Transcript My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun”

“My Life had stood – a Loaded
Gun”
An Analysis using the “Plan of Attack”
Rhyme Scheme
• In each stanza*, the second and fourth lines
tend to rhyme:
- “perfect” rhyme: stanzas 1 & 6
- “slant” rhyme: stanzas 3, 4, & 5
- no rhyme: stanza 2 (Hmmm. Why?)
* Four-line stanzas are known as quatrains
Meter (rhythm)
• The first and third lines of each quatrain are
written in iambic tetrameter:
– “My Lífe had stoód – a Loáded Gún –”
The second and fourth lines of each quatrain
are written in iambic trimeter:
– “In Córners – tíll a Dáy”
Use of language
• “fresh” diction and word play:
– “every time I speak for Him”
– “None stir the second time –
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye”
• Irony:
– “For I have but the power to kill,
Without – the power to die –”
• Capitalization: throughout the poem
Imagery
• All senses but taste and smell
Metaphor
• The controlling metaphor* of this
poem is the idea that the speaker’s
life IS a loaded gun.
*an extended metaphor that dominates the
entire poem
Biographical connections
• “owner”/”master”—another poet? Rev.
Wadsworth? Someone who might offer
encouragement, in life, in poetry, or both?
• Note the movement in the poem from
“corner” to the outdoors (“Woods,” “The
Mountains,” etc.)
Shift in tone
• From lighthearted and playful
to serious
Mood (the emotional atmosphere, the
effect on the reader)
• Light?
• Mysterious?
• What else?
Meaning
• What is this poem really
about? Does it reveal any
truths?
Purpose
• Why did Dickinson write it? As a
plea for help of some form? As a
confession? As a demonstration
of her skill as a poet (i.e., the
controlling metaphor)?