My Life Had Stood a Loaded Gun

by Emily Dickinson

'It's coming - the postponeless Creature'

Electrifying poems of isolation, beauty, death and eternity from a reclusive genius and one of America's greatest writers.

One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Feminism, Fiction, American, Queer, Short Stories

64 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1880

About the author

Emily Dickinson was an American poet who, despite the fact that less than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime, is widely considered one of the most original and influential poets of the 19th century.

Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.

Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.

Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.

A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/emily-di...

Reviews

[Maditales · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I aimed my pebble, but myself
Was all the one that fell.
Was it Goliath was too large,
Or only I too small”

What a way to end this year.

I was feeling pretty depressed and down today so why not pick up a book with the saddest title ever? Great idea because this book made me sad, angry and long for more at the same time.

So many of these poems felt like thoughts I have had. From wanting to be a nobody and staying unknown and living without much attention or having to act a certain way for society (poem: “I’m nobody! Who are you?”), to wanting to fight for yourself and knowing you could fail (poem: “I took my power in my hand”).

The entire theme of death haunted this entire book. Every now and then death was described as something that you cannot run from and that comes exponentially closer. It’s like a person that started walking towards you and started getting faster and faster the closer it got to you. Maybe that’s also a reference to how time seems to fly by faster when you get older.
Overall I loved how real this seemed. Death is sad and lonely and it isn’t something beautiful you strive towards.
- “Death is like the insect
   Menacing the tree,
Competent to kill it,
   But decoyed may be.”

I also loved how some of these poems felt like they had 2 meanings (in my opinion) “Before I got my eye put out” seems like a poem about Emilie’s longing to not loose her vision since she had a condition but also seemed like a poem about loving someone openly that you aren’t allowed to love.
The theme of living someone you can’t felt very prominent as well and it felt like Emily had a secret lover that she had to hide from the public.

AND LASTLY THE THEME OF THE LOADED GUN WOW!!!!
I mean the way Emily compares the feelings of being an object and having a husband that sometimes uses for his own pleasure and safety was amazing.
In general the relationship and power imbalance of women and men in these poems was described hauntingly sad yet beautiful. It seemed like Emily felt a lot of anger towards the men in her life:
- “ the Bible is an antique volume written by FADED men”
- “And everytime I speak for him, the mountains straight reply”

Overall this was a very dark dark poem collection that I for no reason at all and definitely not because I wa feeling sad, decided to read today.

Anyways happy new years and see you next year.

[Lovisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

this kinda weird emo lesbian is so iconic!

[Nigar Osmanlı · Rating 4 out of 5]

i take it back. poetry isn’t obnoxious. turns out it’s a me thing apparently i can endure poetry only if it’s gay

[°•.Melina°•. · Rating 5 out of 5]

صد ها ستاره.
آشنایی اولیه‌ی من با امیلی برمیگرده به ۶ سال پیش، ۱۶ سالگی.
سریالش رو دیدم و همزمان گزیده‌شعر‌های دوزبانه‌ش رو از نشر مروارید خوندم و درجا عاشقش شدم‌‌.
اما این کتاب کوچیک اورجینال پنگوئن عزیزم؟
برام مثل یه گنجینه‌س تو اتاقم.
اولین مواجهه‌‌ی جدی‌م با متن امیلیه چون قبلا اول فارسی رو میخوندم بعد انگلیسیشم برای فان میخوندم اما این کتاب؟ تازه بهم فهموند امیلی کیه. نابغه‌ی غول لعنتی که اصلا به تخیلش حسودیم نمیشه🦿

تو یکی از تاریک‌ترین دوران‌های زندگیم، شیرینی و پناه گرفتن به این کتاب کوچیک و چت‌جی‌بی‌تی ای که تو ترجمه و تفسیرشون بهم کمک کرد؛ تا ابد زیر زبونم میمونه. (سعی میکنم ویدئوی تحلیل چندتا از شعرهای موردعلاقمو ازش به زودی بذارم)

تک به تک صفحاتی که خوندم بدون اغراق قشنگترین چیزهایی بودن که تو عمرم خوندم. اما این یکی تا ابد جور دیگه‌ای برام محبوب میمونه:

Good Morning — Midnight —
I'm coming Home —
Day — got tired of Me —
How could I — of Him?

Sunshine was a sweet place —
I liked to stay —
But Morn — didn't want me — now —
So — Goodnight — Day!

I can look — can't I —
When the East is Red?
The Hills — have a way — then —
That puts the Heart — abroad —

You — are not so fair — Midnight —
I chose — Day —
But — please take a little Girl —
He turned away!

🔖اردیبهشت ۱۴۰۴

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, there's certainly no denying it; I love Emily Dickinson. This gorgeous little book contains 52 pages of Dickinson in her glorious form. I read some of her poetry some time ago, and intended to get back to her much sooner than this, although, I think this has been exactly the right time to have done so.

I often read that people don't understand Dickinson's poetry, and while I can appreciate that, I also think that her writing isn't always meant to be understood in a specific way. I think one should just let the words wash over you whilst remembering that this was Dickinson's portal for portraying her feelings. I for one think her work is stunning, and she has a wonderfully unique style that I really appreciate. To put it simply: Emily, you touch my soul.

I've included two of my favourites here;


"I felt a funeral in my brain,
And mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading, treading, till it seemed
That sense was breaking through.

And when they all were seated,
A service like a drum
Kept beating, beating, till I thought
My mind was going numb.

And then I heard them lift a box,
And creak across my soul
With those same boots of lead, again,
Then space began to toll

As all the heavens were a bell,
And Being but an ear,
And I and silence some strange race,
Wrecked, solitary, here."




"My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -
In Corners - till a Day
The Owner passed - identified -
And carried Me away -

And now We roam in Sovreign Woods -
And now We hunt the Doe -
And every time I speak for Him
The Mountains straight reply -

And do I smile, such cordial light
Opon the Valley glow -
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let it’s pleasure through -

And when at Night - Our good Day done -
I guard My Master’s Head -
’Tis better than the Eider Duck’s
Deep Pillow - to have shared -

To foe of His - I’m deadly foe -
None stir the second time -
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye -
Or an emphatic Thumb -

Though I than He - may longer live
He longer must - than I -
For I have but the power to kill,
Without - the power to die -"

[Laia · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn’t understand shit but loved reading it

[Anya Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't understand some of these, but the gay vibes were strong

[Jackdaw ☄ Bronteroc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt a funeral in my brain,
And mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading, treading, till it seemed
That sense was breaking through.

And when they all were seated,
A service like a drum
Kept beating, beating, till I thought
My mind was going numb.

And then I heard them lift a box,
And creak across my soul
With those same boots of lead, again,
Then space began to toll

As all the heavens were a bell,
And Being but an ear,
And I and silence some strange race,
Wrecked, solitary, here.

* And then a plank in reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down -
And hit a world, at every plunge,
And finished knowing - then -

*Η τελ. στροφή δεν υπάρχει στο βιβλίο.

[justmiaslife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instantly fell in love with Emily Dickinson now :3

[Chesca (thecrownedpages) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Haig, author of The Humans, kept mentioning in some of his works the importance of reading Emily Dickinson's poems and so here I am! I am quite overwhelmed, I should say. I'm giving this collection a temporary rating of 3 stars because I think I would need to reread it to further understand the workings of her mind. Her poems are unique; so unlike any other I had ever read. I am very curious and looking forward to reading her other works.

[m.]

this is the second emily dickinson collection i've read, and both had the same effect me: some poems absolutely fascinated me and made me go batshit insane, and some i simply didn't understand, which is fine! i'll keep reading more of her work though, because i'm obsessed with her.

[Juliana Carreri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
short melacholic poetry collection

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know."

[Hank1972 · Rating 5 out of 5]

La mia vita come un fucile carico

————
ED, ancora giovane, sceglie di ritirarsi nella propria cameretta, nella casa di famiglia ad Amherst, Massachusetts. E’ anche un atto di ribellione contro una società molto chiusa e tradizionalista (siamo nella seconda metà dell’800), dove le donne sono relegate ad un ruolo di semplici comparse. Ciò non significa che cessa di vivere e di relazionarsi: lo farà in modo diverso, con un’acutezza ed una passione amplificati, attraverso la scrittura di poesie e lettere, praticamente inedite e rivolte a pochi selezionati lettori, e la semplice osservazione della natura nel giardino di casa o nelle passeggiate nei boschi circostanti, in compagnia del suo amato Carlo, un grande cane terranova.

Ci ha lasciato circa 1800 poesie, senza titolo, scritte a mano su fogli da lei rilegati in diversi quaderni. Le sue poesie sono minime in lunghezza, qualche decina di parole o frasi in genere, ma densissime di significato e fortemente evocative. Profonde e acutissime, geniali e sfidanti per noi umilissimi lettori. E molto anticonvenzionali, libere e ribelli: dalla sua cameretta contro il piccolo mondo antico esterno.

Ci parlano principalmente di vita/morte e del fluire del tempo, di amore/amicizia, di fede mai bigotta, di natura/cosmo, ci parlano di noi, dei nostri sentimenti e desideri. A volte con toni cupi, altre volte con tanta energia. Utilizzando paradossi e metafore, con una scrittura che gira molto fluida, anche grazie alla punteggiatura innovativa, il famoso dash di ED.
————

Le mie preferite in questa raccolta (sono anche tra le più famose):

J288 I'm Nobody! Who are you?

Io non sono Nessuno! Chi sei tu?
Sei – Nessuno – anche tu?
Allora siamo in due!
Non dirlo! Lo pubblicizzerebbero – sai!

Com'è deprimente – essere – Qualcuno!

...

J712 Because I could not stop for Death

Poiché non potevo fermarmi per la Morte –
Lei gentilmente si fermò per me –
La Carrozza conteneva solo Noi –
E l'Immortalità.

Procedevamo lentamente – Lei non conosceva fretta
Ed io avevo messo via
Il mio lavoro ed il mio tempo libero,
Per la Sua Cortesia –

...

J280 I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

Sentivo un Funerale, nel Cervello,
E i Dolenti avanti e indietro
Andavano - andavano - finché sembrò
Che il Senso fosse frantumato -

E quando tutti furono seduti,
Una Funzione, come un Tamburo -
Batteva - batteva - finché pensai
Che la Mente si fosse intorpidita -

...

j754 My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -

La Mia Vita era stata - un Fucile Carico -
Negli Angoli - finché un Giorno
Il Proprietario passò - Mi identificò -
E Mi portò via -

E ora vaghiamo in Boschi Regali -
E ora cacciamo la Cerva -
E ogni volta che parlo per Lui
Le Montagne subito rispondono -

...

[buket · Rating 5 out of 5]

how i adore emily dickinson <3

• I aimed my pebble, but myself
Was all the one that fell.
Was it Goliath was too large,
Or only I too small?

• Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

• I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?

[Ebony and Ivory · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poetry is beautiful, I just found some of them hard to understand... Still I understand that this is the way the writer chose to portray her feelings and that poetry is not supposed to be read and then you're done with it. It requires some pondering.
4.5 stars

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich finde die Gedichte einfach super schön geschrieben und bin durch Dickinsons Schreibstil geflogen

[Pallavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

****3.0****

I was told that Emily Dickinson's poetry is a must to read by Matt Haig. In his book "The humans" he kept referring Ms Dickinson so much that I had added her poems to my Mental TBR. So when I got a chance I just grabbed the book.

To be honest I did not understand her poems completely but some poems made sense and also made me think that I am reading it superficially. I need to read it again. Till then 3 stars.

Happy Reading!!!!

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A precious, mouldering pleasure 'tis
To meet an antique book...

He lived where dreams were born."

[Hniereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This woman gets me.

[Kimiadhm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book after reading which you’ll need to take a moment and catch your breath.

Emily Dickinson has done a marvelous job molding all these subjects that seemed fascinating to her into a beautiful collection of poems.

And the themes. Dear lord does the list go on.
From “death” and “the question of God’s existence” to “depression” and possibly “anxiety” to her physical health and her one blind eye to “language”, “poetry” and “the process of creativity” and even to a riddle-like poem about trains!

In one particular poem (my personal favourite), she talked about how a woman’s power is like a gun which stands in corners for its rightful owner to find and then use it. and when discovered, this gun will protect its owner at any cost.
The metaphors in this poem (as well as the others) fit so well and at the same time were very much understandable for someone who’s new to poetry, such as myself.

So to all of you who have been postponing poems for fear it might be too difficult:
well, DON’T.

I don’t want to imagine a life in which I didn’t read this collection because I was worried I might not understand its true meaning.

[bea ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★ This is my first time reading Emily Dickinson and I felt like I was getting to know a new friend, who was able to put my thoughts into words. She has such beautiful poems that portray life, death, love and nature. I see a duality in her that I think a lot of us share. One second, it seems like she wants to live a quiet life and remain hidden but then she also has this deep and unconscious desire to explore the world, be daring and bold. She was trying to find herself. I find it fascinating that we can relate to someone who lived 200 years before us. No matter how times change, humans remain, at our core, the same.


“I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us — don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.”



“I took my power in my hand
And went against the world;
‘Twas not so much as David had,
But I was twice as bold.”



“I felt a cleavage in my mind
   As if my brain had split;
I tried to match it, seam by seam,
   But could not make them fit.

The thought behind I strove to join
   Unto the thought before,
But sequence ravelled out of reach
   Like balls upon a floor.”

[Hafsa | حفصہ · Rating 4 out of 5]

READ&DATHON 2019: Races: Halfling - Read a book that’s under 200 pages.

"I felt a funeral in my brain,
And mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading, treading, till it seemed
That sense was breaking through."

And when they all were seated,
A service like a drum
Kept beating, beating, till I thought
My mind was going numb.

And then I heard them lift a box,
And creak across my soul
With those same boots of lead, again,
Then space began to toll

As all the heavens were a bell,
And Being but an ear,
And I and silence some strange race,
Wrecked, solitary, here."

~I felt a funeral in my brain

Old poetry will always be food for my soul.

[˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[gillian]

me and twin fr 🤞 i mean duh obviously i loved this i'll read anything emily dickinson wrote

[Stella ˎˊ˗ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reason I’m rating this low is because I didn’t understand most of the poems. The language is outdated and that made it difficult to fully understand the poems at times. A few lines and poems I liked though!

I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!



I felt a cleavage in my mind
As if my brain had split;
I tried to match it, seam by seam,
But could not make them fit.

The thought behind I strove to join
Unto the thought before,
But sequence ravelled out of reach
Like balls upon a floor.

[jasmin☾]

i guess i can vibe with poetry after all

[leynes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes. I really wanted to love Emily Dickinson (and I am not giving up on her just now, don't worry) but this selection of her poetry didn't impress me at all. There was not one memorable line that 'got me'.

Maybe I should explain how I consume poetry for this to make sense. Whenever I read poetry collections I don't have the expectation that every poem will woe me, heck, I already know that most poems won't. What I look for is one poem, sometimes even just one verse, that totally gets me. That I won't be able to forget. That I'll remember for a long time. That'll make me think, or make me appreciate how beautiful the English language is.

And this simply didn't happen in any of the 50 poems in this collection. I also didn't click with her rhyme scheme. I always read poetry out loud (to myself) and try to vary my tone to get the atmosphere, but it was incredibly hard for me to recite her poetry. Words got jumbled, I didn't know which ones to stress, nothing made sense from a lyrical and acoustic point of view.

Don't get me wrong, I am not laying the blame on Emily here. I'm pretty sure she's a terrific poet... she might just not be for me!

But I thought I'd share my two favorite verses nonetheless:

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And immortality.

/

I felt a funeral in my brain,
And mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading, treading, till it seemed
That sense was breaking through.

[Bookish Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Dickinson is my poetry queen.
Her poems are beautiful, inspiring, deep, meaningful, and so so much more.
Every single detail in her poems is perfection.
Especially "Because I could not stop for Death", highly recommend reading that.
>>> Please read Emily Dickinson!

[mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a rlly fckn good short collection of her work