kinson and LawrenceSimilarities and Variations in the Writings of Dickinson and LawrenceAlthough Emily Elizabeth Dickinson and David Herbert Lawrence lived andwrote during two different times, and in different parts of the world, theirpoetry contains many similarities. At the time Dickinson was being laid to restin Massachusetts, Lawrence was born in Nottingham, England.
Also, along with thelikenesses, they both have many differences. These affinities anddissimilarities can be seen in poems written by these authors dealing withsnakes. The first disparities can be seen in the meter of these two poems. Lawrence writes his poem, Snake, in a free verse style, whereas Dickinson writesher untitled poem as she did many of her poems, in iambic tetrameter andtrimeter. The meter of her poem shifts in every other line from four meters tothree.
A narrow fellow in the grass, Occasionally rides;, exhibits this formof rhythm. Lawrence’s free verse style is also a characteristic of many of hisworks. His poem contains no conventional style of meter, only alternating longand short lines which can also be witnessed in the structure of the poem. The rhythm and the structure of these two poems directly influence oneanother.
Lawrence and his free verse style are reflected in the long and shortlines in his poem, whereas Dickinson’s structure is more of a conventionalstructure. Lawrence has no set number of lines per line or stanza. Dickinson, onthe other hand, has four lines per stanza and although no set number of words ina line, the meter is repeated throughout the poem. Once again, we see twodiverse styles from the two authors.
When we examine rhyme patterns of the two poems, we begin to seesimilarities between the two authors. both authors seem to ignore a strict rhymepattern. Lawrence appears to have absolutely no rhyme pattern what so ever whichonce again reflects his free verse style. Dickinson as well averts from using astrong rhyme pattern. Dickinson occasionally uses partial rhyming in her poem(for example rides,is and sun,gone), a device common among many poets ofthe following century. One might say that Dickinson’s partial rhyming, andLawrence’s lack of effective rhyme might be to accommodate their strong wordchoice.
Word choice is another strong similitude of the two poets. Dickinson andLawrence use very similar word choice in their respective pieces. One of thefirst things that we notice with Dickinson’s poem is that she never uses theword snake. This can be traced to her attempt to personify the snake.
She usesthe word fellow, and refers to the snake as him throughout the poem in anattempt to manifest the snake. Lawrence uses very strong word choice to describehis feelings toward and because of the snake. Such words as cowardice, humility, and perversity get his point across in superb manner. The two poetsuse such word choice to symbolize their feelings toward the snake. Symbolism is an area where we see both likenesses and dissimilaritiesbetween Dickinson and Lawrence.
Dickinson uses visual and sensual expressions tosymbolize the snake . Such words as boggy, and cold shed heartless feelingsabout the snake. Yet when she wants to project feelings of fondness and delightin the snake, she uses sun and cordiality to show this. Lawrence also usesstrong symbolism throughout his piece. Such phrases as . .
. fissure in the earth- wall in the gloom. . . , and .
. . Into the burning bowels of this earth. . . symbolize the snake’s evil, dark life.
Most of the symbolism in Lawrence’s poemcan be seen in his choice of colors. Although Dickinson never actually voices any colors, they are depictedthroughout her poem through abstract references. Such depiction’s are, grass, spotted shaft, and sun. All of these abstract references to color symbolizeher like for the snake.
Lawrence, on the other hand, uses color as a very strongway to show his symbolism. He uses such colors as yellow – brown, and earth -brown, to describe the snake. So, yet used in different ways, both authors usecolors to express their sentiments for the snake. A major part of both poems are the emotions expressed through each piece. Lawrence seems to have a deeper emotion in his work. His numerous feelings suchas fright, amazement, cowardice and perversity are exhibited throughout the poem,and at the very end we see a strong emotion of pity and guilt.
Dickinson alsoconveys strong emotions through her work as well. Her feelings of innocence andfright are passed along to the reader in the last two stanzas. In conclusion, we see many areas of similarities and variations in theseauthors’ work. Although each author had his or her own distinct style, theyshared an amazing resemblance in their work.
Dickinson’s combination of vividfeelings and familiar verse, and Lawrence’s picturesque symbolism are strongpoints for each author; yet living in different places and living at separatetimes they both seemed to share an overall analogy. English
