Emily Dickinson, Poem 328

The initial encounter with the Robin in the first stanza not only describes the bird with words but also with the meter. The iambic triameter is a very choppy, short phrased meter which accents the rhythmic walk of the Robin. A Robin hops with a very short and consistent step, much like that of the meter Dickinson uses. The line “He bit an Angleworm in halves” (328/3) uses a visual cue to describe the method by which the Robin eats worms.

Dickinson allows the reader to minimize oneself and enter fully into the natural world. By writing “And he ate the fellow raw/ And then he drank a Dew/ from a convenient Grass” (328/4-6), Dickinson brings

A marvel of modern poets, Dickinson’s poems still capture nature’s form. With splendid perfection, she masterfully denotes and capitalizes on the beauty of two activities. One, in itself becomes a thing of beauty, but when she combines it with another beauty, they catapult off each other and glorify the Robin.

Instead of equality, nature strives for balance. Animals eat their fill, drink their thirst, and live in their space. No two animals have the same conditions, but each interacts with perfect harmony in the system. The system is what becomes important, and Dickinson captures this balance with but a few choice words.

The balance is thrown out of set when an intruder enters the scene. In the case of this poem, the intruder is the observer, who has been spotted by the Robin. “He glanced with rapid eyes/ That hurried all around--/ They looked like frightened Beads, I thought/ He stirred his Velvet Head” (328/9-12). Dickinson’s choice of “glanced,” “rapid,” “hurried,” and “frightened” affords the reader the opportunity to see the head movements of the Ro

Some topics in this essay:
Velvet Head”, Robin Robin, Beetles Robin’s, Emily Dickinson, Dickinson’s Poem, Wall/ Beetle, bird flight, emily dickinson, rowing stroke,