Bolts of Melody : The Poetic Meter and Form in Poetry of Emily Dickinson

This essay analyses a selection of poems written by the American poet Emily Dickinson. The essay aims to explore the function of the meter in Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Earlier studies have combined Emily Dickinson’s poetry with meter, but the research of metrical pattern and form has not been sufficient enough to show Emily Dickinson’s full potential with the different meters. The purpose of this essay is to analyse how the metrical patterns are used by the poet as metrical strategies to impact the reader’s perception. One assumption is that structure and form are fundamental to her writing style. It justifies the reading of her poetry in relation to meter. The main focus was the physical structures of the poems, such as line length, metrical patterns, and systematic rhymes. The second most important aim was to analyse her other poetic devices, such as dashes and capitalizations. The findings were analysed together with the vocabulary and figurative language. The analysis shows Emily Dickinson’s poetic artistry in meter and rhyme and clarifies how she creates poetry with lyrical qualities. The result is important because it also shows that she can create poetry with metrical patterns, without in that sense being bound to meter