The following poem is one of the most interesting of Dickinson's poems that I have so far come across. Although it may be a radical interpretation, I do believe I have made a reasonable argument of who the speaker is in this poem.
520
I started Early—Took my Dog—
And visited the Sea—
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me—
And Frigates—in the Upper Floor
Extended Hempen Hands—
Presuming Me to be a Mouse—
Aground—upon the Sands—
But no Man moved Me—till the Tide
Went past my simple Shoe—
And past my Apron—and my Belt
And past my Bodice—too—
And made as He would eat me up—
As wholly as a Dew
Upon a Dandelion’s Sleeve—
And then—I started—too—
And He—He followed—close behind—
I felt His Silver Heel
Upon my Ankle—Then my Shoes
Would overflow with Pearl—
Until We met the Solid Town—
No One He seemed to know—
And bowing—with a Mighty look—
At me—The Sea withdrew—
Emily Dickinson
c. 1862
p. 1891
From the beginning of time, man has been fascinated by the heavens. People have looked upon the seemingly infinite number of stars with wonder. And as time progressed, they began to deify these heavenly bodies. Names, rank, power, and personalities were given to the sun, moon, planets, and stars. Many stars were grouped together to form visual representations of their gods, which are what we now know as the constellations. Even today, we look up at the constellations in amazement. But what would it be like for the constellations to look down on us. This is a perspective that is explored by Emily Dickinson in her poem “I started Early—Took my Dog.” Although the speaker is traditionally believed to be a woman taking her dog for a walk on the beach, I argue that the speaker is actually Orion who is taking his celestial dog, Sirius, for a walk across the heavens.
It is in the third stanza that we find our first clues that Orion might be the speaker in the poem. The poem specifically makes a reference to the clothing of the speaker which is swallowed up by the tide, which includes a shoe, apron, belt, and bodice (Dickinson 10-12). Now at first glance, this information in no way suggests that the speaker could be a constellation. But, we must ask ourselves why Dickinson chose to describe the clothing of the speaker, and not just the physical attributes. She could have easily stated that the tide rose above the speaker’s feet, legs, waist, and chest. But instead she chose to identify these specific items of clothing that happen to directly correspond to the most famous constellation in the sky (See Fig. 1). Interestingly, when the constellation Orion descends below the horizon in the winter, it disappears in exactly the same order given above: first the shoe, then the apron, then Orion’s belt, and then the bodice. However, this information alone does not, with any certainty, prove that the speaker is in fact a heavenly body. At this point, it would still appear more likely that the speaker is merely a woman taking a stroll on the beach. This, of course, is until we begin to take a closer look at the speaker’s companion, the dog.
Fig. 1. Constellation of Orion (Abrams)
The appearance of a dog in the first stanza of the poem also further supports the possibility that the speaker may be Orion. Initially, the speaker’s dog does not appear to serve any function within the poem. The only direct reference to it is in the first line of the first stanza, which states “Took my Dog—” (Dickinson 1). But after the first line, no further reference to it is made. So what is the purpose of including this seemingly arbitrary fact in the poem? Well, I suggest that it is included for the sole purpose of identifying the speaker as the constellation Orion. This is because Orion happens to be accompanied by a dog in the sky (See Fig. 2). This companion is known as Canis Major, the dog constellation. Canis Major is located just left, or from another perspective, following behind the Orion constellation. So the inclusion of the dog in the poem reinforces the idea that the speaker is Orion.
Fig. 2. Orion and Canus Major Constellations (Astronomy)
Now that we have established that the speaker may be Orion, the rest of the details from the first and second stanzas become clearer. In these stanzas, we are introduced to two new groups of characters, the mermaids and the sailors, who come out to see the speaker (Dickinson 3-8). According to popular mythology, mermaids were known to lure sailors away from their duties. But in the poem, it is the speaker, not the mermaids, that is the focus of the sailors’ attention. So what could make the sailors pay more attention to the speaker than the mermaids surrounding them? And what attribute of the speaker is so amazing that even the mermaids are lured to him? It could only be that there is something about the speaker which is even more fascinating than the surrounding mythological creatures, like the speaker being a god in the sky. Luckily, the sailors help us out by giving the location of the speaker. First of all, we know the speaker is far away from the sailors because they describe him as the size of a mouse, and have to point to the speaker to show the others. Anyone who has ever tried to show a companion a constellation in the night sky would know that it would be extremely difficult to identify the constellation without gesturing towards it. This is because a constellation, relative to the rest of the sky, can be as small as a “mouse.” Secondly, we know that the speaker is “Aground—upon the Sands” (Dickinson 8). Now, of course, this could merely be the sand of a beach. But, once again, anyone who has ever looked up in the night sky would agree that there are as many stars in the sky as there is sand on the beach. And when looking up at Orion and his dog, you can see that there are innumerable stars which appear as nothing more than sand compared to the brighter stars that make up the constellations (See Fig. 3). These celestial sand pebbles form the ground on which Orion and his dog walk.
Fig. 3. Celestial Sand: Screenshot of Orion and Canis Major with background stars (Sky)
Having already appeared in the poem, it is likely that the “He” in the fifth stanza could be a reference to the speaker’s dog. The poem states that “He followed—close behind—” (Dickinson 17). Well, we already know that the dog is walking with the speaker. However, the poem has not stated where the dog was walking in relationship to the speaker. It is possible that this is a reference to the speaker leading the way, while his dog is following. Now, when we look at the constellations of Orion and Canis Major, we can see that the dog is indeed following “close behind” Orion in his journey across the heavens. Also, the dog fulfills another requirement of this character. The poem states that “I felt His Silver Heel/Upon my Ankle” (Dickinson 18-19). Now take a look at Figure 1. We can see that the lower left star is not the foot of Orion, but the bottom of the apron close to the knee. The ankle of Orion is much further below that star. Now notice the relationship between Orion and Canis Major in Figure 2. The ankle of Orion is close to the front paw, or heel, of the dog constellation. And the heel of the dog could accurately be described as the color of starlight, or silver.
The third, fourth, and sixth stanzas show the earthly sea in conflict with the heavenly speaker in a battle of nature. In this section of the poem, the sea is attempting to swallow Orion and consume him. The poem states that the sea “made as He would eat me up—/As wholly as a Dew/Upon a Dandelion’s Sleeve” (Dickinson 13-15). Dew is the water that collects on the ground during the night. The sea believes that Orion is just dew which the sea would have no problem consuming. However, the sea is mistaken because Orion is not made of water as he is not of this world. The sea realizes this, and withdraws from battle “bowing—with a Mighty look” (Dickinson 23-24). The sea does this because he now respects Orion, and comes to an understanding that nothing from earth can overcome the heavens. This insight reflects the speaker’s own thoughts in the third stanza: “But no Man moved Me” (Dickinson 9).
So, this poem could possibly be about the day in the life of a god. This god, Orion, started off his day by taking his dog out for a walk on the celestial sands on the bank of the Milky Way. Along his journey, he looked down at Earth and saw mermaids and sailors looking up at him in wonder. But like every god, there was an imminent battle. The angry sea interrupted his stroll by trying to swallow him and his dog up. But the earthly sea was no match for the powers of the heavenly hunter and his companion, Sirius, who followed closely behind. Once the sea realized his attempt to conquer the sky had failed, he bowed and looked up in amazement at this powerful god, and then withdrew.
Works Cited
Abrams Planetarium. Michigan State University. 7 June 2006. <http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/Index.html>.
Astronomy for Kids. Ed. Rick Morris. 2006. 7 June 2006. <http://www.dustbunny.com/afk/constellations/canismajor/canisorionmap.html>.
Dickinson, Emily. “520: I started Early—Took my Dog”. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Ed. Thomas H. Johnson. New York: Little, 1960.
The Sky: Asronomy Software. CD-ROM. Ver. 5.00.005. Golden, CO: Software Bisque, 1999. <http://www.bisque.com>.
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