2 quotations linked to Beclouded — Emily Dickinson by or associated with Emily Dickinson, with source notes, explanations and related topics.
Low sky, snow, personified weather, subdued natural beauty and the idea that nature can appear without grandeur.
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“Nature, like us, is sometimes caught Without her diadem.”
The closing comparison allows nature to appear undignified or diminished at times, resisting the assumption that natural beauty must always be grand or picturesque.
Source note: “Beclouded,” Poems: First Series; Project Gutenberg #12242. The line is personification and comparison, not a literal claim that nature possesses human emotion or status.
“The sky is low, the clouds are mean, A travelling flake of snow Across a barn or through a rut Debates if it will go.”
Low cloud, uncertain snow and cramped rural space give the weather a subdued emotional atmosphere without turning the natural scene into a simple moral lesson.
Source note: “Beclouded,” in Poems: First Series (1890), Project Gutenberg #12242. Nature is personified in the poem; the editorial heading and punctuation reflect the early printed edition.