Poem+Number+986

986

A narrow Fellow in the Grass Occasionally rides — You may have met Him — did you not His notice sudden is —

The Grass divides as with a Comb — A spotted shaft is seen — And then it closes at your feet And opens further on —

He likes a Boggy Acre A Floor too cool for Corn — Yet when a Boy, and Barefoot — I more than once at Noon Have passed, I thought, a Whip lash Unbraiding in the Sun When stooping to secure it It wrinkled, and was gone —

Several of Nature's People I know, and they know me — I feel for them a transport Of cordiality —

But never met this Fellow Attended, or alone Without a tighter breathing And Zero at the Bone —

Emily Dickinson tends to write about the dark aspects of life in her works. In this particular poem, she talks about a snake. Inside the context of the poem, evil is not portrayed; but after discussing what the point was; as a class, we came across that the snake is something that could represent evil. The evil snake like the story in Adam and Eve. This assumption only seems to make sense based on the other works the class has read and discussed by Dickinson. In the poem, the person stumbles upon the snake in the grass; ironically sort of how Eve stumbled upon the serpent in the garden. To stumble upon something usually means to not expect it; evil is something that most people do not enjoy to encounter. So maybe, then, the snake was an unexpected, stumbled upon evil... 1203908552
 * Poem 986 - Emily Dickinson**

I agree, Emily Dickinson does write very dark and angry. It usually brings me down. Although I don't think that she talks about dark things in this poem, which is different from here usual writing. I do like this poem of hers because it is like a puzzle because she doesn't say exactly what she is writing about. I felt like it was a riddle and the poem was a clue. I never did figure it out until Br. Tom told us. But after I found out that this is a snake I read it with a different perspective, this made the poem make more sence. It is cool who she decribed it like this: Have passed, I thought, a Whip lash Unbraiding in the Sun When stooping to secure it It wrinkled, and was gone — 1204079639

I agree with both of the above because emily does usually write aout the "dark" in life and it kind of annoys me because i don't understand that our lives (people in general) are dark enough. i really don't understand how people can relate and like the poetry. Yes, it is very well written, but i just gt an A on my history paper so i gues it was well written. I'm not trying to be mean here i am trying to understand for myself. this poem however is a little lighter and i kind of like it even though it is like a "puzzle," as the person above me stated. I really don't have an understanding of the poem even after bro read it but i still like it equally and i kind of think it makes it a little mor mysterious kind of. i don;t know it is one of those things that is better when it is misunderstood. Kind of like chinese food, the Army, or how pop-rocks pop!

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I liked this poem a lot; I think this is a grade a definition of Emily’s pomes. While reading this poem I could tell she was talking about a snake immediately and I found with her writing style that Emily likes to start off like that. The poem didn’t seem to really talk about a dark side or an evil, Emily could have kind of intended to show it with a snake sneaking around in the grass, but I don’t think it out there very blatantly. I think Emily may be trying to teach a lesson in this poem like if you’re not careful trouble can sneak up on you and it may not seem like it’s very harmful at first but it can get you. I also liked how the people above me related the poem to Adam and eve I think that was very creative and it relates good too. All in all the poem is a good yet rather misterious poem just like "the meat in chinese food". 1204055299

This poem I enjoyed reading. I think it was because it was really easy to understand. This poem is talking about " a narrow fellow in the grass" which is a snake. This poem is basically broken up into three different parts... 1. The first part is the first two stanzas. These to stanzas are kind of explaining the experience that the speaker is having. It describes how the snake moves. I really like the part about how the snake splits the grass like a comb because it is a really cool comparison. It compares the grass to hair, and a snake to a comb. I really like this comparison because it helps me really see the picture. 2. The second part is the third stanza. This stanza is really long, it is basically two full stanzas put into one. This stanza talks more about the snake. It talks about what the snake likes. 3. The third part is talking about the speaker. It is talking about the speakers feelings. When Emily Dickinson says

" I feel for them a transport Of cordiality —"

It really shows how the speaker of the poem loves and respects nature. I think that we should all care for nature just like the person in the poem. I also think that animals can make us happy just like the snake made the speaker happy. Overall this poem was cute, and I liked reading it. It had a really good message about nature and it kind of told us to respect all of God's creatures. 1204085886

I really liked this poem and how Emily Dickinson uses the metaphors describing the snake, especially, "A narrow Fellow in the Grass." The second stanza in my opinion is what tells the reader that she is talking about a snake:

The Grass divides as with a Comb — A spotted shaft is seen — And then it closes at your feet And opens further on —

It is given away when "The Grass divides as with a Comb....And then it closes at your feet." She is saying that we should respect snakes even if they are one of the most disliked creatures. This could be compared to life and how people treat each other. Even though you do not like someone doesn't mean that you shouldn't treat them with respect.

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This is one of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems. I was able to interpret it easy, it's about a snake. The lines that give it away are the very first line, and also the line "He likes a Boggy Acre," that one really helped me put it all together. The whole poem is Emily Dickinson describing the nature of a snake. My favorite stanza was the third when Dickinson explains how she realized the creature was a snake in these lines "When stooping to secure it--It wrinkled, and was gone." Those lines definitley put a picture in your head (a scary one for me) its a great use of imagery which I enjoy in a poem, it makes it more enjoyable. In the last stanza I believe Dickinson is tying the entire poem together and explaining how she has never been so scared ("Without a tighter breathing") of such a creature than when she encounters this snake. 1204239941

I found this poem interesting. It was a very good description of someone stumbling upon a snake. You can definitely tell that the speaker was somewhat nervous when she saw the snake. One reason for this could be, as mje said, is that snakes are commonly associated with evil, mostly because of the Adam and Eve story, again, as mje said. Another reason could be that the speaker just did not like snakes. Which it is, I am not sure. It migh not be either of these two reasons. I think that this poem illustrates human fear because of the way the speaker seemed scared of the snake. I am not surre about this at all. When I first read this poem, I had no idea that she was describing a snake, but after we went over it in class, I understood it a little better. Overall, I thought that this poem was OK. It was a little hard to understand, but I think I have the basic gist of it.1204249353

I really like this poem, it was interesting. I think that it may very well be one of my favorites from Dickinson. I was able to find out that this poem is about a snake. When it say "he likes a Boggy Acre" that kind of gave it away for me. She is describing the life and the nature of a snake and what it is here for. I liked it when Dickinson actually found out it was a snake she says, "When stooping to secure it. It wrinkled, and was gone." This line painted a picture in my head with the scary music in the background to build up the suspence and to figure out it was a snake. I think that the last stanza is kind of summing up the whole poem about how she is scared not knowing what it is to find out it is a snake. I like books and poems that have the suspence like this one it was great. 1204494703

- I think she is talking about a sneaky kind of person -- one who can't be pinned down. And who likes to startle people by sort of appearing and disappearing. I think her last stanza is quite filled with contempt, saying he has nothing real to offer. The unbraiding of the sun is like when a snake moves through a field of golden dried grasses and this describes how it looks; I've seen it. I like the last stanza. (the one about feeling cordiality) but it further emphasizes how all of nature is welcome except the snake. THis showing how she just doesn't like sneakiness and dishonesty.

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