Emily Dickinson's Collected Poems

Some of Dickinson poems are written in the spirit of fun, with a light touch; satirical. What things or people does she treat playfully?

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Dickinson refers to whimsy in several of her poems. A Narrow Fellow in the Grass treats a snake as a character sliding through the yard. The Skies Can't Keep Their Secrets also playfully has the skies talking to the hills and the whimsical orchids and daffodils. A Bird Came Down the Walk tells of a bird who eats a worm in half raw and let's a beetle pass. Her little details in nature make her readers smile because they are so simple yet filled with imagery.

Emily Dickinson's satirical style is usually directed not at one person or thing per se, but rather the idea that that one person or thing somehow deserves merit simply by being themselves. For her, it's always better to be a clever "nobody/nothing" than an uptight "somebody/something" because the former doesn't have to pretend in order to save face.