Category: Word Choice

After All the Lines Have Been Investigated

3/3/2026

Yesterday: "After all Birds have been investigated and laid aside.”

The post, HERE.

The concluding line: “I’ll have more on this poem tomorrow.”

Today: Heeeere’s more:

In 1877, Dickinson sent a copy of this poem to Thomas Wentworth Higginson; however, later variants suggest she was not happy with the second stanza. The Miller edition of Dickinson’s poetry includes the version sent to Higginson. It is shown left with other possible word and phrase choices. The Johnson and Franklin editions include what is the more familiar version (shown above).

Which version do you prefer?

For me: There is something starkly clinical about that opening line – it reminds me of the opening of another poem by Dickinson (“Split the Lark / and you'll find the Music / Bulb after Bulb, in Silver rolled”); however, the second line shifts from the apparent scientific supposition to a more natural situation as Nature presents a small bluebird with a song that rises above the daily hardships of life. I mentioned yesterday that line 3, “Her conscientious Voice will soar unmoved,” called to mind the 2017 rallying cry, “Nevertheless, she persisted” – and without a doubt, this bird keeps at it.

This persistence, of course, is emphasized in line 5 as the bird’s song competes with the winds of March, though in line 6 I think I prefer her “gallant note” over her “panting note.” “Panting” connotes fatigue, and the more heroic “gallant” suggests greater resolution.

I also love the idea that the bird’s song “exalts us – like a friend.” Isn’t that a positive message – to exalt one’s friends? Interestingly, I saw a Reels the other day where a gentleman was promoting a “tell them” campaign (I think that's what he called it) to spread gratitude, encouragement, and positivity. Be like the bird!

In the penultimate line I prefer “swerves” over “cleaves – it’s a bit less abrupt and also provides a dash of alliteration; however, I wonder if Dickinson could have conceived an even more captivating one-syllable word? “Dies” would be too harsh – though it would work with the final line, “Elegy of integrity” (which I much prefer over the other possible final-lines). “Falls” would be too goofy. Hmmm…fades; melts; wanes; ebbs?

Well, dear reader, the morning has cleaved away. However, a melody is stanched in my mind. It’s Peggy Lee crooning “Is that all there is?” As I sit watching the world go up in flames, I can assure you there is more.

Stay tuned.

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Think Twice

5/6/2025

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Here’s an interesting passage from Judy Jo Small’s “Positive as Sound, Emily Dickinson’s Rhyme” about Dickinson’s clever prowess and playfulness with language (although the passage does contain its fair share of blasphemy -- LOL):

“Analysis of and inference from such linguistic intricacies is laborious, too, and at times Dickinson’s cryptic, elliptical procedures can seem wearisome. Sometimes the trouble really does not seem worthwhile (LOL – this is the blasphemous part). Her fascination with the ‘wiles of words’ and with the labyrinthine secrets of the lexicon, though, lies close to the core of her poetic magic. Nearly every devoted reader of Dickinson has found that passages that seem exasperating at one time can later flash with meaning hitherto hidden. As she mulled over the enigmas of life and the subtleties of language, she writes primarily for those readers who enjoy doing that, too.”

Small then discusses the wordplay involved in the poem “My life closed twice before its close.”

Here’s what Small had to say about the word “disclose,” a variant for “unveil” in line 3:

“’Disclose’ is a synonym for ‘unveil,’ and both words mean ‘to uncover’ or ‘to reveal.’ ‘Unveil’ has the advantage of drawing in connotations suggesting the world ‘beyond the veil’ or mortality, connotations obviously relevant here. In juxtaposition to ‘close,’ however, ‘disclose’ has a different advantage: it attracts attention to itself as an antonym for ‘close’ and to it own literal sense as ‘open,’ which in this context is an arresting paradox. That is, it compounds the paradox in the opening line, which pushes the reader’s imagination to discriminate between two kinds of ‘close’ – the literal ending of life, or death, and some metaphorical ending comparable to death yet prior to death and capable of recurrence an indefinite number of times. ‘Disclose’ demands a further stretch of the mind toward conceptualization of an immensity that is simultaneously an opening and a close, a revelation or uncovering that is also a covering, a conclusion that does not conclude, thus doubly ‘hopeless to conceive.’”

The Miller edition of Dickinson’s poems includes the word spelled as “befell” in line 6. Miller includes this note: “The spelling ‘befel’ may be MLT’s mistake (it was emended by RWF), but it may also be ED’s anachronistic spelling: it is used by Shakespeare and by Issac Watts, albeit rarely.”

Pictured at the right: The poem as it appeared when first published in 1896.

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Triskaidekawordia

2/15/2025

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Often when Emily Dickinson would write a poem, she might add a little + sign on her draft if she entertained possible alternative word choices – and then she’d write the possible choices in the margins of the page.

I’m not sure if the poem “The Bible is an antique volume” holds Dickinson’s record for alternative word choices or not, but take a look at line 13 (from Miller’s edition of Dickinson’s poetry), “Had but the Tale a thrilling teller”: she added that + sign on her draft, and on the bottom of the page she noted a dozen more possibilities to take the place of “thrilling.”

The choices include the following: typic, hearty, bonnie, breathless, spacious, tropic, warbling (used in the Johnson & Franklin editions), ardent, friendly, magic, pungent, winning, and mellow.

The poem was written around 1882, and there were at least three variants. The earliest record, in pencil on a discarded bifolium of stationery addressed to “Vinie” in an unidentified hand, consists of three stanzas, and Franklin’s research states, “To this ED added a stanza with thirteen alternatives for one word.”

In one version, Dickinson titled the poem “Diagnosis of the Bible, by a Boy.” Another version is untitled, and a third version was addressed in pencil to “Ned” (her nephew) and signed “Emily”; at the top of that page she wrote, “‘Sanctuary Privileges’ for Ned, as he is unable to attend.”

Below is a copy of Dickinson’s manuscript (with the thirteen alternative word choices), and a copy of the poem as it appeared in 1924’s “The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson” (“complete” as of 1924):

In perusing that volume (i.e. 1924's "The Single Hound"), a mystery surrounding this poem has emerged. I’ll write about that tomorrow.

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Game On!

12/6/2020

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If you were to play a classic board game with Emily Dickinson -- based on word usage in her poetry -- the chosen game would likely be the game of Life and not Monopoly because Dickinson never used the word "monopoly" in any of her poems, but she used the word "life" in 142 different poems.

Here's how the vintage games stack up (according to the number of poems in which the words appear):

Monopoly: 0
Chess & Checkers: 0
Clue: 1
Scrabble: 1
Concentration: 2
Sorry: 6
Risk: 7
Trouble: 19
Life: 142

Even though Dickinson used the word "clue" only once in her poetry, I did wonder what would it be like to play the classic detective game with her. Here's how it would turn out:

The culprit who committed the murder would be Mrs. White, because Dickinson used the word "white" in 25 different poems, and she never mentioned Colonel "mustard" or Professor "plum." Here's the breakdown of the characters' names as used in Dickinson's poetry:

Mustard: 0
Plum: 0
Green: 15
Scarlet: 17
Peacock: 1
White: 25

And which weapon would Mrs. White have used? Most likely a fire arm:

Candle: 6*
Knife: 1
Pipe: 3
Lead: 5
Revolver: 1
Gun: 6
Rope: 5
Wrench: 1***

* Dickinson never used the word "candlestick," but she did use "candle" 6 times -- and she even used the word "stick" once.

** Dickinson used the word "lead" in 21 poems; however, in only 5 poems did she mean "lead," a heavy metal.

*** Dickinson also used the word "wrenched" in one poem and "wrenching" in another.

New versions of the game "Clue" include additional weapons, so here is how they fared:

Poison: 0
Bat: 0*
Club: 1
Trophy: 0
Axe: 2
Dumbbell: 0
Weight:: 3**

* Dickinson did use the word "bat" once, but it was for the creature; she did, though, used the word "club" once.

** Dickinson never used the word "dumbbell," but she did used the word "weight" ten times -- and three times the word referred to a heavy object.

Finally, where would the victim have been murdered? "Hall" is used most often in Dickinson's poetry, but I don't think that location is one of the choices for the murder in "Clue"; the hall is just used to move characters around. Therefore, in the traditional game, the murder would have taken place in the "dining room."*

Study: 0
Kitchen: 1
Ballroom: 1
Conservatory: 1
Billiard Room: 0**
Library 1
Hall: 5
Lounge: 0
Dining Room: 2

* The word "room" is used in 36 different poems -- and in two of those poems, Dickinson actually said "Dining Room."

** "Pool" is used in 10 poems, but never as the game similar to "billiards."

NOTE: Some more modern versions of "Clue" include the cellar as a possible murder site -- and "cellar" was used in 4 different poems.

So there you have it -- in a traditional game of "Clue" -- based on word usage in the poems of Emily Dickinson -- the murder would have been committed by Mrs. White with a gun in the dining room (and in the cellar in an up-to-date version of the game).

For more statistics on word usage in the poems of Emily Dickinson, click HERE.

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Eight Is Enough

12/5/2020

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I'm looking for EIGHT people on this earth -- maybe TWELVE. Which eight (or possibly twelve) people? I'll get back to that in just a minute. For now, read on. : ) INFO RE: THE EIGHT PEOPLE I'M SEARCHING FOR IS BELOW.

In the past few days and weeks, I’ve been posting tables and charts with visual representations of word use in Dickinson’s poems. You can see the fruits of my labor HERE.

Can these charts and tables reveal anything about the poet?

For example, when writing about various living things, Dickinson used the word “creature” in 35 different poems, and she used the word “animal” in only one (she even used the word “beast” in two poems).

Dickinson’s poems that mention “summer” (103 poems) outnumber the combined total of poems where she wrote of the other three seasons (68 poems). Interestingly enough, though, she used "cold" terminology more frequently than words of "warmth" (“cool,” “cold,” and “frozen” were used in 53 different poems; “hot,” “warm,” and “warmth” were used in a total of 31 poems).

I’ll admit, I having fun doing this. I find it interesting to discover that Dickinson made many more references to music than she did to art which outnumbered mentions of writing and poetry. I find it curious that she used the word “frog” more often than “deer” or “fox” – and that the common house fly appeared in more poems than “frog,” “deer” and “fox” combined.

In tribute to my investigations of Dickinson's word choice, I have posted Emmett Lee Dickinson's "I count the words to every poem," below on the left. Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "I found the words to every thought," below on the right.

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

I count the words to every poem
She ever put – to Pen –
And that – absorbs me –
As her Hand did set to write the Poems

And Letters – nurtured at her Desk –
How would the next – begin?
Can Sense be shown in all the Counts –
And Then -- what does it Mean?

By Emily Dickinson:

I found the words to every thought
I ever had – but One –
And that – defies me –
As a Hand did try to chalk the Sun

To Races – nurtured in the Dark –
How would your own – begin?
Can Blaze be shown in Cochineal –
Or Noon – in Mazarin?

Okay -- about those eight (or maybe twelve) people:

Just yesterday, my wife said that I could be raking the yard or loading the dishwasher or putting away the laundry instead of analyzing the poetry of Emily Dickinson. She said I was being too dedicated to my work. Okay, okay -- she didn't say that. She said I was being too anal. :-D Then she posed a most preposterous question: "Do you think there are even eight people on this earth who care about that stuff?"

I told her that, yes, I thought there were eight people on earth who cared -- and I told her I would try to find those eight people.

That's when she said, "Well, up the number to twelve if you count those people at the museum." She was referring to the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA, and not the Emmett Lee Dickinson Museum in Washerst (pronounced "WAS-herst"), PA.

Anyway, if you're one of the eight (or twelve) people on this earth who care, please comment below or tweet to me on Twitter. My Twitter name is @The_Dickinson.

Thank you.

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

11/11/2020

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The Emily Dickinson Archive (HERE) is an "open access website for the manuscripts of Emily Dickinson," and it's a great resource for scholars researching Dickinson's poetry.

One useful feature of the archive is that you can search for a particular word -- for example, in the picture below, I searched for the word "bleakness" -- and then you can explore the text from a particular poem and even from a specific publication of the poem (again, in the picture below, I selected a version of "On the bleakness of my lot" from the 1998 Franklin Variorum).

An additional feature I like is that the archive's transcriptions show the various word choices Dickinson was considering for her poems.

In the example at the right, "On the Bleakness of my Lot," take a look at the second stanza. Dickinson considered "steadfast tilled" vs. "steady tilled," and she considered "reward" and "repay" before settling on "refund."

Some other examples are below. You can click the images to enlarge.

From the poem "The hallowing of pain," Dickinson considered "crest" versus "top." Which do you prefer?

From "There is no Frigate like a Book," "travers" versus "travel" -- and "oppress" versus "offence":

From "Praise it -- 'tis dead," "tethered" vs. "gathered" -- and "award" versus "delights":

Interestingly enough, at times I have found alternate word choices that would shifted the meaning and/or tone of specific poems rather significantly. For example, check out the three poems below.

1. Emily Dickinson was a vocal proponent of good oral hygiene and oral health care so "I lost a World -- the other day!" was almost a poem about gum disease with the opening line as "I lost a Tooth -- the other day."

2. "Because I could not stop for death" started out as a love poem to Emily Dickinson's favorite breakfast: triple chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes with whipped cream The first stanza was to have started like this:

Because I could not stop for triple chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes with whipped cream
They kindly stopped for me
The platter held by just myself
And scads of calories

3. Dickinson was also a lover of the classic Margarite (invented by Emmett Lee Dickinson, Emily's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), and her poem "Before the ice is in the pools" was almost an ode to her favorite libation. The poem was going to open with these lines:

Before the ice is in the glass –
Before Tequila’s poured
Or any drink at nightfall
Is garnished and adored –

If/when you get a chance to dive into the Dickinson archive for any research and/or just for fun, let me know if you find interesting alternate word choices associated with any of Dickinson's poems! If I find more, I'll be sure to post them here on my plog (poetry blog).

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After All the Lines Have Been Investigated

Think Twice

Triskaidekawordia

Game On!

Eight Is Enough

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

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