‘The wind begun to rock the grass’ -Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
The wind begun to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low—
He flung a menace at the earth— Storm imagery
A menace at the sky.
Nature’s reaction
The leaves unhooked themselves from trees—
And started all abroad; Signs of people
The dust did scoop itself like hands
And throw away the road. Punctuation
The wagons quickened on the streets, Sound devices
The thunder hurried slow—
The lightning showed a yellow beak,
And then a livid claw.
The birds put up the bars to nests—
The cattle fled to barns—
There came one drop of giant rain,
And then, as if the hands
That held the dams had parted hold,
The waters wrecked the sky,
But overlooked my father’s house—
Just quartering a tree—
Title
Dickinson did not title her poems (therefore the title is the first line). This shows us her
unconventional style.
The wind begun to rock the grass
The storm is slowly beginning. ‘Begun’ = incorrect grammar- poet immediately throws
audience off by showing her unusualness and off-killer view of the world.
With threatening tunes and low—
Metaphor: compares the sound of wind to a threatening song, emphasising the potential
for damage and destruction.
He flung a menace at the earth—
The storm is personified to be carelessly but powerfully throwing an ominous threat to
earth. Repeated use of dashes function as dramatic pauses to create tension.
A menace at the sky.
The storm unleashes a dangerous power. Full stop ends her point firmly by asserting that
nature is powerful.
Stanza
Through an unconventional POV, we are shown the power and force of nature.
The wind begun to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low—
He flung a menace at the earth— Storm imagery
A menace at the sky.
Nature’s reaction
The leaves unhooked themselves from trees—
And started all abroad; Signs of people
The dust did scoop itself like hands
And throw away the road. Punctuation
The wagons quickened on the streets, Sound devices
The thunder hurried slow—
The lightning showed a yellow beak,
And then a livid claw.
The birds put up the bars to nests—
The cattle fled to barns—
There came one drop of giant rain,
And then, as if the hands
That held the dams had parted hold,
The waters wrecked the sky,
But overlooked my father’s house—
Just quartering a tree—
Title
Dickinson did not title her poems (therefore the title is the first line). This shows us her
unconventional style.
The wind begun to rock the grass
The storm is slowly beginning. ‘Begun’ = incorrect grammar- poet immediately throws
audience off by showing her unusualness and off-killer view of the world.
With threatening tunes and low—
Metaphor: compares the sound of wind to a threatening song, emphasising the potential
for damage and destruction.
He flung a menace at the earth—
The storm is personified to be carelessly but powerfully throwing an ominous threat to
earth. Repeated use of dashes function as dramatic pauses to create tension.
A menace at the sky.
The storm unleashes a dangerous power. Full stop ends her point firmly by asserting that
nature is powerful.
Stanza
Through an unconventional POV, we are shown the power and force of nature.
