Emily Dickenson's There Came a Wind Like a Bugle

Emily Dickenson's "There Came a Wind Like a Bugle" The poem describes an approaching storm. The author uses different artistic means and literary devices to create the necessary mood and pass her message to the readers. The poem itself is a mere metaphor. Nature and the storm pass the author’s perception of life. It is a valuable representation of Dickinson's views on nature, its destructive powers, and the ability of humanity to overcome it. I interpreted this poem as it was describing a storm on its way. The poem reads “the rivers where the houses ran” and “the bell within the steeple wild” and at last “we barred the windows and the doors” It’s as if they were preparing themselves for a powerful storm. Some type of natural disaster that could destroy them physically and emotionally. I also thought it could have been talking about how she went through a difficult time and she compared her feelings to a raging storm. Metaphorically speaking of course. I felt as though she did a good job comparing herself to nature. You just had to read between the lines to see things as she perceived them. For instance "And fences fled away, And rivers where the houses ran" This is a great example of her trying to tell us that she wants to escape, given that she was In an unfortunate situation, at the time this poem was written. In my opinion, the poem could have been inspired by the tragic story about Jesse Wickman. On the other hand, it's nearly the same story. A natural disaster, taking yet another significant life. At the end of the poem, with the lines "How much can come, and much can go, Dickinson describes how the carnage of the storm causes pain to the remaining things, and more importantly, people. The color “green” may be meant to symbolize evil and danger. Dickinson uses the color green often to describe the storm. In this line, she personifies the storm as an “Emerald Ghost”. The line “panting trees” is a way of depicting the way the harsh winds are causing the trees to move during the storm. This makes us hear the wind in the leaves in our head, due to our experiences in real life. In other works by Emily Dickenson, she often focuses on main themes such as love, nature, and family. This is a perfect example of her using her favorite themes in a very meaningful poem. Emily is commonly described as a pre-modernist but in this poem, I would not say that this is accurate. This feels like a very emotional piece, where she incorporated all the things she cared about. The poems rhyming are inconsistent and few. She only made three words rhyme which is typical for the poet. Although, In other pieces, she likes to at least make a semi-consistent "Rhyme-pattern".