"God's World" by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Antonio Giulio Cavallo III B  

Fulbright E.T.A Program

National Poetry Month Project

May 12, 2011

The continuous human desire to understand transcendental Nature is expressed in Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “God’s World.” In this poem, the poetess expresses the desire to understand what the main force that rules natural elements. She doesn’t understand why she couldn’t enjoy Nature’s essential meaning. Through the poem she prays to God to render divine wonders closer to the human state of mind. The poetess doesn’t sketch a specific Persona in the poem. On the contrary, she uses a language that expresses her will to join Nature’s magnitude. Therefore, the Persona can be identified with the poetess. At the beginning of the poem the Persona is already voicing her sense of inferiority before this wonder. In line one she writes the word “world” in capital letters to give to the reader an idea of her bewilderment. With this feeling she needs to talk to Nature, which she is listening to and observing. The opening line is the reflection’s final step. It explains something that she has already thought. This sensation results in a prayer to find finally some answers to her questions. These questions are turned to something that is transcendental and unknowable.

The two stanzas presents rhyming couplets except for the opening verses “O WORLD….enough!” and “Long have I know a glory in it all!” (1,8). In fact, at the beginning she describes her sense of incompleteness (“O WORLD, I cannot hold thee close enough!”); then, in line eight she thinks about the natural world’s magnitude which  she already knows but from which she feels left out. In the following verses she talks to Nature, personifying it; this is evident through the repetition of “thy”: “Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!/Thy mists that roll and rise /Thy woods…”  In this way she enumerates the natural elements and shows her sense of inferiority in front of something superior.

 Notwithstanding her discussion of Nature, she is conscious that behind the natural movement there is a divine, powerful force that is God. In fact, the poetess uses several times the possessive adjective “thy,” which is not only the poetic “your” but also used in the Bible to refer to God.  In the initial verses the reader finds a sort of dialogue between the Persona and Nature but then in the subsequent verses it is clear that the receiver of this prayer is God.

 Edna St. Vincent Millay reveals her pantheistic vision in which God is omnipresent. She is immersed in Nature and she studies natural phenomena like “winds, wide grey skies/…mists…/woods../ gauntcrag.” She thinks that all this espresses melancholy. It hides something wonderful and divine, maybe unknowable to humans. In line seven she calls twice “world”,  repeating the initial sentence. With this repetition she wants to create a pause. Because after she expresses this reflection it seems that she speaks in a loud voice. It means that she feels greater deep sorrow for this new consciousness. Then she continues explaining that all this Nature puts her aside and doesn’t allow further comprehension. In fact, she uses a paradox to explain how this thing that everyone admires can cause pain and sadness. With a consecutive clause in verse 10 “here such a passion is /As stretcheth me apart” she describes a passion that doesn’t invade the heart and the soul but goes away from them. The poetess feels totally immersed in a purer beauty, which includes the divine presence in the Nature so closer to humanity. But humanity will not get the deep meaning; it can only take the sensitive essential being. In fact in verse 11 she turns to the supreme divinity that rules all this wonder: God.

 She directs her prayer to God; this is clear from the last verse’s “prithee.” She feels that her soul is totally immersed in everything surrounding her. This is plain in the verse “my soul is all but out of me”. She feels part of the world beauty but her human condition prevents her from going beyond the tangible world because beyond this there’s only God. She feels like a prisoner of a passion that she can’t possess totally. This symbolizes the line that divides humanity and trascendental. And not even the most sensitive soul could go beyond. Thus, she prays to God to collect herself from this passionate sadness. And she asks him to end the manifestation of natural beauty.  She wants her sensibility to not be prisoner of her sensations because she is conscious of  being unable to hear it.

From a syntactical point of view the poem presents short sentences. There are some exclamations such as in the first stanza. Some enjambements connect the verses and give the poem a quick rhythm. The main meaning of this poem is the reflection of Edna Millay’s view of Nature. She thinks that Nature is the greatest manifestation of beauty; the natural element is frequent in her poems. In conclusion, this poem describes human feeling through the observation of Nature. The human sense of inferiority before divinity is justified by the fact that all people try to understand the deeper meaning of everything. And this desire for knowledge is always frustrated by the line that divides us from the unknowable.

"The Road Less Taken" by Robert Frost

Francesco Nino Vetrone
Liceo classico E. Duni
National Poetry Month Project
2011

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20

As an Italian student of literature, in the third year of Liceo Classico, the first comparison that comes to mind, when reading this poem, is a possible link between Frost’s “wood” and Dante’s “forest” in the opening of the Inferno. Both, wood and forest, represent the intriguing mystery of life. At the same time, however, some diversities must be noted.

First of all, the use of a different colour: Dante’s forest is dark. The “forest dark” where Dante
found himself, “midway upon the journey of our life, for the straightforward pathway had been
lost.” Dante’s forest is also savage, rough and stern, capable of renewing feelings of fear at the
very thought of it. This dark colour fits in with the gloomy representation of the setting, with sinners and events of the past, from which Dante is willing to learn under the guidance of his Master Virgil.

Frost’s wood, however, is yellow. Yellow is the colour of nature showing itself in its less glorious state, usually at the end of summer. Autumn leaves are already withering and falling down and the “time” ahead is going to be a hard time to live. Unfortunately, the author has no Virgil at his side. With no guidance and no example offered, his own Future depends on the choices he is going to make. The forest of Dante’s Inferno is a dense scenario of past life. Frost’s wood is the unknown life ahead of each of us. Of course, other fellow humans on their journey to their final purpose, whatever this purpose is, have already experienced it through the wood. But, the people who went to the wood first, left no records of their actions. So he can’t learn from them. There are just little notable traces of their passing on the ground. Yet, a decision has to be taken: which way to go, left or right? (Virgil! where are you ?) And here, Frost is either playing around or indecisive. The two roads look almost the same (ln 9-10 ”the passing there / had worn them really about the same”). But just a line above, he writes that one of the roads was “grassy and wanted wear”. And then, again, the speaker says that the two roads “equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black”. Is this a metaphor representing the many faces of the same problem? Or is this simply sneering irony confirming the tricky horns of the dilemma we struggle with in everyday life? The most trodden road might be the right choice. So far, that road has been the choice of many and man likes to flock with those of his own kind. In the final lines, however, Frost informs us, “with a sigh”, that he “took the less travelled by / and that has made all the difference.”

Is this a metaphor for individualism and self-confidence or self-conceitedness? Or is it an
allegory to confirm people’s attitudes towards failure? What about considering the author’s
choice as a kind response to the road’s call for “being trodden”? A sort of personification by
which Frost makes “things” think, also letting them express their desires.

The “Road Not Taken” is a very good example for teaching the fun of reading, conversing ,
investigating and reflecting. Through a major metaphor (roads diverging represent time to decide and choose), an obvious allegory (walking the path through the wood stands for travelling the road of life through problems and difficulties), the author supplies us with enough concepts for us to think further.

There is at least a double-sided aspect concerning human behaviour and actions. Going one way
always leaves us with a doubt: what would have happened if we had gone the other way? In his
restless and stubborn search on the journey to the unknown final target, man’s thirst for knowledge is such that, even if just for a while, he feels sorry he is not free to travel both roads (which is an antithesis between restricted human and almighty divine natures as well as a metaphor for the need to be cautious and careful before making any decision). It takes Frost some time to make up his mind and go “the one less travelled by.” This passage can also be read as an exhortation that the author suggests to his readers: do not follow what society decides for you. Make your own decisions.

Nobody ever knows what could have happened by just going the other way. In the line “Yet knowing how way leads on to way,” Frost adds, “I doubted if I should ever come back.” This burning want for “knowledge” goes for eternity with man. At present, an example of this question “what would happen just if…” can be seen from movies like It’s a Wonderful Life (with James Stewart directed by Frank Capra) and Sliding Doors (with Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Peter Howitt).

Both movies have two different timelines, showing two different story endings: jumping/not jumping from the bridge (Stewart) and catching/not catching the London Underground train (Paltrow).

Thus, we can say that "The Road Not Taken" is a mysterious poem through which Robert Frost is able to shock as well as fascinate the reader, thanks to imaginative paradoxes, tricky sentences and interpretative challenges. "The Road Not Taken" is the lyrical representation of the problems we meet when facing the "forks" along the pathway of our life.

Emily Dickinson's "Experiment to Me," 1865

VA- Liceo scientifico D.Alighieri

Roberto Maria Sacco 

Emily Dickinson’s “Experiment to Me,” No. 1073 

1 Experiment to Me

2 Is every One I meet

3 If It contain a Kernel -­

4 The figure of a Nut

5 Presents upon a Tree Equally plausibly -  
6 But Meat within is requisite

7 To Squirrels, and to Me –

c. 1865 

 It' s always an intriguing experience meeting somebody new. It is “an experiment”(1) as Emily Dickinson says. This word, “experiment”, reveals Dickinson’s approach to reality: she's not a superficial observer. She examines everybody and everything in depth.   

The author employs, as usual, a metaphor concerning nature. She uses the image of the “Nut” (4) alluding to the common man, closed in himself, protected by his impenetrable shell, and  nevertheless willing to overcome his defences and to lay them bare. Emily Dickinson wants to reach the “Meat” inside the shell, and she does not mind the difficulty of doing it (6). She makes use of the word “Kernel”(3), which indicates the edible part of the nut. But what does the poet want to tell us? Does the kernel  represent the good side that everyone has? The preposition “If”seems to narrow the possibilities and  makes us understand that only one who has something to share with others can be considered as an object of interest, although he conceals his effective essence (3).  

Getting to know someone new is the biggest challenge of Dickinson's life, the most arduous experiment. The keyword of the poem, “experiment”, describes, in the scientific field, the preliminary and necessary step to accomplish research. In the same way, when applied to relationships, the experiment could be the reason of their enhancement and development.  

The most interesting thing is that  a person  like Emily Dickinson has been able to pass to us such an insight. She lived on the fringes of the world, withdrawn from everybody and everything. Perhaps her relationships with others was limited to mere observation. It would be as if she looked at everything standing aloof. The image of the tree in the poem  gives the idea of detachment: as the nuts hang from the branches of the trees, the others, potentially reachable, are bound to the roots of a far and intangible world. 

On the other hand, she could have not been as shy as she appears. What if she really cared about relationships? What forbids us to believe that she would daze to achieve her experiment? After all the comparison between her and the “Squirrels” let us think that there's  in her a tendency to discover. 

The poem could also have yet another meaning? What if “One” is not referred to a person, but to a general element of nature (2)? It's possible that Emily Dickinson wishes to discover the natural world in depth , not limiting herself to a superficial perception, but going up to the mysterious essence of everything. Spirituality is always present in her poems, though she seldom refers expressly to God or any of His manifestations. Thus, it's plausible also another hypothesis:  the pronoun “It” makes reference to a thing, not to a person (3). “Kernel”, with the capital letter, could represent the divine presence which hides itself in the reality. The aim of the poet, at this point, results blanketing nature in a holy atmosphere. The comparison with the squirrels, besides confirming the concept, lets the woman find herself  in Nature and identify with it. 

While the man-nut metaphor remains the most immediate interpretation, only one certainty stands: there's not a single way of reading and interpreting this poem. Dickinson knows how to dilate the meaning of the words and make a plethora of ideas arise from few verses. The goal is reached thanks to a simple language , a lapidary style and a very slow rhythm, produced by the two dashes of lines 3 and 5. In this short poem Emily Dickinson perfectly succeeds in not being trivial.She elaborates simple concepts by adopting only essential words and allows the reader to interpret  them as he feels.

"Much Madness is divinest Sense" by Emily Dickinson, 1862

Ilaria Venezia, VA.
Liceo Scientifico Dante Alighieri.
Fulbright ETA Program
Emily Dickinson Project

Emily Dickinson’s “Much Madness is divinest Sense,” No. 435

Much Madness is divinest Sense -
To a discerning Eye -
Much Sense - the starkest Madness -
'Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail -
Assent - and you are sane -
Demur - you're straightway dangerous -
And handled with a Chain –
c. 1862

As we can notice analyzing E. Dickinson’s life, she was always on the fringes of society, a recluse. In many poems she refers to her loneliness and to her need of finding someone (No. 249). Very often, because of her ideas, she was excluded by the Society which tried to chain her way of thinking, a Society which didn’t understand her and would have never accepted her. This concept is very topical, in fact nowadays, even if we are members of a Democratic System, free speech isn’t sometimes preserved.

In “Much Madness is Divinest Sense,” thanks to the opening alliteration of the “M”, the Poet makes us realize which is the keyword, “Madness”(1). Paradoxically, she identifies “Madness” with “Sense”. She actually says, using superlatives, that the “starkest Madness”(3) is the divinest
Sense” (1), because the “Sense,” which we can translate into “consciousness” or “reason,” straps down men to the reality whereas the “Madness” lets men climb over the wall of the grim reality
making them free. So, thanks to this, we can link E. Dickinson to the Metaphysical Poets of the 17th century who analysed the connection between the Known and the Unknown. Only one who has “a discerning Eye”(2), i.e. a keen “Sense”, can understand this and go beyond the shallowness of common people. “Eye” can refer to the single human being or to God who knows everything and owns the universal truth.

Talking about the word “Majority” (4), there are two main meanings. If we consider “Majority” as Society in general, which “in this, as All, prevail” (5), most people can’t understand what the Poet is saying because they follow the social ideology like sheeps. It’s enough to “assent” (6) and to be compliant with the laws and to the ideas of Society ”and you are sane”(6), otherwise, if you dare to object and to “Demur” (7), you are “straightway”(7) denounced as “dangerous” (7). So the Majority wins and overpowers its opponents and “handle[s] [them] with a Chain” (8) . As a matter of fact, the same word “Chain” has a metaphorical meaning: it refers to the Society which chains up people’s minds who aren’t free to think. This leads to the homologation of everyone and everything.

But is E. Dickinson between the ones who “Assent”? Of course not. She was brave to shout to the world her way of thinking and her view of the woman. Nobody, or a few, has understood her, and in spite of this she was always by herself.

If “Majority” refers to the male majority, it’s easy to understand that the male world leaves out women. In fact, as the philosopher Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) believes, talking about the myth of Pandora [1], women are “dangerous” elements in the Society because they can upset the male order.

This poem is very topical. Not to be accepted is a widespread thought between poets, especially the Decadent ones. The same Charles Baudelaire(1821-1867), considered as the father of the Symbolism and as the forerunner of the Decadent movement, feels like an “Albatross” which
overflies a world that doesn’t belong to him, a world that, on the other hand, rejects him. The idea of homologation, supported by Society, led to a lot of problems, such as the totalitarianism of the XX century. Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), an Italian writer, politician and philosopher,
was imprisoned by the Fascists because “Bisognava impedire a questa mente di pensare” (It was necessary to forbid this mind to think). So Emily Dickinson in this poem (No. 435) goes into relevant topics and she is very far-sighted; she goads us into breaking all the chains which don’t allow us to expose freely our true thoughts.

Footnotes

[1] In Greek mythology, Zeus gave Pandora a jar which contained all the evils of mankind. Because of her curiosity, she opened it, leaving only Hope inside once she had closed it again.

Works Cited

“Much Madness is Divinest sense”:http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=182156
Abbagnano, Nicola. Foriero,Giovanni. La filosofia. Paravia, 2010.
Aviérinos Labouret Prat. Alinéa. Zanichelli, 2010.
Giappichelli Marcello, Polcri Andrea, Fusi Stefano. Ieri e Oggi. Cappelli, 2009.

Introduction

There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a Human soul.

-- Emily Dickinson, no. 1263

“The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs, and thereby to increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.”

-– J. William Fulbright

A word is dead when it is said, some say.
I say it just begins to live that day.

-- Emily Dickinson, no. 1212

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) lived a reality entirely different from that of young people today. In part because of eighteenth-century customs, in part because of her personal choice, Dicksons led a reclusive life, a life that towards the end was completely removed from the outside world. She would seem to share nothing in common with today’s global society, in which travel, social networks, and the media constantly bring us in contact with other cultures. But Dickinson in her isolation understood that “there is no Frigate like a Book/ To take us Lands away.” Her poetry provides us with the means of transcending our own realities. Her words are not at all dead. They continue to live; rather, they flourish in the imaginations of people throughout the world, testifying to our common humanity.

This blog commemorates the encounter between two cultures, America and Italy, that took place thanks to the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA). Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright is the largest international exchange program in the world, funding the work of graduate students, teachers, and professionals abroad. The Fulbright ETA sends graduate-level students to elementary and secondary schools in over 65 countries in order to share American language and culture. Fulbrighter Lauren-Claire Kelley spent the academic year in Matera, Italy, where she worked at two high schools.

Kelley and her students explored many American traditions, from Native American Heritage Month to Black History Month, from National Volunteer Week to National Women’s History Month. It is thus fitting that students and ETA conclude the experience with the observance of National Poetry Month, the month in which we celebrate the many voices of America. However diverse these voices are, they unite in one chorus, as Walt Whitman (1819-1892) affirms in his poem “I hear America singing”:

“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, …
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.”
--Walt Whitman, “Leaves of Grass,” 1855

However diverse the cultures of the world are, they can find a common language in poetry.

This blog records both the National Poetry Month Project, which Kelley undertook with her advanced classes at the liceo E. Duni, and the Emily Dickinson Project, which Kelley organized with the liceo Dante Alighieri. The students enriched their knowledge of American culture and, at the same time, developed their ability to analyze texts and empathize with other cultures. We hope that this blog will give you a glimpse of the texts that took us “Lands away.” By reading the students’ commentaries, you can explore the ideas, the cadences, and the images that intrigued these students, so much so that some students who before struggled to speak in class expressed themselves with passion when they presented the poems to their classmates. Enjoy!

Italian

Non c’è una Barca come un Libro
Per portarci in altri paesi,
Nè Cavalli come una Pagina
Di Poesia che va saltellando—
Questa Traversata perfino i più poveri possono percorrere
Senza l’oppressione di un Pedaggio—
Quanto è frugale la Carrozza
Che porta un’anima Umana.
--Emily Dickinson, no. 1263 (la mia traduzione)

Una parola, a quanto dicono, è morta appena detta.
Io dico che in quel giorno comincia a vivere.
--Emily Dickinson, no. 1212 (vedi sopra)

“Il Programma fulbright mira ad infondere più conoscenza, più ragione, e più compassione negli affari esteri, in tal modo da aumentare la possibilità che le nazioni possano imparare a vivere, finalmente, in pace ed in amicizia.” –J. William Fulbright

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) viveva una realta’ tutta diversa da quella che vivono i giovani di oggi. Una parte per le usanze della societa’ ottocentesca, una parte per scelta sua, lei conduceva una vita isolata, una vita che verso la fine era completamente staccata dal mondo reale. A differenza della societa’ globale di oggi, cui il viaggio, i social networks, e i media ci mettono senza sosta in contatto con altre culture. Ma la Dickinson, in mezzo alla sua isolazione, capiva che “no c’e’ una barca come un libro/ per portarci in altri paesi.” La sua posia ci fornisce i mezzi di trascendere la propria realta’. Le sue parole non sono affatto morte. Continuano a vivere; anzi, fioriscono nelle imaginazioni di persone per tutto il mondo, attestando alla nostra umanita’ comune.

Questo blog commemora l’incontro tra due culture, l’America e l’Italia, svoltosi per merito del programma Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA). Sponsorizzato dal U.S. Department of State, il Fulbright e’ il programma di scambio internazionale piu’ grande del monde. Finanzia il lavoro all’estero di studenti graduate, docenti, e professionisti. Il Fulbright ETA manda studenti al livello graduate a scuole elementare e secondarie in oltre 65 paesi per condividere la lingua e cultura americana. La borsista Lauren-Claire Kelley ha passato quest’anno scolastico a Matera, dove ha lavorato presso due licei, uno classico e l’altro scientifico.

Kelley ed i suoi studenti hanno esplorato molte usanze americane, da Native American Heritage Month a Black History Month, da National Volunteer Week a National Women’s History Month. Adatto e’ che concludano l’esperienza con l’osservanza di National Poetry Month, il mese cui celebriamo le voci diverse dell’America. Per quanto le voci americane siano diverse, si uniscono in un coro, come afferma Walt Whitman (1819-1892) nella sua poesia “I hear America singing”:

“Sento cantare l’America, le canzoni gioiose sento,…
Cantando con bocche aperte le loro canzoni forti e melodiose.”
--Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass," 1855

Per quanto le culture del mondo siano diverse, trovano una lingua comune nella poesia.

Questo blog archiva sia il National Poetry Month Project, il quale Kelley ha intrapreso insieme alle classi piu’ avanzate del liceo E. Duni, che il Emily Dickinson Project, il quale ha intrapreso insieme al liceo Dante Alighieri. Gli studenti hanno approfondito la loro conoscenza della cultura americana, e nel contempo hanno sviluppato le loro capacita’ di analizzare testi ed di immedesimarsi con altre realta’. Speriamo con questo blog di darvi uno scorcio dei testi che hanno accomunato questi studenti italiani e la cultura americana. Leggendo i commenti degli studenti, potrete esplorare le idee, le cadenze, le immagine che li hanno incuriositi, tanto che qualche ragazzo che prima stentava a parlare si e’ espresso con passione quando ha presentato la poesia ai compagni di classe. Buona lettura!