Poem 632 “The Brain-”

Poem by Emily Dickinson

Justin MacKenzieChristina Colafrancesco

Tiffany Gilbert

Emily Dickinson● Emily Elizabeth Dickinson:

December 10th, 1830 - May 15th, 1886

● Enjoyed baking and gardening in her childhood.

● Father, Edward, was a budding politician; her mother, Emily, was a housewife. She however, suffered a paralyzing stroke.

● Many deaths of close relatives occurred during her childhood, also her home was across from a cemetery.

● She attended Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.

● As she grew older she became sheltered. Close to her family and some others, but no one else.

● Became ill shortly after many deaths of close friends and family, died because of it at only 55.

Quotes“They say God is

everywhere, and yet

we always think of Him

as somewhat a

recluse”

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain”

“I argue thee that

love is life. And life

hath immortality”

“Saying nothing...sometimes says the most”

“Forever is composed of nows”

“Dwell in possibility”

“How strange that

nature does not

knock, and yet

does not intrude”

“Finite to fail, but infinite to venture”

“My friends are my estate”

“Mistakes are stepping

stones to success”

“I am one of the lingering bad

ones.”

"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of

my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.”

“Truth is so rare, it is delightful to

tell it.”

“Dogs are better than people.”

“A wounded deer leaps highest.” “Love is Immortality.”

“The sun just touched the morning;

The morning, happy thing,

Supposed that he had come

to dwell,And life would be all spring.”

History of her Poems- Rarely ever titled her poems.- Out of nearly 2,000 poems,

she titled less than a dozen.

- Only after her death, wereDickinson’s poems titled

and/or numbered.- Titles are generally formed

from the first line.- Her poetry was not public,most of it stayed within her

circle.

Writing StyleDickinson wrote about what she knew and what intrigued her:

Nature, religion, music, commerce, reality, and death.

- No title, one sentence poems. - The poems express thoughts and feelings. - The speaker is unknown, although assumed to be the

author.- Used abstract ideas with concrete images. - Used various Hymn rhyme schemes: Common, long, short,

ballard, half, and many others. - Syntax. Irregular punctuation such as dashes, rather than

periods or commas; thus allowing for breaks in the fluidityand stressed nouns.- Capitalized of interior words for emphasis.- The use of hyperboles, meaning extreme exaggeration.

Individual AnalysesTiffany Gilbert:

- The poem shows the brain mightier than God himself. We, the people, create God, or a higher power, for mental stability and hope.

Justin MacKenzie:- No matter the size of the universe around us, our small organ, the brain, can contain it all. God gave us this power.

Stanza 1The Brain--is wider than the

Sky--For--put them side by side--

The one the other will contain

With ease--and You--beside-- ● Although the brain is small in size, it’s capable of containing things the sky can not.

● The brain not only sees, but it’s also able to feel and more importantly understand:○ emotions, sounds, and hypothetical futures.

Stanza 2The Brain is deeper than

the sea--For--hold them--Blue to

Blue--The one the other will

absorb--As Sponges--Buckets--do--

● Unlike the sea, the human brain see’s what lies deep to the surface and thinks in depth.

● The brain, like a sponge, can absorb and release information when necessary.

● Stanza 1 & 2 show Parallelism.

Stanza 3The Brain is just the weight

of God--For--Heft them--Pound for

Pound--And they will differ--if they

do--As Syllable from Sound

● The brain and God are compared.● Man is God’s image; Humanism.

○ We, the people, create a higher power for hope and stability.

● Man was created in God’s image; Biblical.○ God created the world and his people, therefore, the

brain is minimalistic compared to Jesus himself.

Other’s Thoughts“The brain has the ability to keep us alive whether we are awake or asleep. It allows us to run, jump, think, write, read, live and enjoy the world we live in.It is at the core at all of our human experiences. With the brain, we have the power to examine the sky and the ocean, to explore their uncharted depths or heights and to inquire about unknown or confusing elements of our world. But how did human beings acquire such an amazing element: such an organ so powerful it controls our every thought and dictates our every mood. To Dickinson, this is where the brain makes a connection with God, the all powerful being. All evolutional theories aside, the brain is a entity with a similarity to God. Both have a power over the human race we will never be able to fully understand.”

“Signifying spatial anxiety is Dickinson's main preoccupation in this poem, superficial spatiality perhaps containing, absorbing, and implicitly writing/voicing a wider, deeper, and equally weighing philosophical argument about man and the universe. Focusing on width, depth, weight, color, and sound, in addition to shape/calligraphy (the en rule, capitalization, and 'Syllable') Dickinson's poem itself achieves a size (a space) that goes beyond the limits of its lines and a significance that outreaches the sounds of its syllables. This study examines the notion of hyperreal space in Dickinson's poem,...”

(VW2000's Weblog 2008)

(Al-Joulan, Nayef Ali; Baker, Abu. 2009)

Ahead of the her time?

● In “The Brain”, Dickinson to some degree inserted some Realism.

● This was an artistic movement that followed Romanticism

● Realism was when authors wanted things to be realistic and not always idealized.

● In her time it had yet to be widely used.

● Just her talking of a brain, the ocean being blue, sponges, and a bucket shows Realism.

Romantic Poets wrote about the importance of nature: nature meaning beauty and truth.

Realistic Poets, the time of the Puritans, wrote about negative/harsh realities and poverty in life.

Dickinson wrote in both styles mocking the Puritan way of life. She would use metaphors including nature. Why? Because “Puritans believed nature to be the realm of the devil.”

- To Emily, being a Puritan was walking the earth dead.

ThemesThere are many themes for Emily Dickinson’s

poems. She was such a unique poet that interpretations and themes are by the hundreds.

For this poem themes can include:-Challenging the existence of God.

Is God real or in our own minds?-Struggle of one’s self.

Expressing one’s emotionsOther poems involve:

-Death, nature, religion, love, dread and pain.

Questions1. How is God interpreted in this poem?

Does Dickinson think God has more power or less over us?

2. Discuss the diction of the poem. Point out words that are expressed differently and explain why?

3. Would you consider Emily Dickinson a Christian during the 19th century after reading this poem? Why or why not?

4. Can Emily Dickinson’s Poems be read to the theme song from Gilligan’s Island? :)

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"Major Characteristics of Dickinson's Poetry | Emily Dickinson Museum." Major Characteristics of Dickinson's Poetry | Emily

Dickinson Museum. Trustees of Amherst College, 2009. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.Oddiraju, Vinai. "The Brain Is Wider than the Sky." Prezi.com. N.p., 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013."Parallelism, Deviation and 'The Brain - Is Wider than the Sky -'" Ling 131, Topic 3 (session B). N.p., n.d. Web. 06

Oct. 2013."Romanticism, Realism and Emily Dickinson." 123HelpMe.com. 20 Oct 2013 Scheidenhelm Ph.D, Carol. "Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism." Loyola University Chicago. N.p., 14 Aug. 2007.

Web. 20 Oct. 2013. <http://www.luc.edu/faculty/cschei1/teach/rrn2.html>."The Manuscripts | Emily Dickinson Museum." Emily Dickinson Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

<http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/ed/node/109>."The Poetry of Emily Dickinson. Complete Poems of 1924. Bartleby.com." The Poetry of Emily Dickinson. Complete

Poems of 1924. Bartleby.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.