I’ve noticed in a lot of the poems that we have read that Dickinson approaches time and space uniquely. It seems like she uses physical space to suggest a sense of temporality, or maybe she uses space to altogether avoid time. I started thinking about this when we were discussing “A Wife — at daybreak I shall be” where instead of placing her future in time, she has it climbing stairs, moving from room to room. I also find it interesting that the imagery of a house itself is used frequently such as in “I heard a Fly buzz — when I died — ” where the scene is contained in a still room with windows. I myself am not sure what exactly what to make of it but was wondering what others make of her choice to contextualize events through physical, spatial relationships.
What do you think of Dickinson’s use of spacial relationships as it pertains to time/life events/etc.?
1