Symbols, Imagery, Wordplay
Form and Meter
While "I dwell in Possibility – " might look mild mannered on the page, it's anything but tame. At first glance, we see three tidy quatrains (a.k.a. stanzas with four lines). Nothing crazy there....
Speaker
The speaker is somebody who seriously believes in the power of poetry. How do we know? Well, she wrote a whole poem about it, so we feel like it's a safe assumption. We mean, c'mon, she opens the p...
Setting
No seriously.The poem doesn't just give us one setting; it overlaps a couple settings. It's kind of like when you have a dream, and you feel like you're in the house where you grew up, but you're a...
Sound Check
Turn up the volume, Shmoopers. Get ready for some serious sound.The first quatrain is loaded with sound games. For example, Emily hits us up with some alliteration in the first two lines. We're gue...
What's Up With the Title?
Sorry, can't help you. Emily didn't give any of her poems titles, so these days we just refer to them by the first line. And it's a good one, don't you think?
Calling Card
This poem is Emily all over. We've got some of her pet themes like the power of the human imagination, as well as imagery plucked from both nature and the home. As usual, she goes crazy with the ca...
Tough-o-Meter
Not gonna' lie; this one might make your legs hurt a little bit, but it's worth the hike.
Trivia
Emily's little sister, Lavinia, was the one who got all of Emily's poems published after she died. (Source.)
Emily mostly wore white all the time (so she was nearly invisible in the snow). (Source....
Steaminess Rating
Nope, Emily didn't get sexy with this one. (No surprise.)