Both “The Birds begun at Four o’clock” and “At Half-past Three, a single Bird” impart human-like creative spirit to birds, and it is likely the poems were autobiographical with birds as symbol of the poet herself. Her very poems were the “cautious melody,” written in private, not “for applause” – “but Independent Ecstasy.”
The poems also touch on the relationship between creator and their creation. Of course, “At Half past Three, a single Bird” concludes with the enigmatic lines, “And Place was where the Presence was / Circumference between”; yesterday I puzzled over Dickinson’s use of “circumference” – especially with that added modifier, “between.”
In his essay "Dickinson's at Half Past Three, a Single Bird,” author Michael Bird put forth that Dickinson’s use of “circumference” incorporated the idea that once a work is created, it takes on an independent life, separate from its creator. He also referenced other critics who saw "circumference" as both a barrier and a way to expand comprehension. (Hmm. “Circumference” as contranym?)
Thomas Wentworth Higginson’s essay “Water-Lilies” seems to have been the inspiration for both of these poems. As a matter of fact – and in a move highly unusual for Dickinson – she even used Higginson’s exact words to open the one poem, “At Half past Three.”
Dickinson was very well read and intelligent, and at her core, a creative being, inspired by all facets of her life. It would seem near impossible for her not to have reacted or responded to what inspired her. However, inspiration is not the same as imitation. While it may well be an intrinsic challenge to create or transform influences into something unique, Dickinson was always authentic to her own voice and style.
In her article “Emily Dickinson Parallels” in The New England Quarterly, author Mary Elizabeth Barbot said this:
“That she ever consciously plagiarized with serious intent is irreconcilable with her fine sense of integrity, evidenced by a scrupulous acknowledgment in a letter to Higginson: ‘I marked a line in one verse, because I met it after I made it, and never consciously touch a paint mixed by another person.’ That she sometimes unconsciously used others' ideas or phrases which had been absorbed into the rich depth of her mind appears evident; but always these ‘echoes’ bear unmistakably the characteristic stamp of her original style.”
I have composed original songs based on some of Dickinson’s poetry, and a few years back I wrote a particularly lovely melody for the poem “I never saw a moor.” However, once I put the chord progression I heard in my mind to paper and then played it, I realized that I had simply written an updated version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D. What can I say? Unconsciously using something which has been absorbed into the rich depth of one’s mind happens.
BTW: I also set “I felt a funeral in my brain” to the chords and melody to “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” but I set out purposely to do that.
One last word about “At Half past Three, a single Bird”: Dickinson sent a copy to friend Doctor J. G. Holland. Holland and his wife were frequent correspondents and intimate family friends with the poet, and I wonder if she sent this particular poem to him due to the scientific references in the poem.
Michael Bird pointed out in his essay that Dickinson used the word "Experiment" in the second stanza to describe the bird's song, suggesting that the creative process was not just an artistic act but also a form of testing and searching, much like scientific inquiry.
Thoughts?
In his essay "Dickinson's at Half Past Three, a Single Bird,” author Michael Bird put forth that Dickinson’s use of “circumference” incorporated the idea that once a work is created, it takes on an independent life, separate from its creator. He also referenced other critics who saw "circumference" as both a barrier and a way to expand comprehension. (Hmm. “Circumference” as contranym?)
Thomas Wentworth Higginson’s essay “Water-Lilies” seems to have been the inspiration for both of these poems. As a matter of fact – and in a move highly unusual for Dickinson – she even used Higginson’s exact words to open the one poem, “At Half past Three.”
Dickinson was very well read and intelligent, and at her core, a creative being, inspired by all facets of her life. It would seem near impossible for her not to have reacted or responded to what inspired her. However, inspiration is not the same as imitation. While it may well be an intrinsic challenge to create or transform influences into something unique, Dickinson was always authentic to her own voice and style.
In her article “Emily Dickinson Parallels” in The New England Quarterly, author Mary Elizabeth Barbot said this:
“That she ever consciously plagiarized with serious intent is irreconcilable with her fine sense of integrity, evidenced by a scrupulous acknowledgment in a letter to Higginson: ‘I marked a line in one verse, because I met it after I made it, and never consciously touch a paint mixed by another person.’ That she sometimes unconsciously used others' ideas or phrases which had been absorbed into the rich depth of her mind appears evident; but always these ‘echoes’ bear unmistakably the characteristic stamp of her original style.”
I have composed original songs based on some of Dickinson’s poetry, and a few years back I wrote a particularly lovely melody for the poem “I never saw a moor.” However, once I put the chord progression I heard in my mind to paper and then played it, I realized that I had simply written an updated version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D. What can I say? Unconsciously using something which has been absorbed into the rich depth of one’s mind happens.
BTW: I also set “I felt a funeral in my brain” to the chords and melody to “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” but I set out purposely to do that.
One last word about “At Half past Three, a single Bird”: Dickinson sent a copy to friend Doctor J. G. Holland. Holland and his wife were frequent correspondents and intimate family friends with the poet, and I wonder if she sent this particular poem to him due to the scientific references in the poem.
Michael Bird pointed out in his essay that Dickinson used the word "Experiment" in the second stanza to describe the bird's song, suggesting that the creative process was not just an artistic act but also a form of testing and searching, much like scientific inquiry.
Thoughts?
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