When Melon Husk purchased Twitter and hate speech on the platform escalated out of control, I deleted my account and joined Counter Social -- a saner and much more civil site. Over 200 days ago on that site I started a daily post using the hashtag #DickinsonDaily, and each morning I discuss some poem(s) or some trivia or factoid about the poet, Because Father's Day fell on this weekend, for my post today I checked the online Dickinson archive to see how many times the poet used the word "father" -- as well as "mother," "brother," and "sister" -- in her poems.
Which term did Dickinson use most often?
**drum roll please**
"Father" was used in 29 different poems (However, I did not check them out to differentiate between "father," as in "dad," vs. "Father," as in "Our Lord") -- and perhaps the most famous poem with "father" is "I never lost as much but twice."
Dickinson used the word "mother" in 8 different poems, & the number of times she used "brother" & "sister" is a bit confusing!
The Johnson edition of "Complete Poems" includes 8 poems with "brother" and 6 with "sister" -- & the Franklin edition includes 7 poems with "brother" and 5 with "sister" -- and it all has to do with variations of a single poem which I have posted below.
Johnson included 3 variations of this particular poem in his edition; Franklin just the one.
Which term did Dickinson use most often?
**drum roll please**
"Father" was used in 29 different poems (However, I did not check them out to differentiate between "father," as in "dad," vs. "Father," as in "Our Lord") -- and perhaps the most famous poem with "father" is "I never lost as much but twice."
Dickinson used the word "mother" in 8 different poems, & the number of times she used "brother" & "sister" is a bit confusing!
The Johnson edition of "Complete Poems" includes 8 poems with "brother" and 6 with "sister" -- & the Franklin edition includes 7 poems with "brother" and 5 with "sister" -- and it all has to do with variations of a single poem which I have posted below.
Johnson included 3 variations of this particular poem in his edition; Franklin just the one.
| From the Johnson edition of “Complete Poems”: 1366A (c. 1876) Brother of Ingots – Ah Peru – Empty the Hearts that purchased you – 1366B (c. 1878) Sister of Ophir – Ah, Peru – Subtle the Sum That purchase you – 1366C (c. 1880) Brother of Ophir Bright Adieu, Honor, the shortest route To you. | From the Franklin edition of “Complete Poems”: 1462 (1878) Brother of Ophir Bright Adieu, Honor, the shortest route To you. |
Just FYI: From the online Dickinson lexicon re: "Ophir":
"Son of Joktan (see Genesis 10:29); descendent of Shem in the Old Testament; Biblical location where gold is refined (see Job 22:24); legendary location of Solomon's mines (see 1 Kings 9:28); source of gold for the temple in Jerusalem; place where King David procured gold, ivory, wood, and precious stones to build the temple; possibly, the rich natural resources of South America; (see ED letters)."
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