Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Michael Longley's tribute to Emily Dickinson is a poetic homage to the unique ethos that governed Dickinson's life and work. Longley, a prominent Northern Irish poet, is known for his reflective verse and engagement with nature, history, and the existential facets of life. His poem encapsulates the persona of Dickinson as a devoted poet who views her art as a sacred act.

The opening lines "Emily Dickinson, I think of you / Wakening early each morning to write" immediately plunge us into the universe of reverence that Dickinson occupied in the realm of poetry. Longley highlights Dickinson's commitment, where "dressing with care" is not just a sartorial choice but an act of deference to her art. The lines "Yours is always a perfect progress / through cluttered rooms to eloquence, delight" might serve as an allusion to Dickinson's internal, personal journey from her confined life to the vast landscape of her imagination and the subsequent poetic output.

Longley seems captivated by the contrasting elements of Dickinson's life-the seclusion in her "house in Amherst Massachusetts" versus her expansive imagination. He highlights the idea that "your poems are ubiquitous as dust," thereby encapsulating how her work transcends the limitations of space and time. Despite the poems being "like love letters you lock them away," their essence pervades, much like the elements of nature Longley himself frequently engages with.

One of the remarkable aspects of this tribute is Longley's attention to Dickinson's descriptive genius. He notes that "By christening the world you live and pray / Within those lovely titles is contained / The large philosophy you tend towards." These lines emphasize Dickinson's ability to infuse her observations of the natural world with philosophical depth, much like Longley's own work.

Interestingly, the poem doesn't adhere to a strict metrical or rhyme scheme, which could be a nod to the freedom and versatility that characterizes Dickinson's poetry. This lack of structural rigidity seems intentional, reflecting the unconstrained nature of Dickinson's creativity and thoughts. The poem is a tapestry of poetic devices, with vivid images such as "The candelabra there resemble trees / Too well," and phrases like "the clock beneath its dome of glass / Ticks without the weather," which seem to echo Dickinson's own focus on the minutiae of life, rendered significant through poetic vision.

Longley closes with the line "Gradual as flowers, gradual as rust," encapsulating the inevitable growth and decay that Dickinson often grappled with. This dichotomy also mirrors the range of themes Longley himself navigates-war and peace, love and loss, and the ephemerality of existence.

"Emily Dickinson" by Michael Longley is thus more than an homage; it is a poetic conversation across time, wherein Longley celebrates the ever-present voice of Dickinson. His poem becomes a tribute that not only acknowledges Dickinson's poetic genius but also pays homage to the craft of poetry itself, a craft both poets deeply respect and continually explore.

Poem Snippet"

In your house in Amherst Massachusetts,

Though like love letters you lock them away,

Your poems are ubiquitous as dust.

You sit there wl;ting while the light permits

While you grow older they increase each day,

Gradual as flowers, gradual as rust.

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