10/28/2023 0 Comments Maelstrom in a sentenceSuddenly the narrator is saved from the goblin which intrinsically represents a dark evil force. It is as if the Goblin is weighing up whether the narrator deserves a second chance or deserves to live and the sense setting in is the narrator’s grave realisation of this. Similar to “I felt a funeral” the narrator comments “sense was setting numb”. The caesura gives the appearance that the narrator is trying to resist the fate that awaits her. The following stanza continues the helpless image. The emotion of helplessness continues with the goblin weighing up the narrator’s time left, the image conjured up is one of time that is running out and can be ended if the creature so chooses. The “helpless” feeling already established by the “Maelstrom” is reiterated here. There is the controlling image of “when winds take forests in their paws” and that very same image is present here. The “Paws” are reminiscent of the poem “He fumbles at your soul”. The constant references to time are prevalent in this verse “Hours…Second” and the pace seems to increase through their use. Given Dickinson’s religious background, we are left at present to wonder where God is. The feeling is that the goblin is in control. The verse continues with the ominous feeling in the second line “measuring the hours”. The third verse introduces a gothic image of a “Goblin with a gauge”. More simply, the dream could be the idea of eternity, a salvation from the maelstrom and thus a reprieve. Linking this to the idea of living in a “Dream” it appears that Dickinson is questioning life and what is real. ![]() Erwin Schroedinger (a philosopher) argues “our picture of the world is and always will be a construct of the mind”. ![]() The words “And let you from a Dream” hint that the narrator has left this reality, this world and is in the next or at least imagining the next. However in “I felt a funeral” this breaking is of “a Plank in reason” and here what broke is left ambiguous. “And you dropt lost” is similar to the falling sensation experienced by the narrator in “I felt a funeral”. There is however also sexual connotations of exploitation in this line. The “Hem” in this poem is potentially a metaphor for the narrator’s mental state which is gradually unravelling however it could also be representing, like the maelstrom, a gradual end to life. A “Hem” is normally used to stop an item of clothing falling apart. The “toyed coolly” combined with “delirious” show the external influences on the narrator that cannot be overruled. The initial lines of this curiously five lined stanza “Toyed coolly with the final inch Of your delirious Hem” again show the controlled chaos image that is so prominent in this poem. The second verse allows the introduction of a second person or possibly entity, yet the identity is kept secret. Yet taking it as a metaphor for life it appears Dickinson is exploring whether life itself is suffering. This possibility is reinforced by the controlled chaotic feel and the evident suffering. It is possible that the entire first verse is Emily Dickinson imagining hell. The next line appears unfinished “Until the agony” yet it leaves the reader to imagine the narrator’s pain. ![]() It also recalls the myth of Ixion, bound upon a wheel of fire as torture for offending the Gods. There is a possibility that Dickinson had read Shakespeare’s tragedy since the idea of being granted a reprieve from the grave appears later and the debate surrounding it is also evident. The added implication of inevitable death is reminiscent of the words “You do me wrong to take me out o’ the grave…but I am bound Upon a wheel of fire”. The cyclical motion of the wheel possibly reflects the cyclical motion of the maelstrom. The “boiling wheel” with perhaps a turning towards death. “Narrowing” clearly represents the descent into the maelstrom and the inevitability of death. This illustrates life as a journey to death and depending on your belief, eternity. The idea that the poem is a metaphorical representation of life is further reinforced by the second line of the opening stanza: “That nearer every Day”. This “notch” with its connotation of control will be important with reference to later on in the poem. The addition of “notch” almost adds some form of control to this uncontrollable natural occurrence. The “notch” provides a mechanical mix with the natural “maelstrom”. This theme is evident in this poem which metaphorically depicts life. The maelstrom image also suggests an inevitable pain since ships trapped in a maelstrom will not survive. Both meanings imply this lack of control. Maelstroms, more commonly known as whirlpools are often found at sea but a “maelstrom” can also be a violent or turbulent situation. The word is derived from the dutch verb “malen” meaning to grind or whirl. Dickinson’s initial simile “Maelstrom” provides a feeling of confusion, an image of uncontrollable reality and panic.
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