tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post5234913290011995061..comments2024-03-28T18:48:28.471-07:00Comments on the prowling Bee: Triumph – may be of several kinds –Susan Kornfeldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-35517926248263416302024-02-21T14:18:19.214-08:002024-02-21T14:18:19.214-08:00Note to blogmeisters: ED’s manuscript (F680A) is i...Note to blogmeisters: ED’s manuscript (F680A) is in four stanzas, all quatrains.<br /><br />For ED, “Temptation’s Bribe” would be ill-gotten Fame, which she could have easily attained by writing sentimental tripe. She didn’t and worried about it because she had renounced resurrection yet feared the consequences if she was wrong. <br /><br />Here are my interpretations of Stanza 2 and 3:<br /><br />“There’s Triumph of the finer mind<br />When Truth –long blocked by Lies<br />Advances without compromise to supremacy over Lies. <br />Such Triumph is Truth’s Supreme victory,<br />Truth’s God, Truth’s only Audience.<br /><br />“It’s a triumph when a poet resists temptation to write tripe,<br />Eschews false fame,<br />Slowly advances with courage, despite renouncing resurrection,<br />Yet fears eternal damnation.”<br />Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-69265151258910394892023-09-08T06:33:57.888-07:002023-09-08T06:33:57.888-07:00I love this poem and your extrapolation! Another ...I love this poem and your extrapolation! Another reading of stanza 3, l. 11-12, is that the “Heaven renounced - “ is the reward of the bribe should she have taken it. But she refused it, weighing its attraction against the deterrent of the punishment (the “Rack”) she would be due for having fallen for “Temptation’s Bribe.”<br />A quibble, but one that adds to the wealth of Emily’s complexities! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-59558210389748778892023-01-11T14:56:32.712-08:002023-01-11T14:56:32.712-08:00Thanks — I hadn’t properly appreciated (or even re...Thanks — I hadn’t properly appreciated (or even really noticed) that pause before the tetra meter lines — which you so aptly and poetically call a ‘moment of poise’.<br />Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-61963568942238511012023-01-02T19:20:43.514-08:002023-01-02T19:20:43.514-08:00Hi Susan,
You are pushing me to read Emily's ...Hi Susan,<br /><br />You are pushing me to read Emily's poems more deeply. They are so short in comparison to many other poets and yet so much is packed in there with her eloquent ellipsis.<br /><br />Your mention of the metre of alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter (one of ED's favourite metres) reminds me that this is the metre of the ballad (and its Australian cousin, the bush ballad), sometimes known as fourteeners from the number of beats in the quatrain or couplet. The story-telling origin of this metre is perhaps what makes ED's poems flow so naturally. Also the pause before the next line of tetrameter feels like a moment of poise before moving off in a new direction.<br /><br />Kelvin<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-80897946448125372382022-06-22T16:57:45.438-07:002022-06-22T16:57:45.438-07:00I miss your blog and hope you can continue one day...I miss your blog and hope you can continue one day. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-74843445109373139332021-12-23T08:14:12.224-08:002021-12-23T08:14:12.224-08:00I think you are right.I think you are right.JWiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14756156459620185187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-80179129470175231372021-12-10T20:17:44.544-08:002021-12-10T20:17:44.544-08:00Happy Birthday, Emily!
Had you lived to be as old ...Happy Birthday, Emily!<br />Had you lived to be as old as Abraham you'd be removed from us now only 16 years! <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15839922186569263829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-81555224185292832122021-12-10T09:29:04.772-08:002021-12-10T09:29:04.772-08:00wow! I loved this one... thank you, Susan.wow! I loved this one... thank you, Susan.Begohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14412354466905526970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-17066851901302763182021-11-29T10:06:12.018-08:002021-11-29T10:06:12.018-08:00Thank you -- your comments on 'rack' open ...Thank you -- your comments on 'rack' open up that stanza to new interpretations. <br /><br />As for the second stanza's Throng -- I read it as Truth needs/has only one Celebratent/true Witness/ -- God -- its author. Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-90898289062053468532021-11-29T09:28:47.477-08:002021-11-29T09:28:47.477-08:00Another wonderful essay! It is also fun to read t...Another wonderful essay! It is also fun to read the comments and to see how many readers benefit from your great quixotic project to write essays explaining all of ED's poems!<br /><br />My few additional thoughts:<br /><br />I agree with your theological reading of the first stanza -- but the phrase "in the Room" makes the theology very immediate and personal. Reminiscent of "I heard a Fly Buzz".<br /><br />The words "Triumph" and "Imperator" evoke ancient Rome. So, with you, I lean toward the sense of triumph as victory in war. However, here, the Imperator is death. As with Christ's triumph over death, all the might of imperial Rome could not achieve victory. <br /><br />In the second stanza, I also like the association of truth with the feminine. This is an old connection. In Asian cultures, the feminine is associated with wisdom. And I think this is true in Greek culture -- where Athena embodies wisdom. However, when ED uses "Her" -- it makes the reference very intimate, since poets are also the speakers of truth. The phrase "Her only Throng" puzzles me. Is it "finer minds" that are the throng before truth? This seems off. It is truth that is advancing -- so the Supreme is something that is being approached. I don't know what to make of it. <br /><br />Temptation's Bribe, I read a little differently. The bribe is not taken. Similar to Christ's temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane, the temptation is resisted -- the bribe (the promise of earthly deliverance) is handed back. The rack is a metaphor for the Cross.<br /><br />As to the last stanza, I will just add that the words "Acquitted" and "Bar" evoke the image of a trial -- the final judgment. There is also the sense of looking on the naked face of God on Judgment Day.<br /><br />A beautiful poem. <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-62695269391875923252021-10-29T09:51:07.157-07:002021-10-29T09:51:07.157-07:00Hi,
I am a student in Mainland China. I love ED...Hi,<br />I am a student in Mainland China. I love ED's poems, although find many of them, like this one, hard to grasp. When I am stuck on one I come to your blog to see whether you have deciphered it. But due to Internet censorship in my country, I have to use VPN to cover my real location. So Google may not tell you that you have Chinese readers too. Just want you to know and give you thanks.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01962078166173595375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-35034475396350879772021-10-13T08:04:39.130-07:002021-10-13T08:04:39.130-07:00Thank you so much. I like your supposition of Lite...Thank you so much. I like your supposition of Literature students as they may well be teachers of literature in the future. I'm always wondering how translators handle Dickinson's very surprising use of language -- particularly her startling and powerful words embedded in an otherwise smooth-flowing poem, and her use of Calvinist language. I imagine it must be a powerful poetic experience to come up with just the right words in some of her more powerful and vivid poems.Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-65968131000971028602021-10-13T03:13:44.267-07:002021-10-13T03:13:44.267-07:00Actually, I am equally intrigued by this news! Rus...Actually, I am equally intrigued by this news! Russia is known for love of poetry and we had many great poets throughout history. We also take interst in foreighn poets and writers, but Dickinson is sadly not one of them. Very few of her poems are translated to Russian (and that's the reason why I needed to do it myself and why I found your blog). And what is translated is not widely known. Actually I think most Russians will think of Dickens if you ask if they know Dickinson.<br />I'll take a wild guess and suppose that Russian students of Literature are those who make your views! It's rather popular among them to write their papers on some 'exotic' theme rather than trying to analyse Dostoyevsky yet again.<br />As for myself, I can say that though it started as a work task, I quickly fell in love with ED's poems. Russian poetic tradition is based on very strict rhyming first and foremost, so I was really surprised to discover how freely Dickinson is using the concept of rhyme! And of course her metaphorical way of thinking is absolutely outstanding - many a time I simply couldn't understand the meaning of whole stanzas until I 'consulted' with you)) Elizavetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10162730746745075003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-92060863457964662852021-10-11T16:30:12.162-07:002021-10-11T16:30:12.162-07:00Thank you, Liz. The poem at first seemed rather si...Thank you, Liz. The poem at first seemed rather simple but it took me quite a while to become comfortable with it.Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-20405368166347068762021-10-11T16:28:52.305-07:002021-10-11T16:28:52.305-07:00Thank you so much Elizaveta! I'm intrigued by ...Thank you so much Elizaveta! I'm intrigued by the Google analytics on who reads this blog. Other than the USA, Russia provides the most readers. Is Dickinson popular in Russia? What do the readers find most engaging about her work?Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-85931022980564264212021-10-11T15:51:04.390-07:002021-10-11T15:51:04.390-07:00I meant to write "...on the one hand then, on...I meant to write "...on the one hand then, on the other..."<br />AND...<br />One hand washes the other...<br />Goofy, I know.<br />L.Liz Hulsizerhttp://asinglethread.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-79147525856503307042021-10-11T15:46:12.261-07:002021-10-11T15:46:12.261-07:00sorry for the typos...sorry for the typos...A Single Threadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15924778158404898981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-1149938296099771732021-10-11T15:45:47.155-07:002021-10-11T15:45:47.155-07:00Hi Susan,
I find so much positive in this poem and...Hi Susan,<br />I find so much positive in this poem and your abiding view. I must admit I had to read the poem several times in order to taste the truth of it...there comes to me a rocking horse sensation of WHOA! look at the imperator, the affronted truth, the useless bribe and all the things grabbed over a lifetime to end up naked, face to face with the ineffable. <br /><br />Te only line that comes to me about one hand is perhaps too obvious and mundane...one hand over the other...the poem has that sense on the one hand and well, wait...on the other hand here's the real deal.<br />Thank you for your effort that turns into the sounds of awakening again and again. LizA Single Threadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15924778158404898981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-62022982363080898212021-10-08T16:55:51.442-07:002021-10-08T16:55:51.442-07:00Hello!
I sincerely want to thank you for what you&...Hello!<br />I sincerely want to thank you for what you're doing here, because your blog was of so much help to me for nearly a year! <br />I am a Russian translator and just a few moments ago I finished a huge, lasting project, for which I needed to make verse translations of 30 (or so) Dickinson's poems. And believe me, that would be next to impossible without your ten-year work I found here.<br />A great thank you! Hope you will continue with this ambitious project dedicated to Emily Dickinson and poetry in generalElizavetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10162730746745075003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-37876666465564342302021-10-08T09:50:18.313-07:002021-10-08T09:50:18.313-07:00Quite so. I thought ED's original handwritten ...Quite so. I thought ED's original handwritten poem had "be", but an edited text had "is" so I accepted that. Should have stuck with my own reading!Peter H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-54493848020145302702021-10-07T15:51:41.196-07:002021-10-07T15:51:41.196-07:00Thank you, Peter!!! Franklin reader has 'be ov...Thank you, Peter!!! Franklin reader has 'be overcome'. Wonder how I screwed that up... Anyway, fixed now.Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-29673244329306782021-10-07T15:08:24.521-07:002021-10-07T15:08:24.521-07:00A true comment may follow but for now just to get ...A true comment may follow but for now just to get the fourth line corrected to end "__ is overcome"Peter H.noreply@blogger.com