Emily Dickinson Meaning

Short, sharp, simple and sweet – these are the best description of the poem, “The Sky is Low, the Clouds are Mean”, as it relates to the idea of Emily Dickinson which explains how nature has its own “life” and ways. The poem’s meaning is deep, yet, its points are shallow. A reader may be able to define the poem as personification of Emily Dickinson’s feelings; others would simply consider it a poem that talks about nature and how it is seemingly identical with us – humans. Based on the claims regarding the origins of the poem, Emily Dickinson wrote this poem during the time wherein she would always feel lonely living alone in Massachusetts. Most of the time, she was simply in the comfort of her home or would attend Amherst Academy. His father, …show more content…
Using words such as “travelling,” “snow,” “across,” “without” and so on, Emily Dickinson was building the emotion of the poem. Given that Emily Dickinson was from the rural 19th century, it is not surprising for her to use natural scenes enveloped with figurative language (Wu, 2015, p. 338). According to some poets, this was the most effective way of building connection with the readers – trying to appeal via something that the audience interacts with on a daily basis. In the following phrases, “the sky is low, the clouds are mean (Dickinson, 1913),” Emily Dickinson was manifesting personal significance in nature. Her roots are in Puritanism, which is why, she saw everything through the lens of spiritual correspondence. In that particular phrase, Emily Dickinson was directly observing the nature – what it is and how it goes – telling her readers about her personal visions and if ever those sceneries impressed her or not. Moreover, according to some scholars, her distinction and use of imagery provided a glimpse of inner conflict that she was …show more content…
For Emily Dickinson, she was living with a rich family – one whose familial affair should supposedly gave her a lot of opportunities to enjoy life to the fullest, but it was the direct opposite. Emily Dickinson lived a lonely life. From the poem, her life story can be clearly felt. This may be the reason why she entitled her poem, The Sky is low, the Clouds are mean, because there was always an overcast feeling hanging in her heart. Her loneliness, sadness and feelings of solidarity were further implicated after Emily Dickinson likened her situation to weather scenery. In her mind, she was caught in an unending web of loneliness and there was no chance of escaping from it. For this particular reason, she denoted life as fleeting and ephemeral wherein chances and opportunities are like threads of the winds which are mostly hard to subdue. Unknowingly, Emily Dickinson locked herself in her own cell of loneliness, which is why, she failed to see a greater good from her experience. According to scholars and researchers, it may be expected from her who has lived in a presumptuous society wherein fairness and equality is nothing but a fleeting