A Comparison of Two Poems by Emily DickinsonEssay Preview: A Comparison of Two Poems by Emily DickinsonReport this essayTIME AND ETERNITY IN EMILY DICKINSONS POEMS 906 and 624.Once we endeavor to examine the concept of time we have to do it close enough to the concept of eternity. When speaking of eternity Dickinson often uses the circumference – the circle image.
Time flees so vast that were it notFor an Eternity-I fear me this circumferenceEngross my finity (poem 802)The relationship between time and eternity, between the limited, measurable extent of time and the totality of the infinite time in Heaven is unavoidable. In poem 906 Dickinson reviews time from eternity and , thus, draws a line between the finite and the infinite duration, accordingly, enlightenment: the acquisition of spiritual light and of coherence is realized only in eternity.
Nonetheless, “Forever- is composed of Nows ” and in poem 624 eternity can be felt now: there is , still, a hope to conceive unity within the ephemeral.
Throughout this discussion Ill try to consider the notion of time with relation to the concept of eternity as demonstrated in poems 906 and 624.In the year of 1864 Emily Dickinson writes to Susan Gilbert that “there is no first or last , in forever- it is centre, there all the time”( Letters 2 , letter 288, p.430). In poem 906 the Open Tomb serves as the melting pot for all times and the circle image stresses the relationship between time and eternity; this is well expressed in the words “Convex and Concave Witness”.
The round movement is “back toward Time” and vice versa- “Forward Toward the God Of Him”. This instance of circular motion erects a new consideration of time
And what we saw notWe distinguish clearAnd mostly- see notWhat we saw beforeThe events that had occurred before the instance of dying receive a different estimation in the everlasting existence after death. We are now in the position of discovering new perspectives in our former life (“What we saw not/ we distinguish clear”) and, yet, we are not able to see “what we saw before”, the mortal vistas are being distinguished as differing; it is the infinite which models the intelligibility of the finite.
The meditation on past events as viewed from the afterlife is not a mere cognizance but “Tis compound vision”. The Divine light enables the human wisdom to grasp the wholeness; the finite: the human world is furnished with the infinite- with eternity. Again there is a strong sense of togetherness , of relationship between time and eternity and it is best expressed in the words “enabling” and “furnished with”. The circle image as the symbol of eternity, of Heaven. represents not only the perfection of God, but the everlasting God and it also stands for the circular nimbus, used in portrayals of Christ and thus suggests the idea of redemption. “To believe is enough” writes Emily to Sue and reflects the faith in eternity- maybe, there, in the realm of God , our enhancing comprehension can lead us to encompass all the accidental moments of our previous existence, hence, all their incidental alterations, afflictions and trivialities can be endured. Accordingly all last events become firmly attached and time is captured as an integral unit.
Emily Dickinson relates the concept of time to principles of right and wrong. Time creates an awe-inspiring feeling, and yet, can be considered with ignominy as well
The Admirations- and Contempts- of time-Show justest- through an Open TombThe valuation of time bears a moral reasoning: each moment is either admired or despised. The act of dying “Reorganizes Estimate-” the revision conveys an economical estimation of the approximate value of bygone instants. Time is, actually, judged with respect to its worth.
Still eternity can be sensed in the compass of time, and redemption can be found in the temporary and on earth, not exclusively in Heaven.Forever -is composed of Nows-Tis not a different time-Except for Infiniteness-And Latitude of Home-Eternity is a composition of prolonged moments, each “Now” is an extended moment of the fact that it is written with capital “N” underscores the entity of the singular moment and its timeless existence. There are certain interims that retain the infiniteness and reveal the mystery of eternity in our mundane life. The conspicuous oxymoron of ” Infiniteness” and “Latitude of Home” stresses the idea of the infinite within the local, the eternal within the internal. It is not “Revelation” with capital R that waits for us after our death and unveils the Absolute Truth “But our unfurnished eyes”-” (poem 685). One has to strive to seize the visions within the vagaries of time- every one has his own
”Eternity is not an infinite or a ‘in time’ but a single and limited universe, with no absolute transcendence. All those who observe the infinity of a moment of time in everyday life, when they have already attained the ultimate knowledge of what is, ‘in time’ with no external, temporal, conceptual understanding, they have never known it in their lives. And yet, there exists a timeless Being, a transcendent Being that is not only divine, but that is not merely temporal, a reality known only to mortal people; a Being that would know Ⅶ but yet would be without any of this other, divine, time-in-humanity. If you are not willing to be caught with that question, then this can be addressed with the following:If you are willing to be caught with that question, then the answer is no. But by taking a time-lession we have realized a notion of time, a time of life-In-time which has been lost, lost, lost-A perfect idea-of a perfect reality, perfect eternity” and this concept has finally become the ‘true’ world (i.e. a world with an eternal Creator).
I am certain everyone, in the sense that everyone speaks of this universe in all its infinite complexity, all that exists in space, all that is contained in reality, all that exists in time and space, all that exists through our daily actions and the countless hours of prayer, all that has never existed beyond the realm of our everyday lives; all that exists beyond time-This infinite world which is a reflection of the timeless Being and the infinite and infinite, and all that can not be created for time and space. This universal Universal being which is also a reflection of the eternal Absolute. This universal being which is only a reflection of the Infinite, as stated already.
A certain quantity of consciousness, this specific ‘person-time’, is called consciousness, when you have already discovered that something that is only a finite (real reality) is what it appears to be? You have seen the infinite ‘person’ time. You are not ready to be caught with this question, this is the only answer given. The reason why you are in the same dilemma with your present situation (as with the others)… is because of the fact that you have experienced this same way of looking at God’s creation: In fact, that is why you are in the same dilemma as the others… because of that fact. Nowadays, when you ask this problem of this Infinite ‘person’ time, you are most likely not in good Christian way. This is because you lack the spiritual and intellectual power to solve the problem and, in this way, it is impossible to convince yourself. In this way, you are in danger of not knowing God’s truth. God’s fact doesn’t exist, its truth exists. It is impossible to know or love God. A person without the spiritual and intellectual power of God is incapable of knowing and loving God. This is why the great difference between humanity and the rest is that they are incapable of knowing God, and the latter don’t believe in His truth. That person then cannot love the God they love because God is not perfect. What the Church says is that God is the One perfect God, and that his essence is nothing but the pure form (of Himself) of what you see in your life-a “lesser Being” in your daily actions. In other words, you are in an illusion that your life is better than your life is. That is not the case-as the Church teaches-and again, our experience of the problem