The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (28 page)

Urbain-Jean-Joseph Leverrier (1811-1877), a French astronomer who discovered evidence of the planet Neptune.

Thomas H. Johnson, editor
of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
(see For Further Reading) dates this poem from 1862; perhaps Dickinson is commenting on the Civil War.

Cut off, shortened.

Scimitar; a curved sword.

Gold coins once used as currency in some European countries.

Scarf worn around the neck; necktie.

Chief of the twelve Apostles; traditionally regarded as the first bishop of Rome.

Flock of sheep.

Small, brownish finch.

Quote from “The Jesus Prayer”: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on
me, a sinner.”

Irrevocable.

Delicate lace.

Relating to Moses, the Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of Egypt.

Covered shelter; hiding place.

Spread.

Down of an eider duck.

Wealth or riches, especially when dishonestly acquired.

Army commander in the ancient Roman Republic.

Proceeds.

Lifeless.

Town of northern Italy known for its marble quarries.

In pursuit.

Hot southerly winds.

Area in a church containing the altar and seating for clergy and choir.

Study or examine carefully; memorize.

Unabsolved (as by a confession).

Art or study of standard spelling.

Unaccompanied part-song for three or more male voices, popular in the eighteenth century.

Lured away.

Oily aromatic resin from plants.

Seventy (a score is equivalent to twenty).

Bearing or manner.

Circumlocution, or long-winded speech.

Always.

Scale indicators on a clock.

Pen name of the English novelist Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855).

Town in Yorkshire, a county in northern England where Brontë spent most of
her life.

Plant in the lily family; in Greek poetry and mythology, the flower of Hades and
the dead.

Gnatlike fly.

Susan Dickinson, Emily’s friend and the wife of her brother, Austin.

In Greek mythology, the garden of the Hesperides contained the golden apples
given to Hera as a wedding gift.

Mount Etna, a volcano in Sicily.

Tenerife (formerly Teneriffe) is the largest of the Canary Islands of Spain.

Muscle.

People devoted to sensuous pleasure and luxurious living.

Throughout the Bible, beings confronting God do not look at him directly.

Peter Parley’s Winter Evening Tales
(1829), by American writer Samuel Goodrich,
was a popular book of didactic tales for children.

Scientific study of insects.

Escutcheon; a shield or shield-shaped emblem bearing a coat of arms.

Blocks of metal, such as gold.

William “Captain” Kidd (c.1645-1710), British sea captain and pirate.

In Greek mythology, three goddesses called the Fates controlled a person’s life.
Clotho spun the thread of life; Lachesis measured its length; Atropos cut it.

High or mountainous land, particularly the Highlands of central and northern Scotland.

Purifying.

Relating to Etruria, an ancient country of west-central Italy.

Companion of the legendary medieval hero Robin Hood.

Character in a fairy tale by the French author Charles Perrault, who marries and then murders one wife after another.

Felt-like material, often bright green, used to cover gaming tables.

Woman’s long dress or skirt (archaic).

Small brook.

North American bird.

Examiner, reader.

Propitiation is an act of appeasement or conciliation.

Measured the depths of; understood.

Fine-grained quartz with colored bands or clouding.

Midday (archaic).

Numbers; zeros.

During the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. 14), Rome enjoyed a
flourishing of art and culture.

Restores; reimburses.

Subordinate or dependent.

Wings.

Small territorial divisions of a country.

The reference is to the English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), who lived in Italy for many years.

Relating to a duke or dukedom.

Enclosed, or imprisoned.

Burial shrouds.

Ninth-century B.C. Hebrew prophet who, according to the Bible, was carried skyward in a chariot of fire (see 2 Kings 2:11).

1 Corinthians describes Christ’s resurrection; the poem specifically refers to 1 Corinthians 15:42-43: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in corruption: it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory”(KJV).

Bandits (Italian).

Daggers with slender blades.

In Greek mythology, an immortal woodland goat-man given to unrestrained revelry.

Highly reactive nonmetallic element; a luminous substance.

Possibly an allusion to Old Testament passages: Job states that man’s “foundation
is in the dust” (Job 4:19, KJV); Abraham claims that he is “but dust and ashes”
(Genesis 18:27, KJV).

Ghostly apparitions; phantoms.

In Greek mythology, a renowned poet and musician.

In the Bible (Genesis 32:22-32), Jacob wrestles by the Jabbok River (a tributary
of the Jordan) with an angel who turns out to be God.

Face of God.

Robber, or bandit.

Myrrhs are bitter resins used in perfume and incense; mochas are pungent Ara-
bian coffees.

Active volcano in southern Italy.

Act of passing something along.

Perhaps an allusion to the opulence of Indian costumes.

Near.

Anonymous.

Prize or reward.