Yesterday I posted information related to the poem “Further in Summer than the birds.” There are six variations of this poem, and the first version – and the longest (with seven stanzas) – was sent to Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt when she was recovering from a gunshot wound (she had been shot by a suitor her maid had rejected).
Dissatisfied with the final five stanzas, Dickinson substituted two new ones which created a four-stanza version that, with a few other tweaks, prevailed after that.
Dissatisfied with the final five stanzas, Dickinson substituted two new ones which created a four-stanza version that, with a few other tweaks, prevailed after that.
The word “minor” is used in the opening stanza, though seemingly in a non-musical way; however evidence that Dickinson intended a reference to music in the original poem is provided by the final two stanzas that were later eliminated – though they were included in the Johnson edition of Dickinson’s poetry as a stand alone poem, “The earth has many keys.”
The earth has many keys,
Where melody is not
Is the unknown peninsula.
Beauty is nature's fact.
But witness for her land,
And witness for her sea,
The cricket is her utmost
Of elegy to me.
The structure of these lines can seem a bit awkward. The dependent clause of the second line connects with the third line so that it reads, “Where melody is not is the unknown peninsula”; i.e., there is no known location on earth where there is no “melody.”
The message of the final four lines is certainly a fitting lament for our modern times: when one “witnesses” what is happening to our land and seas due to climate change, the symbolic sound of “crickets” is the “utmost elegy” for an ailing planet.
I composed music for this poem, and I challenged myself to use as many different chords as possible to reflect the earth’s “many keys.” I also decided to write a slow, somber song to represent the “elegy” mentioned in the final line.
I ended up using eight different chords, and the progression is as follows:
Intro: Gm / Eb maj / Gm Eb maj /
Song: Gm / Eb maj / Gm / Eb maj / D7 / Eb maj / D7 / G7 / Cm Bb maj Ab maj / Gm Ab maj / G7 / Cm / Ab maj / Cm /Ab maj / G
When I get a chance, I'll post a copy of the music. ;-)
The earth has many keys,
Where melody is not
Is the unknown peninsula.
Beauty is nature's fact.
But witness for her land,
And witness for her sea,
The cricket is her utmost
Of elegy to me.
The structure of these lines can seem a bit awkward. The dependent clause of the second line connects with the third line so that it reads, “Where melody is not is the unknown peninsula”; i.e., there is no known location on earth where there is no “melody.”
The message of the final four lines is certainly a fitting lament for our modern times: when one “witnesses” what is happening to our land and seas due to climate change, the symbolic sound of “crickets” is the “utmost elegy” for an ailing planet.
I composed music for this poem, and I challenged myself to use as many different chords as possible to reflect the earth’s “many keys.” I also decided to write a slow, somber song to represent the “elegy” mentioned in the final line.
I ended up using eight different chords, and the progression is as follows:
Intro: Gm / Eb maj / Gm Eb maj /
Song: Gm / Eb maj / Gm / Eb maj / D7 / Eb maj / D7 / G7 / Cm Bb maj Ab maj / Gm Ab maj / G7 / Cm / Ab maj / Cm /Ab maj / G
When I get a chance, I'll post a copy of the music. ;-)
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