There is no frigate like a book
by Emily Dickinson
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
Commentary​
: Mrs. Kirk In this short poem, Emily Dickinson uses various ​
metaphors​
to suggest that reading can inexpensively and efficiently transport readers to various “lands.” Books are frigates, coursers, and chariots that “bear our souls” without “oppress of toll.” I enjoy this poem because like the speaker​
in Dickinson’s poem, I believe that books bring the world to us and affect our very souls, our understanding of others and our way of looking at life. I have traveled very little and have lived an ordinary life devoid of many exotic experiences, but I feel that I am more empathetic and worldly due to the reading I have done. I have lived in different time periods and traveled to the world’s most picturesque and bleak destinations thanks to the books I’ve read. I also enjoy the poem for its rhythmic qualities: due to its short lines, 8/6 ​
meter​
, and ​
rhyme​
​
scheme featuring exact and ​
approximate rhymes​
, this poem is perfect for memorization, and after reading it just a few times, I can recite it accurately. I love thinking that a poem is a permanent fixture in my brain; it’s a great use of brain­space in my opinion! EMILY DICKINSON
December 10, 1830 ~ May 15, 1886 Amherst, Massachusetts "A Word that breathes distinctly has not the power to die."
The Poet
Emily Dickinson received a formal education at Amherst Academy where the focus of her instruction was “moral literature” and science, especially botany. She attended one year at a female seminary, but dropped out. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Emily Dickinson did not consider herself a “saved” Christian. She had doubts and questioned the existence of God, something we see in her poetry. Emily Dickinson abhorred housekeeping and paying people visits, two activities women were expected to engage in. She prefered communicating through letters: “For Dickinson, letter writing was ‘visiting’ at its best. It was focused and uninterrupted. Other callers would not intrude. It winnowed out ‘polite conversation.’ The correspondents could speak their minds outside the formulas of parlor conversation. Foremost, it meant an active engagement in the art of writing.” Although she had a few poems published in her lifetime, Dickinson wished for her personal possessions, including personal letter and her poems, to be destroyed after her death; however, her younger sister and her cousin salvaged her volumes of poetry and sent them to various publishers. In 1890, four years after Dickinson's death, the first volume of her poetry appeared. Now she is one of the most renowned poets of the English language. Her Poetry
“The speakers in Dickinson's poetry … are sharp­sighted observers who see the inescapable limitations of their societies as well as their imagined and imaginable escapes.” Her poems often feature definitions through metaphor (“Hope is the thing with feathers”), the short rhythmic structure of a hymn, erratic capitalization, and unexpected twists and open endings.. Source Citation: Wider, Sarah Ann. "Emily (Elizabeth) Dickinson." ​
The American Renaissance in New England:​
Fourth Series​
. Ed. Wesley T. Mott. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 243. ​
Literature Resource Center.​
Web. 4 Apr. 2016.