"We noticed smallest things, / Things overlooked before, / By this great light upon our minds / Italicized, as 't were."
— Dickinson, Emily (1830-1886)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
Boston
Publisher
Robert Brothers
Date
1890
Metaphor
"We noticed smallest things, / Things overlooked before, / By this great light upon our minds / Italicized, as 't were."
Metaphor in Context
[XX. The last night that she lived]
The last night that she lived,
It was a common night,
Except the dying; this to us
Made nature different.
We noticed smallest things,—
Things overlooked before,
By this great light upon our minds
Italicized, as 't were.
That others could exist
While she must finish quite,
A jealousy for her arose
So nearly infinite.
We waited while she passed;
It was a narrow time,
Too jostled were our souls to speak,
At length the notice came.
(p. 130)
The last night that she lived,
It was a common night,
Except the dying; this to us
Made nature different.
We noticed smallest things,—
Things overlooked before,
By this great light upon our minds
Italicized, as 't were.
That others could exist
While she must finish quite,
A jealousy for her arose
So nearly infinite.
We waited while she passed;
It was a narrow time,
Too jostled were our souls to speak,
At length the notice came.
(p. 130)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Dickinson, Emily. Poems by Emily Dickinson Ed. Mael Loomis Todd and T. W. Higginson (Robert Brothers: Boston, 1890). <Link to UVa e-Text Center><Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
12/30/2010