In yesterday’s post, I discussed Helen Vendler’s take on Dickinson’s use of the dash. In brief: “Her dashes served a multitude of purposes,” noted Vendler in Dickinson, Selected Poems and Commentaries. She added, “The dash becomes especially significant when it concludes a poem.”
Also in the post, I discussed one poem, “If recollecting were forgetting,” of which Dickinson wrote two versions – one with dashes (published in Miller 2016) and one without (published in Franklin 1998). Furthermore, I shared “‘Lethe’ in my flower,” a poem with no dashes, but a work which survived only in the form of a transcription produced by Mabel Loomis Todd – the original manuscript either lost or destroyed. Did Todd alter the poem to “clean up” Dickinson’s punctuation and eliminate the dashes? After all, she was known for modifying the poet’s punctuation and grammar to make her poems more palatable for public taste.
Vendler provided an interesting twist on this theme:
Also in the post, I discussed one poem, “If recollecting were forgetting,” of which Dickinson wrote two versions – one with dashes (published in Miller 2016) and one without (published in Franklin 1998). Furthermore, I shared “‘Lethe’ in my flower,” a poem with no dashes, but a work which survived only in the form of a transcription produced by Mabel Loomis Todd – the original manuscript either lost or destroyed. Did Todd alter the poem to “clean up” Dickinson’s punctuation and eliminate the dashes? After all, she was known for modifying the poet’s punctuation and grammar to make her poems more palatable for public taste.
Vendler provided an interesting twist on this theme:
Vendler concluded her proposed transcription with this:
“As we compare the two possibilities, which seems more Dickinsonian? And what inference does a final dash allow that Todd’s terminal period does not?”
As I prepared today’s post and revisited Vendler’s text, I observed that I’d written a note to myself on the page, “LOL see recent post on the…”?
“As we compare the two possibilities, which seems more Dickinsonian? And what inference does a final dash allow that Todd’s terminal period does not?”
As I prepared today’s post and revisited Vendler’s text, I observed that I’d written a note to myself on the page, “LOL see recent post on the…”?
 | “Bunny”? Does that say “bunny”? Or does it say “bumnyl”? What the hell did I write – and what was my past-self trying to remind my present-self? It took me a bit to figure it out, but it does say “see recent post on the bunny.” Thisnote to myself was a cue to revisit a post from the end of April which focused on one individual’s query, “How would famous writers rewrite this sentence in their style: A bunny was looking for a carrot.” I didn’t think their proposed response for Emily Dickinson sounded very Dickinson-esque, so I attempted to compose one myself that sounded more Dickinsonian (a la Vendler’s reflection above). My post is HERE. |
Below: Variances in punctuation and spelling in Dickinson's "My life closed twice before its close":
NOTES RE: ABOVE CHART:
* From Franklin’s The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Variorum Edition.
** I have no idea why Johnson added a dash at the end of the opening line of the poem.
# Franklin: At the time she transcribed the poem, Todd wrote “[disclose}” next to line 3, apparently as a potential editorial alteration.
Emendation: 1 it’s] its even numbers 2-8] indented 6 befell] befel
## Miller: “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 Isaac atts, albeit rarely.
* From Franklin’s The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Variorum Edition.
** I have no idea why Johnson added a dash at the end of the opening line of the poem.
# Franklin: At the time she transcribed the poem, Todd wrote “[disclose}” next to line 3, apparently as a potential editorial alteration.
Emendation: 1 it’s] its even numbers 2-8] indented 6 befell] befel
## Miller: “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 Isaac atts, albeit rarely.
 | Left: "My life closed twice before its close" in the 1924 "The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson; the title "Parting," given my Mable Loomis Todd, was not used in this edition. Below left and right: The poem as it appeared in the June 1896 issue of Scribner's Magazine. The Scribner's version of the poem is the only one to use the word "this" in line 6 of the poem instead of "these" (which reminds me of the Eurythmics' "Sweet dreams are made of this...vs these" line in their song).
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Below: Click Annie Lennox's eyes to hear "Sweet Dreams are Made of This" (not These):
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