Back on October 9th, I shared “The Wind begun to knead the grass,” a poem that uses an archaic form of “fling," HERE. Then on the 23rd, I examined Dickinson’s uses of the word “fling” and “flung,” HERE.
| (BTW: I checked to see if “flang” ever showed up in any of Dickinson’s poems, and that turned up to be a “no.”) In two of the nineteen poems which include “fling” or “flung,” Dickinson used the term “fling” to mean “ask; implore; request; speak” (one of the three definitions provided on the Dickinson Lexicon). Those poems are “Once more my now bewildered dove” and “Prayer is the little implement” – and exploring “Once more my now bewildered dove” turned up some interesting information. |  |
The poem is dated 1858 by Johnson and 1859 by Franklin and Miller. Also, perhaps related to the theme of this poem, Dickinson’s brother Austin married her friend Susan Gilbert in 1856; relevant to that, a commenter on a Dickinson site analyzing this particular poem made this observation: “The first few years after Susan’s 1856 marriage to ED’s brother, Austin, were hard on ED because Susan tried to be a good wife, attentive to her husband’s needs, leaving ED feeling abandoned. Apparently, days and even weeks would pass without a response from Susan to ED’s letters and poems.”
Of course, contemporary research has brought into sharper focus Dickinson’s relationship with her sister-in-law, so could the narrative to this poem be related to the poet’s vain attempts to fling questions and/or communications to Susan – via her “bewildered Dove.” And was that Dove symbolic or real? Check out what Dickinson’s niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi wrote in her 1924 book The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson; this passage seems to indicate that Susan’s children were likely “doves” when “troubled questions” were flung:
"’David Copperfield’ was published when she (ED) was twenty-one, and Dickens was always a favorite of her father's, so that many of the expressions used in his stories became household words. ‘Donkeys, Davy,’ was flung back over Emily's shoulder as she fled from unwelcome visitors. The drollery of Dickens was congenial to her sense of the ludicrous, and ‘Barkis is willin'’ was a message carried more than once by the children between her and their mother without any realization of its import.”
Take another look at the final clause in the last sentence from Bianchi’s passage: “‘Barkis is willin'’ was a message carried more than once by the children between her (ED) and their mother (Susan Gilbert Dickinson) without any realization of its import.”
Hmmm…seems the children did, indeed, take on the role as the poet’s bewildered Columba (Latin for “dove”) when “troubled questions” arose.
And the message, “Barkis is willin’”?
That phrase does, in fact, come from David Copperfield. The character Mr. Barkis is too reserved to propose directly to Peggotty, so he asks young David Copperfield to deliver the message, "Barkis is willin’.” Its significance lies in becoming an idiom for expressing willingness or readiness to do something associated with an overlooked desire.
Of course, contemporary research has brought into sharper focus Dickinson’s relationship with her sister-in-law, so could the narrative to this poem be related to the poet’s vain attempts to fling questions and/or communications to Susan – via her “bewildered Dove.” And was that Dove symbolic or real? Check out what Dickinson’s niece Martha Dickinson Bianchi wrote in her 1924 book The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson; this passage seems to indicate that Susan’s children were likely “doves” when “troubled questions” were flung:
"’David Copperfield’ was published when she (ED) was twenty-one, and Dickens was always a favorite of her father's, so that many of the expressions used in his stories became household words. ‘Donkeys, Davy,’ was flung back over Emily's shoulder as she fled from unwelcome visitors. The drollery of Dickens was congenial to her sense of the ludicrous, and ‘Barkis is willin'’ was a message carried more than once by the children between her and their mother without any realization of its import.”
Take another look at the final clause in the last sentence from Bianchi’s passage: “‘Barkis is willin'’ was a message carried more than once by the children between her (ED) and their mother (Susan Gilbert Dickinson) without any realization of its import.”
Hmmm…seems the children did, indeed, take on the role as the poet’s bewildered Columba (Latin for “dove”) when “troubled questions” arose.
And the message, “Barkis is willin’”?
That phrase does, in fact, come from David Copperfield. The character Mr. Barkis is too reserved to propose directly to Peggotty, so he asks young David Copperfield to deliver the message, "Barkis is willin’.” Its significance lies in becoming an idiom for expressing willingness or readiness to do something associated with an overlooked desire.
 | As Arte Johnson used to say on “Laugh In,” “Verrrry interesting.”  |
An interesting twist to my post today:
While searching the web for info on “Barkis is Willin’,” I came across a blog entitled, “Dawn Reader, A blog about books--about writing--about readers and reading--about teaching.” There was a humorous entry called “Willing," HERE.
Upon further exploration, I landed upon the obituary for the gentleman who wrote the blog.
I added a comment on the page to let his family know that I had discovered his work, that I enjoyed perusing it, and that I was sorry my life did not cross paths with his sooner. :-(
While searching the web for info on “Barkis is Willin’,” I came across a blog entitled, “Dawn Reader, A blog about books--about writing--about readers and reading--about teaching.” There was a humorous entry called “Willing," HERE.
Upon further exploration, I landed upon the obituary for the gentleman who wrote the blog.
I added a comment on the page to let his family know that I had discovered his work, that I enjoyed perusing it, and that I was sorry my life did not cross paths with his sooner. :-(
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