore, both the poems have specified themes, poetic concerns, images, symbols, pattern, style, diction etc. For example, the theme of success and failure in the poem ‘Success is counted sweetest’ can be effectively distinguished from the theme of great pain in the poem ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes.’ Similarly, the poet cleverly makes the distinction between the selection of the language, punctuation, poetic style etc. Her selection of the words or the diction also exhibits specific concerns of the individual poems. In short, however comparable these poems may be, ‘Success is counted sweetest’ and ‘After great pain, a formal feeling comes’ are unique poems with exclusive poetic qualities. To conclude, the comparison and contrast between the two poems by Dickinson, as attempted in this paper, has been an illuminating exercise as the similarities in the poems highlight the differences and vice versa. Through an understanding of the similar elements in the poems, a meaningful interpretation of the poems in the general framework of Dickinson poems and themes is possible. The similarities of the poems are more significant compared to the differences as they are valuable in a profound and overall appreciation of the Dickinson poems. This exercise also has implications in relation to the literary processes in general. Works Cited Dickinson’s Style. Emily Dickinson. Melani Home Page. 01 Oct. 2008. ‘Success is counted sweetest.’ Emily Dickinson -- Pain. 01 Oct. 2008. “Success is counted sweetest...” Dickinson’s Poetry. Spark Notes. 01 Oct. 2008. Appendices Poem 1 Success is counted sweetest  By those who neer succeed.  To comprehend a nectar  Requires sorest need. Not one of all the purple host  Who took the flag to-day  Can tell the definition,  So clear, of victory! As he, defeated, dying, On whose forbidden ear The distant strains of triumph Burst agonized and clear! (Source: Poem 2 After great pain a formal feeling comes-- The nerves sit ceremonious like tombs; The stiff Heart questions--was it He that bore? And yesterday--or centuries before? The feet, mechanical, go round A wooden way Of ground, or air, or ought, Regardless grown, A quartz contentment, like a stone. This is the hour of lead Remembered if outlived, As freezing persons recollect the snow-- First chill, then stupor, then the letting go. (Source: ) Read More