Summary of "A Day" By Emily Dickinson
In Emily Dickinson’s poem "A Day," the poet uses vivid imagery and symbolism to portray a beautiful day that symbolizes the journey from innocence to experience. Through the child's innocent perspective on sunrise and sunset, the poem represents the broader transition from life to death.
The poem opens with a description of the sunrise, where the sun’s rays are depicted as "ribbons" that drape over church steeples, which are bathed in a deep violet hue like amethyst. The term "steeple" suggests both physical height and spiritual depth, linking the celestial with the divine. The sunrise is compared to the swift movement of squirrels, emphasizing how nature comes to life rapidly with the dawn.
The first stanza conveys a cheerful and hopeful tone, which continues in the second stanza where the hills are personified, as if they are removing their bonnets with the rising sun. As the mist (metaphorically the bonnet) lifts from the hills, it prompts the bobolinks to begin their morning song, reflecting the overall beauty and joy that follow the sunrise. The speaker expresses admiration for this morning scene, appreciating its loveliness and grandeur.
The poem attributes all these natural phenomena—the ribbons in the air, the swimming steeples, the running squirrels, the hills shedding their bonnets, and the singing bobolinks—to the sun. This portrayal reflects the speaker’s innocent and purely aesthetic view of the world, focusing solely on the beauty brought by the sunrise as a symbol of new beginnings.
In the final two stanzas, the tone shifts as the speaker becomes more hesitant in depicting the sunset. The appearance of a purple stile, which the yellow children climb, symbolizes the human journey from birth to death. As the day concludes, the "flock" of children is guided away by a "dominie in gray," representing a divine figure or God who gently closes the bars, taking charge of them after death.
The poem is structured in two sections, each containing two stanzas, making up a total of four stanzas with a distinct broken rhyming meter. Dickinson’s use of metaphors is both vivid and spiritual, showcasing her unique insight into nature and life. Her descriptive and imaginative style adds depth to this beautiful exploration of life and death.
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Understanding the text
Answer the following questions
a. How does the poet describe the morning sun in the first stanza?
Answer:
In the first stanza, the poet depicts the morning sun as casting ribbon-like rays across the sky, bathing church steeples in a deep violet hue reminiscent of amethyst. The rapid movement of nature, likened to the swift run of squirrels, signifies the start of the day. This vibrant sunrise serves as a metaphor for the beginning of life, heralding a new day and symbolizing fresh beginnings.
b. What does the line "The news like squirrels ran mean?
Answer:
Here in this line "The news like squirrels ran, we find the use of simile where news i.e. the sunrise has been compared with squirrels' run using like. This line has been applied to present the natural process of sunrise in the morning time. Here, the sunrise, as well as morning time, has been compared with squirrels' run i.e. the quick natural process of sunrise. This process is as quick as the run of squirrels that makes everyone realise the arrival of a tremendous morning.
c. What do you understand by the line The hills untied their bonnets"?
Answer:
By the line 'The hills United their bonnets', we understand the natural changes that appear in different places on this planet due to the presence of the sun. This line carries metaphorical meanings. The poet has presented hills using personification. Here, the hills' bonnets have been metaphorically presented for the mists over the hills. As the sun rises, the heat rays of the sun untie the mists over the hills. In other words, the hills seem clear as the rays of the sun fall on the hills.
d. Is the speaker watching the morning sun? Why? Why not?
Answer:
No, the speaker isn't watching the morning sun. The speaker, who is an unnamed child, is not doing a real-time narration here. 'I'll tell you how the sun rose' means that he has witnessed the sunrise and the changes following the sunrise. In fact, he is only describing the natural processes of sunrise and sunset and various changes that seem on beings and things which are existed here on this planet. He seems quite innocent while saying "That must have been the sun!" Here, he/she seems to guess about the possibility of the sun.
e. How does the sun set?
Answer:
The sun sets quite mysteriously and the speaker doesn't know much about it. He/she has less confidence in describing the sunset. According to him/her, the sun's rays seem purple and yellow during the time of its setting in the west. The sun takes away all the happiness and joy of daytime and leaves the unhappy and gloomy dark for all. At this point, he/she doesn't have an idea of what happens next.
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REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT
a. What, according to the speaker, is a day?
Answer:
According to the speaker, a day is a perfect blend of various changes in nature. For him/her a day consists of all the things within it that appear from wonderful sunrise to mysterious sunset. The duration of the daytime from sunrise to sunset presents various literal and symbolic meanings regarding tremendous changes in nature and different stages of life from birth till death. 'A day' represents life where sunrise is birth and sunset is death. Thus, life has been metaphorically depicted as the journey between birth and death.
b. What purpose does the hyphen in the first line serve in the poem?
= Hyphen(--) is used in poetry to indicate a break. In this poem, Emily Dickenson innovatively utilizes this punctuation mark. She is using hyphens if she does not find the words for profound feelings, to give readers the power of silence in some circumstances, to imagine, to fill the missing word, or she is allowing the readers to take some time to ponder on the context by themselves.
c. What makes this poem lyrical and sonorous? Discuss.
Answer:
It is a lyrical poem in the sense that it communicates the author's own thoughts and feelings. In lyrical poetry, the use of the first-person pronoun "I" denotes the poet's identity. In this poem, the author expresses her own personal experience of waking up to the first rays of sunlight. Sonorous is a style of writing that is rich in sound and crammed with rhymes or phrases. The musical and melodic quality of a poem is influenced by a wide range of circumstances. Sound methods including alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and rhythm are used in this poem to improve its musicality.
d. Who is the target audience of the speaker? Why?
Answer:
In this poem, Children and Adults both are the target audience of the speaker. The readers are shown the world as viewed by an innocent kid. Speaker is telling his friends, "I will tell you how the sun rose". So, We may argue that the intended audience consists of kids who have lost the opportunity to see the sun rising when they wake up late in the morning.
When we look at the poem from a philosophical point of view, the whole human race is also the intended audience. Sunrise is the beginning of life, daytime activities are a trip through life, and sunset is the end of life. However, the final result is a little mysterious.
e. The poem seems to describe a day for children. How would the adult people respond to this poem? Discuss this poem with your parents/guardians and write the answer based on their responses.
Answer:
The poem seems to describe a day for children. But, this poem is also suitable for adult people. This poem is a literal description of the dawn, as well as the events that occur between sunrise and sundown. For children, the direct meaning of the poem is applicable but for adults, the metaphysical meaning of this poem makes more sense. To be more precise, the poem speaks about the passage from life to death in a metaphysical sense. There is enthusiasm at the beginning of life, a squirrel racing like a life and a strange conclusion to a life in this poem.
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Reference beyond the text
a. Observe your surroundings one fine morning and write a poem based on your own experience.
= You can write a Poem on your own.
b. Write a personal essay on A Day in the School.
Answer:
A Day in the School
Our lives are filled with countless experiences, but not all of them stick in our memory. For me, however, the first day of school stands out as one of the most significant and cherished moments. I began my school journey when I was just five years old, and if I recall correctly, it was in April. I was a young child at the time, stepping into a new world.
I remember my first day at school with remarkable clarity. The institution I attended was named "Nirmal Secondary School." After my mother dropped me off, my teacher kindly guided me to my classroom. Despite my nerves about entering the new environment, the teacher's warm demeanor helped ease my anxiety. She quickly helped me find a spot on the front bench, which made me feel more comfortable.
As I settled into my new surroundings, a few of my classmates came over to introduce themselves and shake my hand, which was very reassuring. My apprehension began to dissipate. I picked up a math textbook and started working on some problems, which helped distract me from my nervousness. Shortly after, other students came over to introduce themselves, and I was delighted to start making new friends.
The school day ended at 1 p.m., and my father was there to pick me up. We drove home together, and I felt a mix of relief and excitement. That first day had been a whirlwind of new experiences, but it was also the beginning of a new chapter in my life.
Reflecting on that day, I realize how transformative it was. It marked the start of my educational journey and set the stage for countless new experiences and friendships. My life was forever changed from that day forward.
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