Journal entry# 4 Emily Dickinson

Siu Faat Jimmy Wong
English 48b
January 11, 2008
Professor Lankford

Quote:

But no Man moved Me -

till the TideWent past my simple Shoe -

And past my Apron -

and my BeltAnd past my Bodice - too –

And made as He would eat me up

Summary:

It apparently shows that the tides make her wet and scared. However, I think that it is actually about something sexual. The tide does not mean a strong water wave.

Response:

In the beginning of the poem, readers can easily misunderstand that the speaker is very afraid of the horrible sea. She does not want to be eaten by the sea. However, in stanza three, “No man moved me – till the Tide” shows that Dickinson is actually writing about what the speaker feel about having sex with a man. In her experience, there might be a man who could really move her sexually. The “tide” is a metaphor of orgasm. Before this man appears, no one can convince her to make love and she has never tried the taste of having an orgasm. However, this man is different. He can make her happy and have an orgasm. In the poem, Dickinson uses “Shoe”, “Apron”, “Belt”, and “Boddice” to show that the speaker is so excited and happy about the sex with the man. After writing about the pleasure the speaker is having, Dickinson writes something more. Although the speaker is so happy at that time, she doesn't want to be eaten up by the man. This can show that she cares about her freedom and autonomy. She doesn't want to be controlled by the man. As a reader, I can see that the speaker is an autonomous person. She does not love to depend on a man since she loves freedom in her life.
I think that Dickinson is such a great poet because she can use the clothing to show the happiness of the speaker. Moreover, she keeps using several “And"s to show that the happiness is coming from the speaker's lower body to upper body. It can help to explain that the speaker may be having sex with her man. By using some metaphors, Dickinson is able touse some acceptable words to describe something sexual which is not quite acceptable in her society.