An Analysis of Springtime

Happy April!

Emily Dickinson wrote many masterpieces - here, let’s discuss one of them, in celebration of the beginning of Spring. This is the poem as posted on allpoetry.com …

A Light exists in Spring

812

A Light exists in Spring

Not present on the Year

At any other period -

When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad

On Solitary Fields

That Science cannot overtake

But Human Nature feels.

It waits upon the Lawn,

It shows the furthest Tree

Upon the furthest Slope you know

It almost speaks to you.

Then as Horizons step

Or Noons report away

Without the Formula of sound

It passes and we stay --

A quality of loss

Affecting our Content

As Trade had suddenly encroached

Upon a Sacrament…

This poem expresses innocence being violated by the intrusion of skepticism, Science, and “Trade” or, the commerce of the mundane. Said another way, it is a sad reflection on the fleeting nature of the sacred - how it is harnessed and stripped of transcendence by the machines of economy and modern society.

No god is mentioned in the poem - the suggestion is simply of pure holiness, unnamed even as such, being corrupted. The poem tells a brief story that seems to end just before its own climax. What will the forces of good do to combat this encroachment? We feel the tension, the fire kindling, but is there an ultimate decision to save the innocent? We are given no answer, except the answer of poetry itself: Spirit and Fire in the face of the wickedness of the world. The fire here is just beginning, but there is an unspoken hope, while also a dire import, and true possibility of failure.

Structurally, this is one of Dickinson’s kinder poems. It is iambic (syllables alternating unstressed then stressed), of the form ABCB, and closely follows 6-6-8-6 syllables in its quatrains, making the reading very natural and enjoyable. In the center stanza there is a break in the rhyme, with the words “Tree” and “you,” which is no rhyme at all. The theological significance of Trees, discord, and the speech of holiness to the individual must be deliberate, suggesting the trial of two trees, one being good and the other being corrupt. The good tree is far away, and it “almost” speaks. This construction suggests that this holiness has not actually entered reality yet, has not experienced corruption - yet.

But the story isn’t over. As the story of humanity marches on, there are good poems along the way. Friendships, goodness, kindness continue to speak, and there is a hope in the end that these things will win out, even in a world so corrupt.

Thank you for coming along for this brief analysis of the great Emily Dickinson, and may you have a wonderful Spring, enjoying these beauties all the more for their fleeting nature, never losing the hope that great poetry can bring.

Jonathan David Shepard is a Kansas City area poet. He currently works as an Uber driver in addition to his many contributions to Midnight Garden Publishing. Originally from Sheboygan County in Wisconsin, he made the move to the Kansas City area in 2015. He has found friends and reconnected with family here in the KC area and is proud to belong to this community. He can be found on YouTube under the name Jonathan David Shepard where he reads classic poems and his own works in succinct videos and Shorts. He is thrilled to be part of the Midnight Garden mission, and if you go to a poetry reading in the area, you might just find him reading an original, or networking and growing the brand of Midnight Garden.rden.

Jonathan David Shepard, KC Poet,

Midnight Garden Publishing's I.T. Manager

Follow Jonathan on Youtube @Jonathandavidshepard2728