Paradise Found

In “I dwell in possibility”, by Emily Dickinson, em dashes are utilized in three different ways. One use of the em dash is to serve as a comma and to connect elements of the same thought. An example of this is “I dwell in Possibility--/ A fairer House than Prose” (1-2). This is one cohesive thought, but the em dash is used to separate the noun of the sentence "Possibility" from the descriptive phrase "A fairer House than Prose". Dickinson’s second use of em dashes is to separate multiple thoughts within a stanza, but to also serve as connections so that the main idea of each stanza remains coherent. This can be seen at the end of lines 2 and 6. Lastly, Dickinson uses em dashes at the end of each stanza to definitively mark the separation of the main points of her poem.

In the first stanza of her poem, Dickinson’s main focus is to compare Possibility to Prose, implying that Possibility is a metaphor for poetry. By choosing the word Possibility, poetry can be described as filled with wonder, novelty and creativity. The use of the words “fairer”, “numerous” and “Superior”, from lines 2, 3, and 4 respectively support the idea that crafting poetry is a far more creative and beautiful skill than penning prose.

Dickinson continues to describe poetry in the second stanza. Following the metaphor that poetry and prose are two entirely different places, or intangible buildings, the rooms of Possibility are “Impregnable of Eye” (line 6), meaning that the process of writing poetry is private, personal to the poet and mysterious to outsiders. The roof of Possibility is described to be “Everlasting” (line 7) and compared to “The Gambrels of the Sky” (line 8). This means that there is an infinite amount of freedom that can be found in the writing of poetry and that the emotions and ideas that can be expressed through it are endless and boundless, like the sky. By making this comparison, Dickinson is subtly saying that prose lacks this kind of freedom, perhaps both structurally and emotionally.

In the last stanza, Dickinson discusses poets rather than poetry itself. In line 9 she refers to “Visitors” which refers to both people who write poetry seriously and those who write it as a hobby. Dickinson then ends the poem with a general statement that all poets have a beautiful and wondrous moment when they complete a poem, aptly labeling the experience as “Paradise--” (line 12).