Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Emily Dickinson's "Again - His Voice is at the Door" explores the emotional complexities of an encounter, possibly with a lost or forbidden love. The poem's voice is fraught with anticipation, hesitance, and a certain daring willingness to rediscover or rekindle an old connection. A rich tapestry of emotion, social customs, and celestial symbolism, the poem is both a narrative of earthly passion and a cosmic drama.

The poem begins with the speaker hearing "his voice at the door" and feeling "the old Degree." This mysterious "Degree" suggests a social or emotional status that once existed between them. The presence of a servant indicates a social setting where propriety is observed, setting the stage for the tension between societal norms and personal desires.

When the speaker "takes a flower" to "justify" her face, we glimpse her internal conflict. Flowers often symbolize purity or emotional expression, and here, it serves as a prop, a socially acceptable mask. She speculates on surprising him with her appearance, implying a transformative experience has occurred since their last meeting.

The phrase "I cross the Hall with mingled steps" conveys her ambivalence. The Hall could symbolize the passage of time or a social barrier. The speaker looks at "all this world contains," but is focused only on "his face - nothing more," underlining her emotional absorption and tunnel vision.

Their interaction is depicted as "careless - and in toss," perhaps mimicking social conversation. Yet, there is a profound emotional undercurrent, a "kind of plummet strain." The casual banter serves as a gauge, each trying to assess the emotional depths of the other. It is a dance of words, a coded conversation.

The following stanzas bring in celestial metaphors with the "Moon" and "Angels." The moon often symbolizes femininity, change, and mystery. The angels symbolize a sublime loneliness or separation, possibly from the divine or each other.

The concluding lines reflect a desperate longing to relive the moment, despite its emotional cost. "The purple - in my Vein" could symbolize the vitality or emotion running through her. Yet, she acknowledges a price for every "stain," or every emotional or moral compromise she has made. It is "He" who "must count the drops," suggesting he holds the ultimate judgment or is the reason for her emotional turbulence.

Dickinson brilliantly employs dashes throughout the poem, creating a disjointed, breathless tempo. This mimics the speaker's emotional turbulence, her hesitations and rushes of thoughts. Each dash could symbolize a pause for thought, a moment of taking stock of her emotional condition.

In summary, "Again - His Voice is at the Door" is a gripping portrayal of emotional complexity, societal norms, and the eternal themes of love, loss, and longing. It presents a profound emotional experience as both an earthly event and a cosmic drama, imbued with celestial significance. Emily Dickinson encapsulates these nuances with her characteristic economy of words, but a lavishness of emotional scope.

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...