My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun
E89839
"My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun" is a powerful and enigmatic poem by Emily Dickinson that explores themes of identity, power, anger, and the relationship between the self and its latent potential.
Aliases (1)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
lyric poem
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poem → |
| addressee |
implicit master / owner
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|
| approximateCompositionDate |
early 1860s
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|
| archive |
Harvard University Houghton Library (Dickinson manuscripts)
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|
| author |
Emily Dickinson
NERFINISHED
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|
| centralMetaphor |
loaded gun as speaker’s life
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|
| compositionPlace |
Amherst, Massachusetts
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|
| countryOfOrigin |
United States
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| firstLine |
My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun –
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|
| firstPublishedIn |
Poems by Emily Dickinson (posthumous editions)
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|
| form |
stanzaic
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|
| hasCriticalReception |
considered one of Dickinson’s most enigmatic poems
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widely discussed for its ambiguity → |
| includedIn |
major Emily Dickinson collections
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|
| influences |
modern feminist readings of Dickinson
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|
| interpretedAs |
allegory of self and master
→
exploration of female anger → meditation on poetic power → reflection on violence and control → |
| language |
English
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|
| literaryPeriod |
19th-century American poetry
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|
| manuscriptNumber |
F764
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|
| meter |
common meter
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|
| movement |
American Romanticism
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Transcendentalist-influenced poetry → |
| numberOfLines |
24
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|
| numberOfStanzas |
6
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|
| posthumousPublication |
true
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|
| rhymeScheme |
irregular
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|
| speaker |
personified loaded gun
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|
| studiedIn |
American literature courses
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feminist literary criticism → poetry and poetics courses → |
| theme |
agency
→
anger → gender → identity → latent potential → mortality → power → violence → |
| usesDevice |
enjambment
→
extended metaphor → paradox → personification → slant rhyme → |
| writtenBy |
Emily Dickinson
NERFINISHED
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|
Referenced by (2)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun
("My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun –")
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|
firstLine |
|
Emily Dickinson
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|
notableWork |