Surname 1 Name Instructor Course Date Themes in “This is My Letter to the world” “This is my letter to the world that never wrote to me” (1) is a rather strong sentence that draws anticipation from the reader of the poem “This is my letter to the world” by Emily. To the reader of the poem, the possible questions that come to mind are what could the letter say? And what world does the poet refer to in the poem? Why does the narrator in the poem feel that the need to write a letter to the world? By answering the questions, one begins to understand the world of the poet and one gets to develop a view on the theme of the poem. From the first line of the poem, there is evidence of the poet’s sense of belonging to a secluded world and also to her countrymen. The letter “This is my Letter to the world” is seen as an expression of the poet’s desire to belong to a secluded world. Seclusion is a dominant theme in the letter as the poet attempts to find communion with the nature around her with her generosity and kindness acting as her guide. The poet says, “The simple news that Nature told, with tender majesty.” (2). the poet demonstrates that it is through nature that humankind can be able to speak and express their desires to the future generation through a compassionate and understanding heart. In her socially isolated world the poet through the letter demonstrates without no doubts that she has an extremely reclusive nature. The social isolation is self-imposed as she mentions the Surname 2 relationship of her vibrant relationship with her sisters, brother, and sister in law. This shows that the poet has secluded herself from the larger group even though she desperately wants to remain part of it. For Emily in her secluded world, she recognizes the world and its creator. She says in line 3 “To hands that Nature told” which when interested religiously demonstrates the element of belief in a supernatural being. From the capitalization of words such as “Hands and Nature,” it demonstrates that the poet is referring to one superior being and that is God. The second theme is judgment. In the poem, Emily says, “Judge tenderly of Me” (8) which shows that she wants to be remembered and judged fairly for her opinion of the world despite her being isolated from it. For Emily, she understands that nature is critical because it did not judge anyone or ask anything in return but remained very neutral. For Emily, she anticipates that people will read her poem and judge her choices, but she uses natures to provide the reader with a rather different perspective of the world and make the reader join her in seeing and feeling what she felt when she was writing the letter. Emily commits her letter, “hands I cannot see” (6) showing that she is avoiding all judgment by committing the letter to a supernatural being. For Emily, she mentions of her countrymen, and she hopes that they will judge her tenderly (7-8). For Emily, she hopes that as readers read her letter, they will not judge her based on how she lived her life but instead judge her true masterpiece in the way she viewed the world around her because all she ever wanted is to belong. For Emily, she hopes that the readers will have a different perspective on judging other people’s views. The view that Emily has in mind is that people should judge by the truth and not based on acquired assumptions of the world and this way they will be acting fair. The third theme is religion and immortality. For Emily, she understands the power of religion as the social glue that unites people together in the world, and that is why she incorporates the Surname 3 theme into her poem. For Emily, she reflects her concerns about immortality and faith. In line 5 and 6, Emily says, “Her message is committed to hands I cannot see.” The sentence shows that even though she isolates herself from the world, she still acknowledges it from a worldwide accepted view which is religion and faith. “To hands, I cannot see” (6) shows that she is curious of a world that she cannot currently see as she is writing the poem but hopes the message will be passed on to future generations. For Emily, she is ready to face what she cannot see, and the world beyond what we humans can see that is life after death. The fourth theme that ties to religion and faith are death because from the strong words that Emily uses suggests that she is ready to face the world beyond what we can see. For Emily, she believes that death is universal and happens to everyone and the truth about death cannot reveal to him or her of what he or she leaves behind. In another perspective is that no one can escape death and no one has insights on what happens once they have died so any judgments one receives after they are gone will be irrational and harsh because in the new world they will not have any impact. The fourth theme that stands out in the poem is the love of nature. For Emily she finds joy in being part of the natural world and in line 1 she says, “This is my letter to the world” which shows she is having pleasure in nature. For Emily, she believes that no one is indifferent to nature because we all bond to it and this is what forms the world around us. In the poem, Emily attempts to align her message with the natural world. Emily shows a lot of value and appreciation for nature and one interpretation is when she says, “News that Nature told” (3) shows that the message from nature is very paramount. For Emily, she views nature as being universal, and even the future generations should show regard for it. Surname 4 Another theme that is less obvious but still can be observed is the independence of the spirit of Emily as the poet and the poem. Even though the actual world does not address the poem, Emily still sends her letter. What really concerns Emily as the poet is how the world will receive her letter, but it does not bother her much because she still sends it. There is some assurance that the world will not be different from the letter that she wrote and her great appeal is that the reader finds tenderness to show regard for her work by elevating it to the level at which they show regard for nature. Surname 5 References Gioia, Dana. The Literature Collection. 1st ed. Pearson, 2012. Print.
Purchase answer to see full attachment