John Romano Dana Luciano 14 February 2014 Title In Emily Dickinson's poem F 24!

the speaker consi"ers than Li#e! human nature! meanin$! eternity! % con#lict or binary emer$es #rom the poem's temporal conte&t o# eternity! that bet'een human en"ea(or! the #ul#illment o# a ')oal!' 'Li#e's lo' *enture!' an" the impossibility all this acti(ity must con#ront+ This in#inite ran$e o# time #unctions as the "ri(in$ #orce behin" this con#lict! that 'hich perpetuates the state o# a##airs, -Eternity enable the en"ea(orin$ . %$ain/ 0112203+ To un"erstan" this poem more thorou$hly! one coul" rea" it throu$h a lens o# speci#icity an" e&empli#ication4 to posit Li#e's lo' *enture as the enterprise o# 'ritin$ poetry an" correspon"in$ly! as the particular $oal o# the speaker un"ertakes+ In this 'ay! then! the poem #unctions as a per#ormance o# 'hat it attempts to say by (irtue o# its (ery poetic #orm+ 5ut this per#ormance! ho'e(er! "oes not con#irm the main ar$ument o# the poem as it mi$ht on #irst $lance+ Initially! one may see this complete" poem itsel# as a testament to the po'er o# Eternity to ur$e the poet to continue a seemin$ly hopeless task+ Rather! the poem can only take place in the conte&t o# its o'n 'lo' *enture' an" conse6uently rea##irms its #initu"e instea"+ The speaker su$$ests that the art o# 'ritin$ poetry inherently pro(es itsel# to be insu##icient in"epen"ently an" that its e&istence must nourish itsel# on the i"ea o# eternity+ In sum! the speaker implicitly "e(alues her o'n art an" the poem commits (iolence upon itsel# #rom 'ithin+ The poem "eals out t'o o# its ma7or i"eas in its #irst #our lines, that there e&ists a temporal or spatial center at 'hich point e(ery li#e meets an" that e(ery person naturally has a personal $oal+ The rest o# the poem e&plores an" "epen"s on these i"eas 'ithout $i(in$ them any #urther e&planation or clari#ication+ That the poem be$ins 'ith these #our lines has a

key #unction! as it allo's #or the rest o# the poem to say 'hat it "oes an" o##ers the poem a (ery linear train o# thou$ht+ 8ith this in min" one coul" then say that three aspects o# the poem! #orm! content! an" per#ormance! mimic each other an" 'ork in tan"em+ The #orm pushes ahea" an" opens up the space in 'hich the content can #urther "e(elop itsel# in each #ollo'in$ stan9a! an" #rom these t'o parts emer$es the per#ormance o# the poem that may either con#irm or "eny its central theme+ In the last stan9a the poem neatly circles back to its be$innin$! "emonstratin$ the 'ay in 'hich the 'en"ea(or' o# 'ritin$ poetry is enable" a$ain+ The #irst stan9a raises 6uestions that un"eniably remain unans'ere", 'hat is the #orce behin" the con(er$in$ o# 'Each Li#e:' 8hat is the purpose o# con(er$in$ to a center: It 'oul" seem that on the scale o# eternity! each li#e 'oul" actually "o the opposite! that is! entropically become #urther an" #urther apart+ ;oreo(er! instea" o# the kin" o# center the poem a"(ances! 'here harmony an" unitysomeho' e&ist! eternity 'oul" entropically call #or increasin$ly less or$ani9ation! an" thus the least possible chance o# unity+ <ut o# this! one coul" ar$ue that the speaker implicitly 0or e(en e&plicitly3 sets up a hierarchy that subor"inates #initu"e to in#initu"e+ In other 'or"s! the speaker re$ar"s the time o# li#e an" o# human (enture as "e#icient an" ina"e6uate to actuali9e a $oal compare" 'ith the time o# eternity+ =et in spite o# this claim it remains sel#2e(i"ent that any $oal 0in our case! 'ritin$ poetry3 necessarily e&ists an" can only be reali9e" 'ithin the limite" time o# a li#e on earth+ 8hat the poem tries to say an" "o ine(itably #ails an" simply rea##irms the impossibility o# reachin$ outsi"e itsel# to'ar"s a hi$her realm+ The poem can only li(e on in a continual "i##erin$ an" "e#errin$ process bet'een #inite realms4 e(en thou$h 'e ha(e this poem an" can rea" it! this is entirely a historically contin$ent #act an" is not necessary in any 'ay :::+ >istory is not in#inite+ <ne is le#t 'ith the 6uestion! 'hy an" ho' "oes #initu"e make li#e a lo' (enture: Re$ar"in$ a spatial consi"eration! there is another hierarchy bet'een t'o competin$ realms, the lo' place o# earth 'here humans "'ell an" their (entures take place! an" the

hea(enly sky! home to the ?aints an" outsi"e o# time or 'here time #unctions "i##erently+ @oetry lon$s to 'To reach' a '5rittle >ea(en!' 'To touch' the 'Rainbo''s Raiment' but the act is 'hopeless+' ?tructurally! poetry 'ill al'ays alrea"y #ail to arri(e at this i"eal because it must use lan$ua$e an" systems o# representation that only e&ist in the #inite 'orl"4 it cannot use anythin$ else but this+ The "i(ine i"eal pro"uces in the poet the "esire to transcen" but at the (ery moment poetry occurs! the "i(ine is un"ermine"+ The speaker re#uses to accept an" embrace the limits o# the human con"ition as a 'orthy source o# moti(ation to 'ork to'ar"s a $oal an" #in" meanin$ 'ithin that 'ork+ The poem is blin" to itsel# in that it sees its completeness are (irtues not as the #ruits o# its status a Li#e's lo' *enture but because it points to an impossible 'orl"+ 5ut the (ery meanin$! "i$nity an" raison "'Atre o# the poem can mani#est e&actly #rom the imper#ect nature o# lan$ua$e an" human li#e+ <ne can accept that the poem here -perse(ere" to'ar" B surer B #or the Distance/ but it nee"lessly "oes (iolence to itsel# at the moment the speaker "eclares that it is -Cn$aine" B it may be B by a Li#e's lo' *enture+/