tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post4078128514458653281..comments2024-03-27T11:02:20.107-07:00Comments on the prowling Bee: With thee, in the Desert –Susan Kornfeldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-10538590321847515412023-01-04T19:08:06.182-08:002023-01-04T19:08:06.182-08:00Jeremiah 13:23, “Can …… the leopard its spots?”
...Jeremiah 13:23, “Can …… the leopard its spots?”<br /><br />In F201, ‘With thee, in the Desert’, and in F276, ‘Civilization – spurns – the Leopard!’, ED refers to a leopard. Guesses of its metaphorical identity abound, from “love” (above), to “some persona of the poet” (F276 explication), to “Emily” herself (Preest, F201 & F276). My hunch is that Susan D is the leopard.<br /><br />ED’s poems and letters and many scholarly publications have firmly established that Shakespeare’s depiction of Antony and Cleopatra became ED and Sue’s go-to metaphor for their relationship, especially during its early lesbian years. ED was lovesick Antony and “siren” Sue was Cleopatra, the irresistibly attractive eastern Queen of Egypt. <br /><br />http://archive.emilydickinson.org/susan/zmins.html<br /><br />Leopards, like Cleopatra, are native to Africa and Asia and irresistibly attractive. In both F201 and F276, ED dreams that, like a leopard’s spots, Susan will be unable to change her true lesbian sexuality, and, after the two of them have traveled through “Desert, thirst, and Tamarind wood”, the leopard will “at last” be able to “breathe” its natural way.<br />Larry Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-2179685086417224912022-10-28T05:47:09.370-07:002022-10-28T05:47:09.370-07:00Ditto. I enjoy the balance of power, tension and c...Ditto. I enjoy the balance of power, tension and child like playfulness Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-30002030985998622182017-01-19T08:31:59.698-08:002017-01-19T08:31:59.698-08:00I think that this poem is exactly why I love readi...I think that this poem is exactly why I love reading Dickinson. All interpretations of a tasteful nature are welcome. The leopard contains all the eroticism that the poet will allow herself to address in verse.mcjeepshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15354406129562154763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-46290974865171819572016-09-09T18:02:06.753-07:002016-09-09T18:02:06.753-07:00I had never heard of this moth. Very likely that D...I had never heard of this moth. Very likely that Dickinson had. I think she had an actual leopard in mind not only because it works better with the tone and imagery but because she identifies as a leopard in a subsequent poem in the same year. Thanks for the info!Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-55696697520709071042016-09-09T15:07:41.796-07:002016-09-09T15:07:41.796-07:00Is the leopard actuall the Leopard moth, that hatc...Is the leopard actuall the Leopard moth, that hatches out from the wood of the Tamarind tree?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470961835179653158noreply@blogger.com