The funny bone ain’t so funny when you hit it, amirite? And sweet breads – well, don’t get me started on that misleading moniker! Who the hell came up with that one?
Perhaps not as egregious, but I always thought Todd & Higginson made a similar slip when they bestowed the title “The Chariot” on Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop for Death.” I mean – line 3 very clearly states “The carriage held but just ourselves,” and there ain’t no mention of a chariot no where, no how. Kind of makes me think of Panama Hats – which originated from and are made in Ecuador.
Perhaps not as egregious, but I always thought Todd & Higginson made a similar slip when they bestowed the title “The Chariot” on Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop for Death.” I mean – line 3 very clearly states “The carriage held but just ourselves,” and there ain’t no mention of a chariot no where, no how. Kind of makes me think of Panama Hats – which originated from and are made in Ecuador.
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As far as Dickinson goes, “Because I could not stop for Death” is my “go to” poem whenever I find any collection of Dickinson’s poetry. I always check to see if the book includes the Todd-Higginson edited version (with its altered lines, reworked rhymes and an AWOL fourth stanza) – OR – the complete poem as Dickinson wrote it.
This past summer, on a whim, I typed “Emily Dickinson” into the search field of Spotify to see what might pop up. To my surprise, there was much more than I woulda thought. One of the top picks was an album of poems recited by Julie Harris (who, incidentally, portrayed Dickinson on Broadway in a one woman show “The Belle of Amherst.”
I listened to a few of the poems and was about to move on when I thought, “Hmm…I wonder which version of ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ she reads?” so I scrolled down to take a listen – and halfway through the poem I almost fell out of my chair.
“WHAT the hell is this?” I wondered. Line 10 differed from both Dickinson’s original and Todd’s edit.
I listened to a few of the poems and was about to move on when I thought, “Hmm…I wonder which version of ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ she reads?” so I scrolled down to take a listen – and halfway through the poem I almost fell out of my chair.
“WHAT the hell is this?” I wondered. Line 10 differed from both Dickinson’s original and Todd’s edit.
 | THE THIRD STANZA FROM "BECAUSE i COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH": Dickinson's version:  Todd's edited version:  The 1924 "Complete Poems" version:  |
| Below: I did some research and found this in Franklin’s Variorum: "At wrestling in ring CP24":  | Below: The poem as it appears in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1924):  Below: The third stanza in CP24:  |
 | Soooo...it turns out that this version of the poem appears in the 1924 volume The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson – but, in my mind, the mystery gets get even more mysterious. Here’s the lo down: The 1924 “complete” version of Dickinson’s poem is, in reality, just a compilation of Todd’s 1890, 1891, and 1896 three-series set of Poems along with the 1914 edition The Single Hound, edited by Dickinson’s niece, Marth Dickinson Bianchi: 1890 +1891+1896 +1914 – however, sans titles – PLUS the one change in “Because I could not stop for Death.” |  |
BUT WHY THE CHANGE IN “BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH”?
This is the weird part to me:
In the 1890 edition, when the poem was first published, Todd removed the fourth stanza, and she changed line 10 so that “done” would rhyme with “sun” in line 12. However, in the “new” version in 1924, the fourth stanza is still missing – BUT – the original rhyme in the third stanza is back – “ring” in line 10 once again pairs with “sun” in line 12, albeit with a new image of “wrestling” instead of “at recess." What's up with this?
This is the weird part to me:
In the 1890 edition, when the poem was first published, Todd removed the fourth stanza, and she changed line 10 so that “done” would rhyme with “sun” in line 12. However, in the “new” version in 1924, the fourth stanza is still missing – BUT – the original rhyme in the third stanza is back – “ring” in line 10 once again pairs with “sun” in line 12, albeit with a new image of “wrestling” instead of “at recess." What's up with this?
IF, in fact, the 1924 book is just a compilation of 1890 +1891+1896 +1914, then why didn’t Todd's 1890 version just transfer over? WHY the change? Who owned this version of the poem? And if the original rhyme was reinstated, why wasn’t the fourth stanza reinstated? I have so many questions.
Here are some of the things I looked into:
Who edited the 1924 The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson? Well, no editor is listed. The introduction is from Dickinson's niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi -- and she also included a "NOTE." I did find this on an old "Dickinson Electronic Archive" page: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Alfred Leete Hampson, introduction by Martha Dickinson Bianchi, Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.
Sooo....did MDB possess an odd copy of "Because I could not stop for Death" where the children are "wrestling in a ring"? I doubt that Hampson would have owned such a copy. And I'm curious: IF MDB owned a modified manuscript of the poem, did it include the missing 4th stanza? Why make the change in line 10?
Below far left and left: The title page and copyright page of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Below right: One page of MDB's "Introduction." She states that the book has "the addition of a few before omitted" poems and that this volume is "a final complete edition." She does not address any changes made to the previously published poems. Below far right: In her "NOTE," MDB does mention that "the original four divisions have here been retained" (Life, Nature, Love, and Time & Eternity), but that the "names given to many of the poems by former editors have been dropped." Again, no mention of any other changes.
Here are some of the things I looked into:
Who edited the 1924 The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson? Well, no editor is listed. The introduction is from Dickinson's niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi -- and she also included a "NOTE." I did find this on an old "Dickinson Electronic Archive" page: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Alfred Leete Hampson, introduction by Martha Dickinson Bianchi, Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.
Sooo....did MDB possess an odd copy of "Because I could not stop for Death" where the children are "wrestling in a ring"? I doubt that Hampson would have owned such a copy. And I'm curious: IF MDB owned a modified manuscript of the poem, did it include the missing 4th stanza? Why make the change in line 10?
Below far left and left: The title page and copyright page of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Below right: One page of MDB's "Introduction." She states that the book has "the addition of a few before omitted" poems and that this volume is "a final complete edition." She does not address any changes made to the previously published poems. Below far right: In her "NOTE," MDB does mention that "the original four divisions have here been retained" (Life, Nature, Love, and Time & Eternity), but that the "names given to many of the poems by former editors have been dropped." Again, no mention of any other changes.
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Hmm...how about any change made by the publisher? 1890's Poems was published by Roberts Brothers, and the 1924 volume was published by Little, Brown and Company. I found this about the two companies:
Messrs. Roberts Brothers (1857–1898) were bookbinders and publishers in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1857 by Austin J. Roberts, John F. Roberts, and Lewis A. Roberts, the firm began publishing around the early 1860s. Little, Brown and Company bought the firm in 1898.
I doubt, though, that someone in the LB&C publishing firm would have made the change in "Because I could not stop for Death."
Next, I checked the online Dickinson archive. There were three entries for "Because I could not stop for Death, and all three included the same digital copy of Dickinson's manuscript -- with no mention of any "wrestling." One of the entries, #5 in the pic below on the left, mentioned the change in 1924; however, it does not explain WHY the change was made (see bottom right).
Messrs. Roberts Brothers (1857–1898) were bookbinders and publishers in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1857 by Austin J. Roberts, John F. Roberts, and Lewis A. Roberts, the firm began publishing around the early 1860s. Little, Brown and Company bought the firm in 1898.
I doubt, though, that someone in the LB&C publishing firm would have made the change in "Because I could not stop for Death."
Next, I checked the online Dickinson archive. There were three entries for "Because I could not stop for Death, and all three included the same digital copy of Dickinson's manuscript -- with no mention of any "wrestling." One of the entries, #5 in the pic below on the left, mentioned the change in 1924; however, it does not explain WHY the change was made (see bottom right).
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Finally, on a whim, I Google-searched, "Is there a manuscript of 'Because I could not stop for Death' that shows line 10 as "wrestling in a ring."
Great googly-moogly, folks, are you ready for this? I hope you are sitting down.
I ran the search and got this back in response: "No, there is no known original manuscript by Emily Dickinson that contains the line 'wrestling in a ring.'" Well, alrighty then.
BUT THEN --
Oh. Em. Gee. The Google AI Overlord...er, I mean Overview...looped me back to my own site as the authoritative source. Folks, if I've said this once I've said it many a-time: At least 80% of what I get from AI is erroneous or ludicrous -- or, as in this case, both. I'm telling ya, if AI is turning to me the expert, we as a species are in trouble, deep trouble -- trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stands for poppycock! (And "poetry" too. #justsaying)
Great googly-moogly, folks, are you ready for this? I hope you are sitting down.
I ran the search and got this back in response: "No, there is no known original manuscript by Emily Dickinson that contains the line 'wrestling in a ring.'" Well, alrighty then.
BUT THEN --
Oh. Em. Gee. The Google AI Overlord...er, I mean Overview...looped me back to my own site as the authoritative source. Folks, if I've said this once I've said it many a-time: At least 80% of what I get from AI is erroneous or ludicrous -- or, as in this case, both. I'm telling ya, if AI is turning to me the expert, we as a species are in trouble, deep trouble -- trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stands for poppycock! (And "poetry" too. #justsaying)
I'll have a bit more on "Because I could not stop for Death" tomorrow, and if you missed my reference to the poem in my ditty, "The Critics and the Poetess," in yesterday's post, click HERE.
In the meantime, if any Dickinson scholars happen upon this piece and know something about this "BICNSFD" mystery, please lemme know what you know! ;-)
In the meantime, if any Dickinson scholars happen upon this piece and know something about this "BICNSFD" mystery, please lemme know what you know! ;-)
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