After great pain, a formal feeling comes - Emily Dickinson After great pain, a formal feeling comes – The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs – The stiff Heart questions ‘was it He, that bore,’ And ‘Yesterday, or Centuries before’?The Feet, mechanical, go round – A Wooden way Of Ground, or Air, or Ought – Regardless grown, A Quartz contentment, like a stone – This is the Hour of Lead – Remembered, if outlived, As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow – First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go–
VOCABULARY
Formal -serious, according to the rules and customsof a society Nerves -a person’s emotions - particularly thoseof courage and strength Ceremonious -relating to a ceremony, especially agrand, formal occasion Bore-twopossiblereadings,eithersomeonewhois‘abore’,aboringpersonor someonewhobearstheweightofsomething-inthisinstance,thelatter interpretationismorelikelytobecorrectasitmakesmoresensewithinthecontext of the poem Mechanical -behaving like a machine Ought -acting according to duty Regardless -despite being 1 / 2
Quartz -a hard, translucent rock that is often white,clear or rose in colour Contentment -satisfaction Outlived -managed to last longer, to live longerthan something Stupor -dulled senses, lack of feeling or sensitivityto anything
STORY/SUMMARY
Stanza1:Afterapersonhassufferedgreatpain,theyaretakenoverbyaformal,
seriousfeeling-theirnervessitinaceremoniouswayintheirmind,asifpartakingina
formaloccasion,asthoughtheyaretombs-thestiffheartasks:“Wasithe,thatputup
with the suffering?” and “when did the pain start- was it yesterday, or centuries ago?”
Stanza2:Thefeetactmechanically,walkingroundinawooden,stiffway-theygrow
indifferenttowhethertheyarewalkingontheground,orair,oranything-theytakeon quartz contentment, as if they were made of stone
Stanza3:This,whatyou’reexperiencingnow,isthehouroflead-ifyoumanageto
outliveit,youwillrememberitinthesamewaythatfreezingpeoplerememberthe snow(asatrauma,amomentofintenseshockandsuffering)-itfirstcomesoveryou as a chill, then numbness, then finally you manageto let go of the pain -
SPEAKER/VOICE
Thespeakerusesthethirdpersontotryandobjectivelydescribethefeelingofloss, griefortraumaasimpersonallyaspossible.Thisisperhapstoconveythesenseof numbnessthatcomesalongwithexperiencinggreatdifficulty;itmayalsobean expressionofthewayinwhichpeopletrytomasktheirintensefeelings,orconfront them using logic and formal solemnity.
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