Dickinsons The Brain is wider than the sky
Emily Dickinson, one of the enigmatic poets of the nineteenth century
in her poem The Brain is wider than the sky attempts to compare and
contrast human brain with three entities namely the sky, the sea and
God. This poem provides a deep insight into the creation of God Almighty
on one plane and on other hand provides a profound scientific enquiry
in simple terms. This essay explores the significance of the creations
of God and emphasizes the superiority of God over all His creations.
Dickinson, through her verses, does not attempt to provide a direct knowledge of the omnipotent God but is offering a conclusion that Brain is similar to God because of their vastness. Sielke states that, Interrogating how interactions between brain, mind, world, and media figure in Dickinsons poems, this essay explores cognition as both individually embodied and embedded in a history of metaphor and mediation. (The Emily Dickinson Journal) The two vast creations of God, namely the sky and the sea with immense width and depth are conceived as ideas by the human brain. Hence the human brain is dominant enough to hold them as ideas.
Dickinson juxtaposes the human brain with the sky in the first stanza and illustrates that the brain is wider than the vast stretches of the blue sky. The human brain is superior to the sky because brain is capable enough to think about the sky and take it further it is also competent enough to think about a person who is thinking about the sky and this insightful comparative operation is executed through effortless means.
In the second stanza, the poet contrasts the human brain with the deep blue sea and once again ascertains the superiority of the human brain by proclaiming that the brain is capable of absorbing the sea akin to a sponge absorbing a bucket of water. This comparison once again reiterates the depth of the human brain in contrast with the deep ocean. The unfathomable human brain once more positions its superiority against the bottomless sea.
Dickinson takes the comparison further and in a bold attempt, compares and contrasts human brain with God. This stanza is a little tricky and can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. When read superficially, it appears as though the poet is making a blasphemous statement by placing human brain parallel to God. Hence this part of the poem demands a deeper insight. Human brain is a creation of God similar to the vast sky and the deep ocean and the Creator is definitely superior to his creation, the human brain. But when the poet states that The Brain is just the weight of God, it appears as though Dickinson is trying to claim that both God and Brain are sharing similar status.
A deeper analysis of the last three lines of the final stanza reflects the message of the poet. She states, For heftthem Pound for Pound And they will differ if they do As Syllable from Sound. The poet though claims that the Lord almighty and the human brain are similar, still she brings out the fact there is a difference between these two entities similar to the difference that exists between a syllable and a sound. The central idea of the poem is definitely the celebration the greatness and the vastness of human brain which is superior enough to conceive the idea of God similar to the conception of the idea of the vast sky and the deep ocean. But still, by bringing the comparison of sound and syllable, Dickinson proclaims the greatness of God. A syllable is a representation of sound. Therefore by stating that God is sound, the poet claims that the human brain is a representation of God.
The poem is written in the usual Dickinson pattern with the three four-line iambic meter stanzas. Tetrameter is employed in the first and the third lines whereas trimester is used in the second and the fourth lines of each of the stanzas. The rhyme scheme used is ABCB and the rhythmic device followed to provide the short pauses and break up in the flow of the meter is the long dash. Dickinson by stating that the human brain is a representation of God, reminds the readers of Genesis 126 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Hence the conception of the idea that man was made in the image of God is already found in the Bible. The poem thus reflects upon one of the most complex relationship between the outer world and the inner self.
The poet though outwardly appears to signify the prominence of brain over the colossal entities of the universe namely the sky and the sea, a deeper analysis of the poem reflects a different sense altogether. Brain is definitely superior to sky and sea, but God, the creator of universe and the brain does not share the platform with human brain. He is above all His creations, or in other words, it is from Him that all other creations emerge like the emergence of syllable from the sound. Thus with the excellent choice of metaphoes Dickinson has explored the vastness and greatness of both God and his creation, the human brain.
Dickinson, through her verses, does not attempt to provide a direct knowledge of the omnipotent God but is offering a conclusion that Brain is similar to God because of their vastness. Sielke states that, Interrogating how interactions between brain, mind, world, and media figure in Dickinsons poems, this essay explores cognition as both individually embodied and embedded in a history of metaphor and mediation. (The Emily Dickinson Journal) The two vast creations of God, namely the sky and the sea with immense width and depth are conceived as ideas by the human brain. Hence the human brain is dominant enough to hold them as ideas.
Dickinson juxtaposes the human brain with the sky in the first stanza and illustrates that the brain is wider than the vast stretches of the blue sky. The human brain is superior to the sky because brain is capable enough to think about the sky and take it further it is also competent enough to think about a person who is thinking about the sky and this insightful comparative operation is executed through effortless means.
In the second stanza, the poet contrasts the human brain with the deep blue sea and once again ascertains the superiority of the human brain by proclaiming that the brain is capable of absorbing the sea akin to a sponge absorbing a bucket of water. This comparison once again reiterates the depth of the human brain in contrast with the deep ocean. The unfathomable human brain once more positions its superiority against the bottomless sea.
Dickinson takes the comparison further and in a bold attempt, compares and contrasts human brain with God. This stanza is a little tricky and can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. When read superficially, it appears as though the poet is making a blasphemous statement by placing human brain parallel to God. Hence this part of the poem demands a deeper insight. Human brain is a creation of God similar to the vast sky and the deep ocean and the Creator is definitely superior to his creation, the human brain. But when the poet states that The Brain is just the weight of God, it appears as though Dickinson is trying to claim that both God and Brain are sharing similar status.
A deeper analysis of the last three lines of the final stanza reflects the message of the poet. She states, For heftthem Pound for Pound And they will differ if they do As Syllable from Sound. The poet though claims that the Lord almighty and the human brain are similar, still she brings out the fact there is a difference between these two entities similar to the difference that exists between a syllable and a sound. The central idea of the poem is definitely the celebration the greatness and the vastness of human brain which is superior enough to conceive the idea of God similar to the conception of the idea of the vast sky and the deep ocean. But still, by bringing the comparison of sound and syllable, Dickinson proclaims the greatness of God. A syllable is a representation of sound. Therefore by stating that God is sound, the poet claims that the human brain is a representation of God.
The poem is written in the usual Dickinson pattern with the three four-line iambic meter stanzas. Tetrameter is employed in the first and the third lines whereas trimester is used in the second and the fourth lines of each of the stanzas. The rhyme scheme used is ABCB and the rhythmic device followed to provide the short pauses and break up in the flow of the meter is the long dash. Dickinson by stating that the human brain is a representation of God, reminds the readers of Genesis 126 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Hence the conception of the idea that man was made in the image of God is already found in the Bible. The poem thus reflects upon one of the most complex relationship between the outer world and the inner self.
The poet though outwardly appears to signify the prominence of brain over the colossal entities of the universe namely the sky and the sea, a deeper analysis of the poem reflects a different sense altogether. Brain is definitely superior to sky and sea, but God, the creator of universe and the brain does not share the platform with human brain. He is above all His creations, or in other words, it is from Him that all other creations emerge like the emergence of syllable from the sound. Thus with the excellent choice of metaphoes Dickinson has explored the vastness and greatness of both God and his creation, the human brain.
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