Yesterday’s post included a “play-at-home challenge”: I shared four of Dickinson’s poems, and you had to give them titles to see if you could match the names for the poems as suggested by Thomas Wentworth Higginson back in 1890.
When it came to matters of editorial policy in the early years of publishing Dickinson’s poetry, providing titles for the poems was one area on which Mabel Loomis Todd disagreed with Thomas Wentworth Higginson.
“Upon this subject,” wrote Todd, “we never wholly agreed.”
‘Twas Higginson who was pro-title, by the way.
Before I disclose the titles for the four poems (“I meant to have but modest needs,” “I lost a world the other day,” “The bee is not afraid of me,” and “A little road not made of man”), let me mention one of Higginson’s titles that has always baffled me – and you can let me know if I am being too persnickety about this. The poem is “Because I could not stop for Death.” Higginson dubbed that poem “The Chariot.”
Of course, as “the Horses’ Heads / Were toward Eternity,” I could see where Higginson might envision a chariot. However, in the third line of the poem, Dickinson clearly states that Death’s mode of transportation was a carriage, not a chariot.
Am I nitpicking?
When it came to matters of editorial policy in the early years of publishing Dickinson’s poetry, providing titles for the poems was one area on which Mabel Loomis Todd disagreed with Thomas Wentworth Higginson.
“Upon this subject,” wrote Todd, “we never wholly agreed.”
‘Twas Higginson who was pro-title, by the way.
Before I disclose the titles for the four poems (“I meant to have but modest needs,” “I lost a world the other day,” “The bee is not afraid of me,” and “A little road not made of man”), let me mention one of Higginson’s titles that has always baffled me – and you can let me know if I am being too persnickety about this. The poem is “Because I could not stop for Death.” Higginson dubbed that poem “The Chariot.”
Of course, as “the Horses’ Heads / Were toward Eternity,” I could see where Higginson might envision a chariot. However, in the third line of the poem, Dickinson clearly states that Death’s mode of transportation was a carriage, not a chariot.
Am I nitpicking?
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By the way, in the comparison above (original vs. 1890 version), did you notice that Todd and Higginson changed the third stanza to make it rhyme – AND – they omitted the fourth stanza completely?
I digress. Back to the four poems for the “play-at-home challenge”:
I digress. Back to the four poems for the “play-at-home challenge”:
For the poem “I meant to have but modest needs,” Higginson suggested the title “A PRAYER OF THE LOWLY.” That poem appeared in the second series of Dickinson’s poems (published in 1891), and the two editors compromised and used the title “A PRAYER.”
For the poem “I lost a world the other day,” Higginson suggested the title “A WORLD WELL LOST”: “Thereby to my mind,’ Todd protested, “entirely misrepresenting the thought.” Todd compromised with Higginson, and they used the title “LOST.”
For “The bee is not afraid of me,” Higginson suggested “AT HOME.” Todd noted in her journal, “the gist of that poem lies in the last two lines, which ‘At Home’ never touched.” Todd won that battle, and no title was used.
“One more title I had to strike out because it did not apply,” wrote Todd, was “IN THE WOOD” for the poem “A little road not made of man.” Todd noted that a road in the woods was not intended, but instead “that airy highway whereon a bee and butterfly pursue their invisible business.” Again, no title was provided.
How did you do with your titles? If you matched all four with Higginson’s suggestions, then congratulations! You have just won a 1970 four-door AMC Gremlin – your choice of color – with a Levi jeans interior!
For the poem “I lost a world the other day,” Higginson suggested the title “A WORLD WELL LOST”: “Thereby to my mind,’ Todd protested, “entirely misrepresenting the thought.” Todd compromised with Higginson, and they used the title “LOST.”
For “The bee is not afraid of me,” Higginson suggested “AT HOME.” Todd noted in her journal, “the gist of that poem lies in the last two lines, which ‘At Home’ never touched.” Todd won that battle, and no title was used.
“One more title I had to strike out because it did not apply,” wrote Todd, was “IN THE WOOD” for the poem “A little road not made of man.” Todd noted that a road in the woods was not intended, but instead “that airy highway whereon a bee and butterfly pursue their invisible business.” Again, no title was provided.
How did you do with your titles? If you matched all four with Higginson’s suggestions, then congratulations! You have just won a 1970 four-door AMC Gremlin – your choice of color – with a Levi jeans interior!
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