88. The Soul Selects her own society(35)(AltE/3rdSem)

1. Who is the poet?

A:- Emily Dickinson is the poet of 'The Soul Selects her own Society'. She belonged to America. She was born in Massachusetts and lived from 1830 to 1886.

2. What is personified in the poem?

A:- The soul is personified in 'The Soul Selects her own Society'.

3. How many poems did the poet write?

A:- Emily Dickinson wrote more than 1800 poems or "fascicles" which were discovered by her younger sister Lavinia and mostly published after four years of her death.

4. What are the meanings of "shuts the door", "unmoved" and "like stone?"

A:- The phrase "shuts the door" in the poem means, the soul shuts the door to all others after choosing what she wants. The soul is "unmoved" in the poem. "Like stone" means the soul is unchanging and firm.

5. Give an example of alliteration from the poem.

A:- The line "the Soul Selects her own Society" is an example of alliteration in the poem.

6. What is the poem all about?

A:- In the poem, the poet celebrates the virtues and powerful results of an independent and solitary life.

7. What was the poet's father?

A:- The poet's father Edward Dickinson was a US Congressman.

8. To which age did Dickinson belong?

A:- Emily Dickinson belonged to the 19th century American Renaissance period.

9. What is American Renaissance in literature?

A:- Despite the political independence in 1776, the cultural independence was yet not received from the European colonizers by the then thirteen colonies which later became the fifty states of America. The Renaissance in American literature including poetics was found in this nineteenth century through the writings and poetry of Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe, Ralph Emerson and Jefferson where they insisted on writing in their own styles.

10. What is Amlit?

A:- Amlit means American literature.

11. Was the poet following any punctuation tradition?

A:- Emily Dickinson followed no fixed punctuation conventions.

12. Who is called the poet of paradox?

A:- Emily Dickinson is called the poet of paradox. She involved both science and paganism in her thoughts and writings.

13. Who is the nun of Amherst?

A:- Emily Dickinson is called the Nun of Amherst. She was born there and died there too.

14. Which literary schools influenced the poet most?

A:- The metaphysical poets of seventeen century England, her reading of the Book of Revelation and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town influenced Dickinson's thoughts and writings. Her approach towards Christianity was Calvinist and Orthodox.

15. How many poems were published when Dickinson was alive?

A:- Around a ten poems were published when Emily Dickinson was alive.

16. What is the rhyme scheme of most of her poems?

A:- ABCB is the four line rhyme scheme in most of her poems.

17. What is personified in the poem?

A:- The soul is personified in the poem.

18. When were her poems published?

A:- Emily Dickinson's poems were published after her death. The poem 'The soul selects her own society' was first published posthumously in 1890. Emily Dickinson wrote this poem in 1862.

19. To which century did the poetry belong?

A:- The poet belonged to the 19th century.

20. What does the speaker say in this poem?

A:- The speaker celebrates the virtues of an independent and solitary life.

21. How does the soul react to the chariots and emperor?

A:- The soul remains unmoved to the chariots and emperor.

22. How is the soul personified in 'The Soul Selects her own Society?'

A:- The soul is personified as a woman and selects her own society which is her own soul. She is unmoved by chariots and emperors.

23. What does the similie 'like stone' shows?

A:- The similie 'like stone' shows the determination of the soul in establishing her relationships and stubbornness with which she retains her position.

24. What is the meaning of the title?

A:- The meaning of the title is that the soul is indifferent to the world's attractions.

25. What is the imagery in the poem?

A:- The imageries of "gate", "like stone" are used to make the poem relate to the physical world and show the consistency and determination of the soul. A stone is solid and unchanging. So is the soul of the speaker in the poem.

26. What does the carriage ride symbolize?

A:- The carriage is symbolic of a vehicle carrying the bride from her parental home to her permanent marital home. Her suitor is death. The two characters create the eternal carriage. And the ride is symbolic of time where the three pass from phase of life to a permanent home. 

27. How does the poet personify the soul?

A:- The poet personifies soul in the poem and refers to it as "she" and "her".

28. What does a horse symbolize?

A:- The horse's heads symbolize the fate of the speaker who is being driven to eternity in a symbolic carriage. The reference evokes the biblical symbol of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse" in which the horses represent the late physical state of being. It is symbolic of one's final consciousness of life before the abyss of death.

29. What does the setting sun symbolize?

A:- The setting sun symbolizes the speaker or poet's last moments of life and eventual death.

30. What is the theme?

A:-  The themes in the poem are more than one. Firstly, it is about people who cherish their privacy. Another theme is the speaker's exploring the strength of the soul to select her own society. No wealth or emperor can convince her back to their society. Theme of self-reliance is also clear.

31. How is the structure of the poem?

A:- The poem is three-stanza that is separated into sets of four lines known as quatrains. But, there is a slight change in second and third stanza. The second and fouth lines use half-rhyme. Actually there is very less rhyme scheme. The words "gate" and "mat" and "one" and "stone" rhyme just partially.

There is ceasura, alliteration and personification in the poem too.

32. What is ceasura? Where and how is it used in the poem?

A:- Ceasura is a form of literary device that is observed in each line of the poem used as dashes(-). The dashes used by the poet are integral of Dickinsonian poetic style. For example - "I've known her- from an ample nation."

33. How is alliteration used in the poem?

A:- Alliteration is repetition of words starting with consonant alphabets in ons line. The title of the poem is best alliterative- The (s)oul that (s)elects her own (s)ociety.

34. What is characteristic of Dickinson's poetry?

A:- The element that makes Dickinson's poetry unique is her use of skilful imagery. The most prominent within which are, the imagery of death, nature, immortality, desire, hope and despair. In most of her poems, these images become metaphoric and the metaphors become images.

35. How is death presented in the poem?

A:- Death is the speaker's suitor. It is metaphorically used as her or her soul's suitor who will comfortably take her to the new life after death. This image of death is presented to show that point of death or afterlife are not harsh. Death also symbolizes that this life is temporary and the permanence should be celebrated.