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【Abstract】Emily Dickinson skillfully uses the images of various flowers and birds to convey her daring thought on nature in many of her short but fresh poems.Her expert use of the images of flowers and birds not only helps to increase the aesthetic effect of her poetry，but also helps to reveal her ideas on nature.
【Key words】Emily Dickinson； flowers； birds； nature； images
1.Introduction
Emily Dickinson is considered to be one of the best poetesses throughout the world.In many of her short but fresh poems，she skillfully uses the images of various flowers and birds to convey her daring thought on nature.Heedless of traditional forms and rules，she defamiliarizes the conventional poetic form，“deliberately overusing capitalization and dashes，to make her poems look strange” （Li 149）.In order to convey her daring thought on nature，she makes good use of concise and compact expression and molds daring and precise images in her short but fresh and original poems.The paper aims to give an in-depth analysis on how the images of flowers and birds in her poems combine to convey her viewpoints towards nature.
2.Nature and the images of birds and flowers
Dickinson’s images of birds and flowers convey her contradictory and unique view of nature.Emily Dickinson is good at depicting creatures on earth，such as birds，flowers，bees and snakes.In her poems related to birds and flowers her contradictory attitude and unique view towards nature are given a full play.On the one hand she，under the influence of transcendentalists，admires and holds intimate love for nature； on the other hand she is well aware of nature’s mystique and mercilessness.One of her condensed poem，“A Route of Evanescence” （Huang 272） is served as a good example illustrating her conflicting attitude towards nature.The compact poem，with the rhyme scheme of ABCB，offers a brief description of a hummingbird and its quick presence.A repetition of the beginning consonant “R” occurs in the first four lines.In the first two lines “Route” and “revolving” depict the movement of the bird and the flapping motion of birds’ wings while in the third and fourth lines “Resonance” and “Rush” cause the reader to “hear” or imagine the quick movement in the bird’s flapping wings； therein a hummingbird moving rapidly is painted vividly from both the visual and the auditory perspective.It moves so quickly that the “head” of the blossom is “tumbled” when it flies past.The last two lines talks about the speaker’s feeling and impression about the scene she sees.“The mail from Tunis” will tell one something new，interesting and mysterious while “An easy Morning’s Ride” refers to a gentleman caller，something quite familiar to the new England.Thus we arrive at one of the themes of the poem：nature could be mysterious to us but it also could be familiar to us； it all depends on whether one is alienated from nature or stays close to it.In the poem the speaker doesn’t describe the quick presence of the bird directly.Instead by depicting the movement of the flowers at the time of the bird’s flying past—“Adjust its tumbled Head”，she skillfully achieves her purpose of emphasizing the speed of the bird and finally brings out the themes of the poem.Some more examples will be given to illustrate the poetess’ love for nature and her realization of nature’s mercilessness respectively. 2.1 Nature—the gentlest mother.Dickinson is fond of nature with all its inhabitants to the extent that sometimes she even wants to melt into nature and becomes a member of it.In one poem Dickinson observes roses carefully，a conventional symbol of deep affection，and claims that she herself is a rose with thorns，living in nature together with the bird：
A sepal，petal，and a thorn
Upon a common summer’s morn—
A flask of Dew—A Bee or two—
A Breeze—a caper in the trees—
And I’ m a Rose.
（Johnson 15）
At the very beginning of the poem，Dickinson lists three important parts of a rose：sepal，petal and thorn.This is just like trinity in the nature （Liu 222），which is similar to the spirit of transcendentalism that divinity manifests and exists in nature.The rose blooms in a common summer morning，and therefore the dew，the bees，the breeze and the birds—“a caper in the trees” all come to celebrate the prosperous period of the rose，making the common morning uncommon.With the blooming rose they constitute a lovely summer scenery picture.At the sight of such beautiful scenery the poetess can’t help announcing：“I’m a rose！” expressing her wish to become a flower so that she can melt into nature with the birds.In this way her delight in natural sceneries and living creatures is given a full play.
2.2 Nature—a stranger.Though for Dickinson nature is a source of joy and beauty，she realizes the mercilessness and indifference of nature towards human beings at the same time.And comparatively speaking the mercilessness of nature is the most significant part in her nature poetry.She believes that human beings as outsiders can observe and experience nature but aren’t bestowed the privilege to get to the mystery of it.Nature，remaining a mystery，is indifferent even hostile to human beings.Many of her poems are on the destructive part and mysterious power that she feels from nature.
I dreaded that first Robin，so，
But He is mastered，now，
I’m some accustomed to Him grown，
He hurts a little，though—
I thought if I could only live
Till that first Shout got by—
Not all Pianos in the Woods
Had power to mangle me—
I dared not meet the Daffodils—
For fear their Yellow Gown
Would pierce me with a fashion
So foreign to my own—
…
They’re here，though； not a creature failed—
No blossom stayed away
In gentle deference to me— The Queen of Calvary—
Each one salutes me，as he goes，
And I，my childish Plumes，
Lift，in bereaved acknowledgment
Of their unthinking Drums—
（Johnson 348）
The poem reflects the cruel indifference of nature and the irreconcilability and alienation between men and nature.The robin and the daffodil，as symbols of nature are “foreign” to mankind，as the speaker puts it in this poem； in the speaker’s eyes they’re harsh and discordant with her.The robin’s song is a “shout” and other woodland noises are like “Pianos in the Woods” with the “power to mangle”.Even the lovely and attractive daffodils are fearful； they are wearing new “Yellow Gown” and their fashion “pierces” with the knowledge that with the inevitable change of seasons she herself is getting older and older and is getting closer and closer to death.In the presence of seasonal change，the poetess’ sense of fragility increases.Besides her obsessive thinking about the sceneries contrasts with nature’s “unthinking Drums”.“Calvary” is a place of skulls，the place where Christ was crucified.In the poem the speaker refers to that like other creatures in nature she is to be sacrificed to the regeneration of the earth and her crucifixion like that of Christ is an emblem of the sacrifice of the individual life to the renewal of the earth （Wang 42）.In this way the poetess shows to us the cruelty and mercilessness of nature.
3.Conclusion
Dickinson’s expert use of the images of flowers and birds not only helps to increase the aesthetic effect of her poetry，but also helps to reveal her ideas on nature.She often makes herself a flower or a bird in her poems and enjoys much.Flowers and birds combine to constitute major subject matter for her poems.They speak out what’s in Dickinson’s mind and express her thought clearly and perfectly，revealing her viewpoint on nature.In her nature poetry，flowers and birds become symbols of nature，either friendly or foreign to human beings and thus nature’s loveliness and mercilessness are conveyed skillfully.
References：
[1]Johnson，Thomas H，ed.The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson[M].London：Faber and Faber Limited，1982.
[2]Li，Zhengshuan and Chen Yan.Studies on American Poetry[M].Beijing：Peking University Press，2007.
[3]Wang，Xiu’e.The Transcendental Tendency in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry[D]Fuzhou：Fujian Normal University，2003.
[4]黄家修，杜寅寅，付晶晶.英美诗歌鉴赏[M].武汉：武汉大学出版社，2009.
[5]刘守兰.狄金森研究[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社，2006.
【基金項目】本文为广东省哲学社会科学“十二五”规划2012年度学科共建项目（编号：GD12XWW15）的阶段性研究成果。
作者简介：黄敏（1988-），女，广东广州人，助教，硕士，研究方向：英美文学。
【Key words】Emily Dickinson； flowers； birds； nature； images
1.Introduction
Emily Dickinson is considered to be one of the best poetesses throughout the world.In many of her short but fresh poems，she skillfully uses the images of various flowers and birds to convey her daring thought on nature.Heedless of traditional forms and rules，she defamiliarizes the conventional poetic form，“deliberately overusing capitalization and dashes，to make her poems look strange” （Li 149）.In order to convey her daring thought on nature，she makes good use of concise and compact expression and molds daring and precise images in her short but fresh and original poems.The paper aims to give an in-depth analysis on how the images of flowers and birds in her poems combine to convey her viewpoints towards nature.
2.Nature and the images of birds and flowers
Dickinson’s images of birds and flowers convey her contradictory and unique view of nature.Emily Dickinson is good at depicting creatures on earth，such as birds，flowers，bees and snakes.In her poems related to birds and flowers her contradictory attitude and unique view towards nature are given a full play.On the one hand she，under the influence of transcendentalists，admires and holds intimate love for nature； on the other hand she is well aware of nature’s mystique and mercilessness.One of her condensed poem，“A Route of Evanescence” （Huang 272） is served as a good example illustrating her conflicting attitude towards nature.The compact poem，with the rhyme scheme of ABCB，offers a brief description of a hummingbird and its quick presence.A repetition of the beginning consonant “R” occurs in the first four lines.In the first two lines “Route” and “revolving” depict the movement of the bird and the flapping motion of birds’ wings while in the third and fourth lines “Resonance” and “Rush” cause the reader to “hear” or imagine the quick movement in the bird’s flapping wings； therein a hummingbird moving rapidly is painted vividly from both the visual and the auditory perspective.It moves so quickly that the “head” of the blossom is “tumbled” when it flies past.The last two lines talks about the speaker’s feeling and impression about the scene she sees.“The mail from Tunis” will tell one something new，interesting and mysterious while “An easy Morning’s Ride” refers to a gentleman caller，something quite familiar to the new England.Thus we arrive at one of the themes of the poem：nature could be mysterious to us but it also could be familiar to us； it all depends on whether one is alienated from nature or stays close to it.In the poem the speaker doesn’t describe the quick presence of the bird directly.Instead by depicting the movement of the flowers at the time of the bird’s flying past—“Adjust its tumbled Head”，she skillfully achieves her purpose of emphasizing the speed of the bird and finally brings out the themes of the poem.Some more examples will be given to illustrate the poetess’ love for nature and her realization of nature’s mercilessness respectively. 2.1 Nature—the gentlest mother.Dickinson is fond of nature with all its inhabitants to the extent that sometimes she even wants to melt into nature and becomes a member of it.In one poem Dickinson observes roses carefully，a conventional symbol of deep affection，and claims that she herself is a rose with thorns，living in nature together with the bird：
A sepal，petal，and a thorn
Upon a common summer’s morn—
A flask of Dew—A Bee or two—
A Breeze—a caper in the trees—
And I’ m a Rose.
（Johnson 15）
At the very beginning of the poem，Dickinson lists three important parts of a rose：sepal，petal and thorn.This is just like trinity in the nature （Liu 222），which is similar to the spirit of transcendentalism that divinity manifests and exists in nature.The rose blooms in a common summer morning，and therefore the dew，the bees，the breeze and the birds—“a caper in the trees” all come to celebrate the prosperous period of the rose，making the common morning uncommon.With the blooming rose they constitute a lovely summer scenery picture.At the sight of such beautiful scenery the poetess can’t help announcing：“I’m a rose！” expressing her wish to become a flower so that she can melt into nature with the birds.In this way her delight in natural sceneries and living creatures is given a full play.
2.2 Nature—a stranger.Though for Dickinson nature is a source of joy and beauty，she realizes the mercilessness and indifference of nature towards human beings at the same time.And comparatively speaking the mercilessness of nature is the most significant part in her nature poetry.She believes that human beings as outsiders can observe and experience nature but aren’t bestowed the privilege to get to the mystery of it.Nature，remaining a mystery，is indifferent even hostile to human beings.Many of her poems are on the destructive part and mysterious power that she feels from nature.
I dreaded that first Robin，so，
But He is mastered，now，
I’m some accustomed to Him grown，
He hurts a little，though—
I thought if I could only live
Till that first Shout got by—
Not all Pianos in the Woods
Had power to mangle me—
I dared not meet the Daffodils—
For fear their Yellow Gown
Would pierce me with a fashion
So foreign to my own—
…
They’re here，though； not a creature failed—
No blossom stayed away
In gentle deference to me— The Queen of Calvary—
Each one salutes me，as he goes，
And I，my childish Plumes，
Lift，in bereaved acknowledgment
Of their unthinking Drums—
（Johnson 348）
The poem reflects the cruel indifference of nature and the irreconcilability and alienation between men and nature.The robin and the daffodil，as symbols of nature are “foreign” to mankind，as the speaker puts it in this poem； in the speaker’s eyes they’re harsh and discordant with her.The robin’s song is a “shout” and other woodland noises are like “Pianos in the Woods” with the “power to mangle”.Even the lovely and attractive daffodils are fearful； they are wearing new “Yellow Gown” and their fashion “pierces” with the knowledge that with the inevitable change of seasons she herself is getting older and older and is getting closer and closer to death.In the presence of seasonal change，the poetess’ sense of fragility increases.Besides her obsessive thinking about the sceneries contrasts with nature’s “unthinking Drums”.“Calvary” is a place of skulls，the place where Christ was crucified.In the poem the speaker refers to that like other creatures in nature she is to be sacrificed to the regeneration of the earth and her crucifixion like that of Christ is an emblem of the sacrifice of the individual life to the renewal of the earth （Wang 42）.In this way the poetess shows to us the cruelty and mercilessness of nature.
3.Conclusion
Dickinson’s expert use of the images of flowers and birds not only helps to increase the aesthetic effect of her poetry，but also helps to reveal her ideas on nature.She often makes herself a flower or a bird in her poems and enjoys much.Flowers and birds combine to constitute major subject matter for her poems.They speak out what’s in Dickinson’s mind and express her thought clearly and perfectly，revealing her viewpoint on nature.In her nature poetry，flowers and birds become symbols of nature，either friendly or foreign to human beings and thus nature’s loveliness and mercilessness are conveyed skillfully.
References：
[1]Johnson，Thomas H，ed.The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson[M].London：Faber and Faber Limited，1982.
[2]Li，Zhengshuan and Chen Yan.Studies on American Poetry[M].Beijing：Peking University Press，2007.
[3]Wang，Xiu’e.The Transcendental Tendency in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry[D]Fuzhou：Fujian Normal University，2003.
[4]黄家修，杜寅寅，付晶晶.英美诗歌鉴赏[M].武汉：武汉大学出版社，2009.
[5]刘守兰.狄金森研究[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社，2006.
【基金項目】本文为广东省哲学社会科学“十二五”规划2012年度学科共建项目（编号：GD12XWW15）的阶段性研究成果。
作者简介：黄敏（1988-），女，广东广州人，助教，硕士，研究方向：英美文学。