Madness

"Much Sense-the starkest Madness-
'Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail-"
"Much Madness is divinest Sense"
Emily Dickinson


I swear Emily Dickinson's poems get odder and odder each chapter. I think the purpose of this poem is to say that those who are mainstream are supposedly sane, yet those who stray away from mainstream things are dangerous, "And handled with a Chain." "Handled with a Chain" is an overstatement because I doubt that people are literally whipped with a chain; It's moreover trying to say that those who stray from common will be judged by others.

This poem contains many paradoxes throughout it; one is that "Madness is divinest Sense." To say that madness is a 'divine' or good sense sounds insane, but the speaker is claiming that madness is good because you are your own leader. "Madness" allows you to be yourself, be courageous, and stand up for what you believe in. You don't need to follow others--you go your own way. Madness is a divine sense because it involves independence, freedom, and it allows you to think for yourself. Sometimes we all need a little madness..That sounds weird

Amurica

"why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead"
"next to of course god america i"
e.e. cummings


The lack of capitalization, punctation, and just coherent sentences in this poem is distressing. But I have come to understand it's similar to the song, "God Bless America." This poem praises the goodness that America has and how we all glorify its name "in every language even deafanddumb." The above quote is rather paradoxical because it says that it's beautiful that men are dead- and not just dead-happy dead. It means to say that 'these men have not died in vain.'(Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg address...Thank you for making us memorize that Mrs. Helbing.) The death of those who fought for America is beautiful because they died so that we could be protected from danger.

Another use of figurative language would be the simile, "who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter." The lions in this phrase are the soldiers; the soldiers are compared to lions because they are brave in that they run into the slaughter, or combat/warfare. One of the last few lines, "then shall the voice of liberty be mute?" may mean that patriotism would not be present if it weren't for the courageous men that fought in battle to protect us all.

Batter My Heart

"Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free"
"Batter my heart, three-personed God"
John Donne


This poem is a prayer of repentance to the "three personed God," or the Trinity. The man (or woman) praying may have committed a very bad sinful deed--possibly even a mortal sin. I'm not sure what exactly the man has done, but he does say, "betrothed unto your enemy," which means he most likely gave into the Devil's work/temptation. Also, he states, "Divorce me, untie or break that knot again," so maybe the man has cheated on his wife? Well anyway, throughout this entire poem the man pleads to God for forgiveness for his actions. He feels as though he will not be properly forgiven if he is not punished for his sins first.

Since this poem is addressed to the Trinity, there are separate parts that directly speak to Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. I'm going to guess that "knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend" address God because he presents challenges to us, gives us life, and helps to guide us and seek to forgive one another. "That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend" may be addressed to Jesus, because He rose from the dead, and he was overthrown, or crucified. Throughout his suffering, he was able to "rise and stand" and recover from the pain. Finally, the portion "Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new" may be addressed to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of tongues of fire at Pentecost, so that's why I think the burn reference may have been made. Also, the symbol for the Holy Spirit is the dove, and the dove is a sign of new life, which makes sense with the part of "make me new." I could be totally wrong as to whether or not these inferences are right, but they seem logical.

And finally, there are lots of paradoxes in this poem:

• "That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me"
• "Imprison me, for I, Except you enthrall me, never shall be free"
• "Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me"

None of these make sense particularly, but these paradoxes reveal the man's desire to go through whatever steps that are necessary so that he may be healed of his wrongdoings and sin.