The Heart asks Pleasure-first-
And then-excuse from Pain-
And then-those little Anodynes (1)
That deaden suffering-
And then-to go to sleep-
And then- if it should be
The will of it’s Inquisitor
The privilege to die- 1863
My assignment is to analyze one of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and determine what the message she is coming across is. I chose the poem 588 [536] “The Heart asks Pleasure-first-“ My first task is to break down each line and see what she is trying to say and then look at the poem as a whole and found out her message. I think that Emily Dickinson is a good American poet but finding out what the meaning of her poetry is, is difficult. For this particular poem, I am going to take a guess on what I think she means.
In the first line “The Heart asks Pleasure –first-, I think it means how the heart wants and goes through happiness and joy. The next line, “And then-excuse from pain, it says how the heart goes through pain and forgives it. Third line says “And then-those little Anodynes (1)” Anodynes means “a medicine that relieves or allays pain” ("Anodynes."). In the text, it says Anodynes means “drugs” (Dickinson, Emily). It says how the heart asks for medicine or drugs to keep the pain away. “The last line in that paragraph is “That deaden suffering”. Deaden means “to make less sensitive, active, energetic, or forcible; weaken” ("Deaden."). Those causes of pleasure, pain and anodynes make the heart weak and suffer.
The next paragraph starts off with the line “And then-to go to sleep-“. The writer could say how it’s hard for the heart to find some peace by resting or should try to just rest without having those causes bother it. The next line says “And then-if it should be The will of its inquisitor” Inquisitor means “a questioner, esp. an unduly curious or harsh one” ("Inquisitor."). The writer is saying it could be the choice of determination by the questioner. The last line says “The privilege to die”. From the previous line it says that the questioner has the right to die.
I think the overall message of this poem is the writer is writing about the heart. And is listing things that the heart goes or wants such as pleasure first then pain and then drugs to keep the pain the away. Those cause the heart to suffer. And I think it says how the heart has a choice to die because it mentions how it has the “privilege to die” and is determined by an inquisitor, someone who is curious. This is what I thought Emily Dickinson was saying in her poem.
Works Cited
"Anodynes." Def. 1. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC., 2009. Web. 9 Dec. 2009.
"Deaden." Def. 1. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC., 2009. Web. 9 Dec. 2009.
Dickinson, Emily. "588 [536] The Hear asks Pleasure-first-." The Norton Anthology American Literature. 7th ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W Norton & Company, Inc., 2007. 2579-579. Print.
"Inquisitor." Def. 2. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC., 2009. Web. 8 Dec. 2009.
