The Taking off Emily Dickinson_x0092_s Clothes

Allusion to Emily Dickinson's Poems

Collins' poem refers to many symbols and thoughts from Dickinson's poetry, like Dickinson poems we read in class. Identify at least two lines in Collins' poem that allude to poems by Emily Dickinson. Name the Dickinson poems and describe how the Collins lines allude to them.

The first line says, "I couldn't stop for death," and the second says, "nothing but a carriage speeding by, a fly buzzing in a windowpane."

The lines appear often in Dickson's "the slightest." The lines are very distinct. These lines depict the force of death and the manner in which it happens. As such, there is an obstacle, which denies people to get to heavens when they die. The fly buzzing has being depicted as this obstacle in society.

Metaphor of "a Polar Explorer" and Historical Context

In the fifth stanza, Collins describes "[t]he complexity of women's undergarments / in nineteenth-century America." Why might Collins have chosen to use the metaphor of "a polar explorer… sailing toward the iceberg of her [Emily Dickinson's] nakedness"? How might this metaphor reflect important historical achievements in the 1800's as well as Dickinson's biography?

The metaphor of "a polar explorer…" is used by Collins to indicate that he is a person who engages in searching and exploring information, which is related to the nakedness of Emily Dickson. Thus, Collins is getting to the soul of Emily Dickson in order to comprehend what inspired her in the poetry work. Considering that women would hide their nakedness through different clothes and styles of dressing, this would make it impossible for men to understand this nakedness. Therefore, Collins had to be an explorer in order to discover the information about Emily Dickson. This metaphor reflects on Biography of Emily, as well as 1800's achievements by indicating how exploration and search was being conducted in order to achieve the desired success level in society. It was explorers who searched information and documented the same for other people to access.

Tone of the Poem

How would you describe the tone of the poem? Is Collins making fun of Dickinson? Is the poem pornographic? Is the poem sexist? Is Collins a misogynist?

At the start of the poem, Collins uses a sexual and seductive tone, but these changes towards the end where a detailed and descriptive tone is used. This is because Collins is alluding to the deep personal nature of the work of Dickson in society. No, Collins is not making fun of Dickson, but creating a light-hearted scene, which is not embarrassing. The poem is neither pornographic nor sexist. Further, Collins is not misogynist. The used terminology is tastefully casual.