Category: Color

Color My World

11/20/2020

Emily Dickinson once wrote, “Nature rarer uses Yellow than another hue.” But what about Dickinson herself as a poet – did she rarely use “yellow”? Or did she use “yellow” more frequently than other colors? Was she prodigal of “blue”? Did she spend “scarlet” like a woman?

Which color do you think Dickinson used most often in her poetry?

Yellow? Red? Blue? Oh – and don’t forget about Black and White. And what of Gold and Silver?

Dickinson also used gem names as colors too – like Emerald and Ruby. What happens when you throw those colors into the mix?

By Emily Dickinson:

Nature rarer uses Yellow
Than another Hue.
Saves she all of that for Sunsets
Prodigal of Blue

Spending Scarlet, like a Woman
Yellow she affords
Only scantly and selectly
Like a Lover's Words.

Well, I looked into this, color by color and poem by poem, and the results are below. Before you scroll down, though, to discover my findings, take a guess. Which color do you think Dickinson used most often in her poetry?

Okay, once you have a color in mind, you can continue scrolling through this post.

Initially, I looked into the colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, & violet – and also black and white. Then I added gold and silver and a few other secondary colors – purple, pink, brown, crimson, scarlet, and gray.

As I was researching the use of color in Dickinson’s poetry, I also remembered that Dickinson frequently used gem names as colors so I used checked on the number of times she used the words alabaster, ebon, emerald, ruby, amethyst, and sapphire.

NOTE: In the case of gem names/colors, I counted the number of poems in which Dickinson used the names of the gem/color; however, I did not examine each poem to see if she used the words as the color or as the actual gemstone. If I have time later, I can look into that, and then I will update this post.

So what were the results?

There were three colors which Dickinson used in only one poem each: orange, indigo, and ebon.

There were nine colors which she used in small numbers of poems: alabaster (3); sapphire (4); black, crimson, gray, and amethyst (6 poems each); ruby (7), violet (8), and brown (9).

The following colors were the big winners as they were used in more than ten poems each: emerald (11); pink (14); green (15); scarlet (17); white (25); yellow & silver (27 poems each); red (31); blue (32); purple (34).

And the big winner?

A drum roll please. . .

Gold was used in 36 different poems by Dickinson.

So how'd you do? Did you guess "gold" as the overall winner?

I'm not sure why, but I was surprised to find even one "orange" -- maybe because "nothing rhymes with orange." LOL -- but that wouldn't stop Dickinson. I was also surprised that "purple" beat out "red" and "yellow" -- but I suppose that isn't really true if you include "crimson," "scarlet" and "ruby" with "red" and/or lump "yellow" in with the gold. Another surprise? The sparse use of the color "black." I don't know why, but I thought there would be more of a balance between "black" and "white."

Were there any surprises for you?

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The Color Purple

12/9/2017

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From our art columnist Jarvis MacKinnon III:

Pantone, the company best known for its Color Matching System for standardizing colors, announced the Color of the Year for 2018, Ultra Violet.

“Complex and contemplative,” says the Pantone website, “Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now.”

The site’s description of Ultra Violet also notes that the color is often used in meditation spaces and other gathering places to "energize the communities that gather there" and that “Ultra Violet communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future.”

Of course, connections to the cosmos and contemplation to the color people stem from a short poem by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request) entitled “Purple is – fashionable now” (below on the left). For years the poem has inspired readers to further personal causes and to pursue expressions of individuality. It also inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem “Purple is – fashionable twice” (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Purple is – fashionable now –
The color of the year,
And when a soul perceives its hue
One strives to Persevere.

By Emily Dickinson:

Purple is – fashionable twice –
This season of the year,
And when a soul perceives itself
To be an Emperor.

Ultra Violet is certainly an interesting choice, following last year’s selection of “Greenery,” a color that “provides us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment.” We wrote about “Greenery” HERE.

Now Ultra Violet spurs people to take action, to push boundaries, and to make one’s mark on the world. Interesting enough, there is an organization called UltraViolet. UltraViolet’s website describes itself as “a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture.”

Sounds like after a tumultuous year of social and political turmoil, ultra violet is the perfect choice to be Color of the Year.

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True Colors

1/14/2017

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From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III:

In an unpresidented move, Pantone, the world’s leading pigmentologists, changed the Color of the Year for 2017. Since 2000, the company has declared a particular color the "Color of the Year, " and the announcement today was stunning in two ways:

1. This is the first and only time in the company’s history that they have changed a “Color of the Year” selection for a given year;

2. This is the first time three colors will share the honor as “Color of the Year” (in 2016 two colors – “Rose Quartz” and “Serenity” – were chosen).

Originally, Pantone announced that “Greenery” would be the “Color of the Year” for 2017. We wrote about that choice HERE. However, given recent events at the onset of a Trump presidency, the company said it was necessary to modify their choice.

“In light of Trump’s latest moves to stock his swamp,” said Cerulean Skye, the Chief Theoretical and Applied Tinge and Tint Research Visualizer for Pantone, “we felt an imperative need to reject ‘Greenery’ as the ‘Color of the Year’ for 2017. ‘Greenery’ just didn’t epitomize what has been happening.”

Ms. Skye reported that many if not all on the Pantone committee that selects the “Color of the Year” are ardent fans of the poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson. One member of the committee happened to email the other members a poem by Dickinson entitled “The Color of our ‘King’, is this," and that started a chain reaction that led to the stunning decision on the part of Pantone to choose three new colors for 2017.

Pictured above at the right: Cerulean Skye, Chief Theoretical and Applied Tinge and Tint Research Visualizer for Pantone

“Three distinct hues came to mind immediately,” said Ms. Skye, “and those colors are ‘Orange is the New Blech,’ ‘Impeach is the New Orange,’ and ‘Trumpster Fire.’”

“Of course,” she added, “there were a whole host of swamp-related pigments we could have considered too.”

Below: Pantone's three "Colors of the Year" for 2017: Orange is the New Blech, Impeach is the New Orange, and Trumpster Fire. Click the images to enlarge.

Below on the left: Emmett Lee Dickinson's poem "The Color of our 'King,' is this," which inspired the selection of the "Colors of the Year" for 2017. Below on the right: Besides inspiring the three “Colors of the Year” for 2017, Emmett Lee Dickinson’s poem also inspired his third cousin Emily to pen her poem, “The Color of a Queen, is this."

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Color of our “King,” is this –
The Color of a Fire
In dumpsters – this and Georgia
Clay – and this, an Orange –

And then at Day – He’s made up with
Dung suddenly on him –
‘Tis this – like Witchcraft – his nature
Is Dyed – with Iodine –

By Emily Dickinson:

The Color of a Queen, is this –
The Color of a Sun
At setting – this and Amber –
Beryl – and this, at Noon –

And when at night – Auroran widths
Fling suddenly on men –
'Tis this – and Witchcraft – nature keeps
A Rank – for Iodine –

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Out of the Blue

12/11/2016

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Pantone just announced the color of the year for 2017: Greenery, "a refreshing and revitalizing shade...symbolic of new beginnings." More information is HERE. Greenery replaces the two colors that shared the honor in 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity Blue (information is HERE).

This combination of colors-of-the-year occurred one other time in history in the years leading up to the Civil War. Serenity Blue was followed by Greenery which was replaced by -- we'll we won't mention the god-awful color that came next!

Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) wrote about this very sequence of colors (serenity blue to greenery to ...well, again, we won't divulge the dreadful color that came next) in his now-classic poem "The Color of the Year is Green" (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "The Color of the Grave is Green" (below on the right)

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Color of the Year is Green –
Or Greenery – I mean –
You would not know it from the Year –
That we have all just Seen –

To help our mood – to mend it –
With infinite new hope
They stopped to tell us how that is
So through the Days we’ll – cope –

The Color of last Year was blue –
Serenity – I mean –
You would not know it for the Year’s
Been Ghastly – not Serene –

It’s burrowed out the Smiles –
Then – all around the Land
Anxiety was on the rise
With each – until the end –

The Color for Beyond’s unknown
The Next in line – I mean –
Not all the Shades could make it bright
Not with this Somber – Scene –

You’ve seen the Color – maybe –
Upon a Dismal day –
Perhaps you’ve met with it before –
When Darkness – has its way –

By Emily Dickinson:

The Color of the Grave is Green –
The Outer Grave – I mean –
You would not know it from the Field –
Except it own a Stone –

To help the fond – to find it –
Too infinite asleep
To stop and tell them where it is –
But just a Daisy – deep –

The Color of the Grave is white –
The outer Grave – I mean –
You would not know it from the Drifts –
In Winter – till the Sun –

Has furrowed out the Aisles –
Then – higher than the Land
The little Dwelling Houses rise
Where each – has left a friend –

The Color of the Grave within –
The Duplicate – I mean –
Not all the Snows could make it white –
Not all the Summers – Green –

You've seen the Color – maybe –
Upon a Bonnet bound –
When that you met it with before –
The Ferret – cannot find –

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The Color Debate Continues

2/28/2015

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I've always heard that Eskimos have twenty-six different words for "snow." Or is it sixty-two? No matter. It is true, though, that they have thirty-seven different words for the color of snow. Nonetheless, most Color Psychologists of Eskimo descent agree that they still need more.

If, in fact, more words are needed, Eskimos may want to turn to the work of Ingrid Sundberg, a children's writer and illustrator, who recently created a series of color charts "for anyone struggling with color names" (information is HERE). One of Sundberg's color charts is shown at the left.

The timing of Sundberg's work is interesting, though, since just about everyone on Earth chimed in a couple of days ago in a debate surrounding the color of a black and blue -- or was it a white and gold -- dress. However, this debate is more than a few days old. It's been swirling and at times raging for years. The debate began back in 1857 when Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) noted that his third cousin's favorite white dress appeared at times to be blue (information is HERE).

If the Eskimos do need more words for the color of snow, though, they should probably first refer to the spectrum of colors developed by Emily Dickinson (now available by the gallon of paint at Delbart Dickinson's Cut-Price Hardware and Paint Store in historic Washerst, PA, the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson). Emily Dickinson generated numerous names for the different shades of white, and her range of colors offers more gradations and nuances than does the work of Sundberg.

Pictrured at the right: 10 shades of white developed by Emily Dickinson (click the image to enlarge).

Sundberg's work -- while commendable -- is just too limited. Dickinson's color schemes offer a much broader scale. Also, look at Sundber's choice for "corn" above. Does that look like corn to you? Emmett Lee Dickinson was a lover of corn, and if it's one thing we at the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum (above the coin-op Laundromat on Dickinson Boulevard) know, it's the color of corn. Alas, Sundberg's "corn" looks to us to be a little too close to "soiled diaper."

Pictured at the left: More of the colors developed by Emily Dickinson. Other examples can be found HERE (near the bottom of the page). Click the image to enlarge.

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The Debate about The Dress

2/27/2015

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By now we suspect you've seen the dress. Did you see white and gold? Or did you see black and blue?

Just yesterday (February 26, 2015) a picture of "the dress" was posted online, and within twenty-four hours the internet exploded. The debate about the color of the dress spread world-wide, and the dress was featured on morning and evening news broadcasts as well as the 24/7 cable news channels.

However, the debate and the dress are nothing new. No, instead, the debate about "the dress" began way back in 1857 when Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) was inspired to write a poem after he saw his third cousin's favorite dress as both white -- and blue!

Pictured above: One of the many tweets that flooded the Internet on February 26th about "the dress."

Pictured at the right: The debate about "the dress" began in 1857 when Emmett Lee Dickinson saw his third cousin Emily Dickinson in her favorite dress. In certain light, the dress looked white. However, at other times the dress looked blue.

The mystery of the color of the dress inspired Dickinson to write a poem about a peculiarly colored dress. The poem, "The Dress is gold and snowy," inspired third-cousin Emily to write "The Guest is gold and crimson."

Both poems are below.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Dress is gold and snowy –
But Others guess and say –
Of black and blue the garment –
And Prolong the fray –

It’s placed online at nightfall –
Then stops at every door –
With viral looks by morning
I view it too – and swore
The Frock’s pure intensity’s –
Not what it was before!

By Emily Dickinson:

The Guest is gold and crimson --
An Opal guest, and gray --
Of ermine is his doublet --
His Capuchin gay --

He reaches town at nightfall --
He stops at every door --
Who looks for him at morning
I pray him too — explore
The Lark's pure territory --
Or the Lapwing's shore!

Pictured below: White and gold? Black and blue? The controversy about "the dress" took an odd turn in 2008 just before the U.S. presidential election. At that time the debate shifted to "the address" of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Color My World

The Color Purple

True Colors

Out of the Blue

The Color Debate Continues

The Debate about The Dress

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Color My World

The Color Purple

True Colors

﻿Out of the Blue

The Color Debate Continues

The Debate about The Dress

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Out of the Blue