Ortega 1

Danira Ortega

Professor Batty

English 102

11 December 2017

Desire for a Loved One

Poetry often is presented as one of the hardest forms of Literature because of the structure

it has as well as the meaning behind them. Emily Dickinson is a writer of poetry. All her poems

are peculiar because the meaning may change depending on the individual, as well as the time

that the poems were written. The poem Wild nights, Wild nights is one of her most famous

poems. Although some believe this poem is referring to religion and a relationship with God, I

believe there is another interpretation for it. The poem can portray a desire for a significant other

because of the historical content behind the writer, the diction and the symbolism.

Emily Dickinson is an interesting author because before she started to write poems, she

wrote letters to her close friends and family. Its speculated that most of her poems were written

from the year 1862 and on. Its not certain that the poems reflect her feelings because as Janet

Gary mentions in her journal called Emily(Elizabeth) Dickinson, She wrote many of her

poems to send to friends on special occasions: to mourn the loss of a loved one or mark the

anniversary of a death, to congratulate or sympathize, or to accompany gifts or dried flowers.

(Gary) In the same article, Gary mentions that the meaning behind the poems depends on the

concerns and convictions the readers have. Dickinson didnt write publish her works and because

of this, she could write more honest without having the fear of social repression. Even though

Dickinson had little interest in social issues, some of her poems are out of place in the literary

culture of her time. At the time that Dickinson wrote her poems, a new movement was starting,
 Ortega 2

the New Criticism. This movement consisted on the interpretations of texts. Poetic language was

apart from the standard English and authentic poetry was complex. (Gary) Because Dickinson

wrote letters to people, which include sometimes poems, its not for certain that she is talking

about a desire she is having for one person, it could be that shes sympathizing with one of her

friends, and the poem reflects how the person is feeling at those moments.

Dickinsons poems have an interesting diction that portray the main idea of the poem. In

the poem Wild nights- Wild nights, she uses the word futile in the fifth line, which can mean

different things. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, futile can mean, Incapable of

producing any result (futile). If we take the definition and apply it to the line Futile-the

winds- (5), then it can mean that the wind didnt affected the individual or the situation. Maybe

it could also mean the individual is watching the object theyre desiring, so the individual may

feel like theres not time passing by at those moments. Another word that Dickinson uses is

moor. This word is defined by the same dictionary as a piece of unenclosed wasted ground [,

and] a particular vein or lode of ore. (moor) If we apply one of these definitions to the lines A-

the sea/might I but moor tonight (10-11), then Dickinson can be referring to the land that is

surrounding the sea, or how the person sees the object theyre desiring, like something really

valuable to them or it can be talking about how much they value the time theyre going to spend

that night.

Many times, the authors use symbolism to express the way they feel without being direct

with the message. If we break down the poem Wild Nights-Wild nights, then we can see the

symbols in each stanza. The first stanza can give an impression that the individual whos

narrating is maybe remembering their significant other and the experiences they had together. On
 Ortega 3

the next stanza, the same individual can be expressing how he/she feels that they found the right

person, since the lines says,

Futile-the winds

To a Heart in part

Done with the Compass

Done with the Chart! (5-10)

The first line can mean that the individual is observing their significant and it feels like the time

has stopped; the section where is talking about the compass and chart can mean that he/she is no

longer looking for a direction, that the place where they are being the right one. Finally, the last

stanza can mean that they are in paradise since it mentions Eden and the sea, which are usually

portrayed as a peaceful place as well as a paradise. By including many symbols, Dickinson

shows how the person that is saying this poem may be feeling towards the individual they desire.

Some people may think this poem is talking about God. The main section where this idea

can be seen is in the last stanza. In the last stanza it says, Rowing in Eden/Ah-the Sea! (11-12).

Eden is usually seen in the bible as something holy, some type of heaven per say. If we take

these lines, then it can show that maybe the person who is saying those words is trying to show

how Eden may be. It could be that the heaven the person is picturing is surrounded by a sea, and

the person is dreaming about being with God in Eden, how it would be that experience. The last

two lines can mean that the person is dreaming about God that night. Although this idea is not

incorrect, I believe that by taking the personal life of the author, the idea of this poem talking

about some type of desire goes better with how the author was.

Poetry is one of the most difficult and beautiful genres from Literature because its

usually where the authors express their feelings. In this style of writing they can express a social
 Ortega 4

point of view or even the emotions theyre having at the moment. This style of writing its not

only about the words that are written but also the way that theyre read, whether its out loud or

just in someones mind. The way an individual reads a poem can help the reader relate to the

authors ideas, or see the point the author is trying to argue. Depending also on the time the poem

was written, and the time that is being read, the interpretations and the value for the poem may

vary.
 Ortega 5

Works Cited

Dickinson, Emily, and Jackie Moore. "Wild nights -Wild nights." Selected Poems. Oxford: Oxford UP,

2006. Print.

Gray, Janet. "Emily (Elizabeth) Dickinson." American Writers, Retrospective Supplement 1, edited by

A. Walton Litz and Molly Weigel, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. Literature Resource Center

"futile, adj." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web.

"moor, n.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web.