Classs 12 English Lesson 8: Poem: A Day by Emily Dickinson Literature Section

 

Lesson 1 The Poem: A Day by Emily Dickinson

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About the poet

 

One of the most eminent American poets from the nineteenth century, Emily Dickinson’s (1830-1886) poetry was heavily influenced by the Metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England. While Dickinson was extremely prolific as a poet, she regularly enclosed poems in letters to friends but she was not publicly recognized during her lifetime. In her poem “A Day”, Dickinson, through the use of brilliant imagery and symbols, describes a beautiful day that leads the children from innocence to experience.

Theme of the poem

Emily Dickinson as a poet deal with various themes such as nature, love, pain and suffering, death and immortality, God and religion, artistic philosophy, universality and so on. Thus, the range of themes in her poetry is very wide. Actually, she goes through the depth of humane psyche to the profundity of nature.

Summary of the Poem

The poem "A Day' is a wonderful poem that has been composed by one of the renowned American poets Emily Dickinson. The original title of this poem is "I'll Tell How the Sun Rose". This is a short poem that is quite meaningful in its both literal as well as symbolic meanings. This poem is simply about the description of the natural process of sunrise and sunset. These two natural processes have been presented with both literal and symbolic concepts showing the transition from life to death. 

This poem has been told from the perspective of an innocent child. Here in this poem, an innocent child expresses his or her views on sunrise and sunset. He/ She has presented the description of a beautiful day using brilliant imagery and symbols here in this poem that leads the children from innocence to experience. There are two sections in the poem and each section includes eight lines. In the first section, we find the speaker describing the sunrise whereas, in the second section, we find him/her describing his/her lack of knowledge of the sunset. In both sections, the speaker has tremendously used the imageries and symbols to compare both beautiful aspects of the sunrise and the sunset. 

The poet has presented altogether four different stanzas in both sections and each stanza consists of four lines (Quatrains). The speaker has described both sections of the sunrise and the sunset using the concepts regarding the humans, the village and its different things. This poem has presented a full day from fresh sunrise to mysterious sunset which has symbolically presented the concept of the beginning of life (childbirth) and end of life (death).

Literary Devices Used in Poem 

In A Day, Emily Dickinson employs a range of literary devices to enrich her portrayal of the natural cycle and its deeper meanings. Vivid imagery brings the scenes to life, as in “The Steeples swam in Amethyst”, painting the sky in glowing hues. The poem unfolds through an extended metaphor, where the sun’s journey mirrors the course of life, with morning representing birth and vitality, and sunset symbolizing death or transition. Dickinson also uses personification, giving life to inanimate elements — the “news like squirrels ran” and the “Domine in Gray” — imbuing the day’s passage with playful and solemn qualities. Throughout, symbolism deepens the layers of meaning: the day stands for life, while the arrival of twilight hints at the unknown beyond. Alliteration, such as “Steeples swam”, adds musicality and rhythm, while enjambment carries thoughts fluidly across lines, echoing the continuous flow of time. Altogether, these devices combine to create a poem that is both simple in its imagery and profound in its meditation on life’s inevitable cycle.

 Understanding the text: Answer the following questions.

a.      How does the poet describe the morning sun in the first stanza?

In the first stanza, the poet describes the morning sun presenting the stripe of ribbons in the sky, the deep violet colour like amethyst in the steeples of the churches and the quick natural process as squirrels run which makes everyone aware of the morning.

b.     What does the line ‘The news like squirrels ran’ mean?

Here in this line ‘The news like squirrels ran’, we find the use of simile where news i.e. the sunrise has been compared with squirrels' run using 'like'. This line has been applied to present the natural process of sunrise in the morning time. Here, the sunrise, as well as morning time, has been compared with squirrels' run i.e. the quick natural process of sunrise. This process is as quick as the run of squirrels that makes everyone realise the arrival of a tremendous morning.

c.      What do you understand by the line ‘The hills untied their bonnets’?

By the line 'The hills united their bonnets', we understand the natural changes that appear in different places on this planet due to the presence of the sun. This line has been presented with metaphorical meanings. The poet has presented hills using personification. Here, the hills' bonnets have been metaphorically presented for the mists over the hills. As the sunrises, the heat rays of the sun untie the mists over the hills. The hills seem clear as the rays of the sun fall on the hills.

d.     Is the speaker watching the morning sun? Why? Why not?

No, the speaker isn't watching the morning sun. He/ She is only describing the natural processes of sunrise and sunset and various changes that seem on beings and things which are existed here on this planet. He/ She seems quite innocent while saying "That must have been the sun!". Here, he/she seems to guess about the possibility of the sun.

e.      How does the sunset? The sun sets quite mysteriously and confuses the speaker. He/she has less confidence in describing the sunset. According to him/her, the sun's rays seem purple and yellow during the time of its setting in the west. The sun takes away all the happiness and joy of daytime and leaves the unhappy and gloomy dark for all. At this point, he/she doesn't have an idea of what happens next. 

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