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MILES INTRODUCTION
In A Nutshell
Hey now, just because Emily Dickinson didn't get out much, doesn't mean that she totally lost touch with the world.
Though the "Belle of Amherst" is infamous for rarely leaving her hometown or even her homestead she still had a
great many observations about the changing world around her. We get to see some of these in "I like to see it lap
the Miles" (also know as "The Railway Train"). Dickinson's father, Edward, was actually an instrumental part of the
committee involved in bringing the railroad to their town (Amherst, MA) in 1853, so the 23-year-old poetess must
have heard a whole lot about the arrival of the world-changing "iron horse" over the family dinner table.
Interestingly, though her father proudly watched the arrival of the first train in the town, Emily herself watched from a
distance, in the woods.* This same distance a combination of fascination and wariness, perhaps stands out in "I
like to see it lap the Miles." The coming of the railroad definitely meant a change in sleepy Amherst's way of life, and
in Emily's own. We have to wonder what personal impact this change of pace made to this reclusive poet and the
rapidly modernizing world around her.
*For an interesting and very sophisticated discussion of this family connection, check out Chapter One of Domnhail
Mitchell's book, Emily Dickinson: Monarch of Perception, available at Google Books.
Miles" is principally admiration, and the low-lying fog of unease that we see drifting around it seems pretty
speculative.
Dickinson doesn't go so far as to suggest that the brand-spankin' new train is necessarily dangerous, or
even badbut it does seem like this new, powerful manmade creature is something of an invasive species. The
speaker's not sure how it's going to get along with the rest of the familiar world yet, and it seems that she's kind of
suspending judgment on it for now.
Reading this poem in our current moment, we can't help but pause to think about the impact that technology has had,
and will continue to have on the natural world, and on our human society and wonder about technology's own
strange, artificial "life."
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Basically, there's not much "plot" in this brief, riddle-like poem. In it, Dickinson describes the progress of a strange
creature (which astute readers discover is a train) winding its way through a hilly landscape. The speaker admires the
train's speed and power as is goes through valleys, stops for fuel, then "steps" around some mountains. The animallike train passes by human dwellings and, though it observes them, doesn't stop to say hello. Instead, it goes on
ahead, chugging loudly as it passes through a tunnel, and steams downhill. Finally, the train (compared in the end to
a powerful horse) stops right on time at the station, its "stable."
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The speaker admires the speed and stamina of what exactly? She only says that she likes to see "it" as it
travels.
The double-edged verb used here, "lap," immediately brings to mind two different actions. The speaker
could either be describing a racehorse, flying through the laps of a racetrack for mile, or a cat, languidly
lapping up miles like milk.
Either way, something is moving across a landscape fast.
If we remember the alternate title of the poem, "The Railway Train," we can already guess that she's
probably watching a train moving along the tracks.
Line 2
And lick the Valleys up
Going off of the second meaning of "lap" in line 1, the image of the mystery animal "lick[ing] the valleys up"
follows on this theme of eating and consumption. "It," the train, is eager to eat up (metaphorically
speaking) the distance it covers.
This use of the word "lick" is an example of personification. The train is described in human terms, because
it "licks" the valleys: it's as if the train has a tongue.
Trains can't actually lick, of course, but it's a strong image that gives us an idea of how the train moves
through the valleys.
Line 3
And stop to feed itself at Tanks
Another eating-related metaphor appears here, as the mystery creature "stop[s] to feed itself at tanks" (3).
Trains, back when Dickinson was writing, were all powered by steam, which was generated by burning
wood, coal, or oil.
So, this must be a reference to the train being loaded with fuel so that it can keep moving.
Let's keep chugging along and see where else this train goes.
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After its pit stop, the train goes onward, to step effortlessly around mountains not just one,
but a "pile."
We have a great sense of just how massive this locomotive is so far; it's large enough to
require tanks of food, and to skip around mountain ranges.
Despite all the animal-like descriptions, this train is certainly no real animal
Lines 6-7
And supercilious peer
In Shanties by the sides of Roads
The train "superciliously" (that is, haughtily or condescendingly) looks into the ramshackle
buildings by the roadside.
Clearly, the speaker can't get enough of personification. The train isn't just a big iron thingit
actually has a personality.
We think that by giving the train a snooty attitude, the speaker might be telling us that she's
not totally sold on this new technology. What do you think?
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Lines 8-10
And then a Quarry pare
To fit its Ribs
And crawl between
Now the train "crawls" through a narrow tunnel or passage in the mountainous terrain.
Some of the words here are a bit strange, so we'll help you out.
"Pare" is a word you've probably heard before. Ever used a "paring knife" to "pare" (cut) up a
piece of fruit?
"Quarry" is a place where stone is cut from the ground.
"Ribs" seems to be a metaphor for the train trackscan't you picture the resemblance?
"Paring" a "quarry" makes it sound as though the thing slices through rock as effortlessly as
a knife through an apple.
Of course, it probably wasn't quite that easy to cut away the rocks for the train. But you get
the idea.
Lines 11-12
Complaining all the while
In horrid hooting stanza
The mystery creature whines horribly as it moves through the rock, making a loud ruckus.
What did we tell you about the personification in this poem? By describing it as
"complaining," the speaker gives the train even more personality.
Check out the use of the word "stanza." It makes us think of stanzas of poetry, which have a
rhythmic quality. It seems like the horrible sounds coming from this thing are rhythmic, too.
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Freed from the tunnel, the train eagerly goes downhill. This line has a light, playful quality.
(We can't help but picture a cute puppy chasing its tail.)
It's also like a riddle: What can chase itself?
Answer: a train made up of multiple cars, each one following the engine down the hill.
Line 14
And neigh like Boanerges
The creature lets out a rumbling cry, or "neigh," which reminds us of its horse-like qualities
from the first lines.
The speaker compares it to Boanerges, a Biblical name that means "son of thunder," and
generally refers to a booming, loud preacher or public speaker.
Lines 15-17
Then punctual as a Star
Stop docile and omnipotent
At its own stable door
In these lines the speaker uses a simile. She says that the train is "punctual as a star."
Stars, of course, show up in the sky at a specific time each night. It sounds like the speaker
is suggesting that the train is as punctual as nature.
At last, the creature stops, right on time, and placidly returns to its home, or "stable" (another
horse reference to bear in mind).
In these final lines, the speaker also describes the train as "docile and omnipotent." This
characterization again gives humanlike (or even super-humanlike) qualities to the train. On
the one hand, the train is "docile," or submissive. On the other hand, it's "omnipotent," or allpowerful.
The train, in other words, is a complicated thing with many qualities and many
characteristics. And it's all pretty new to the speaker, so maybe she's still not quite sure what
to make of it.
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ANIMALS
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Symbol Analysis
Though sleuth-like readers will soon figure out that the mystery creature referred to here is actually a
train, Dickinson uses anextended metaphor to depict the train as a kind of super-powerful, foreign
animal. This reminds readers that the train moves through the natural world, but doesn't belong to it.
The train is personifiedwith various creaturely traits; as we read it, we might compare it to a whole
menagerie of different animals. However, all of these familiar characteristics eventually only make
this manmade beast seem all the more strange and extraordinary.
Lines 1-4: The train-animal (tranimal?) is obviously a ravenous one; it doesn't simply travel
along, but rather gobbles up miles and valleys, before feeding itself (that is, refueling).
Lines 11-12: The train is a vocal creature, and the description of its complaints in "horrid
hooting stanza" (12) emphasize its wildness and incomprehensibility. The alliteration here
("horrid," "hooting") highlights the uncivilized quality of its speech; think of an owl hooting
creepily in a dark forest, or hyenas laughing wildly.
Line 13: There's a kind of fun, puppy-like quality to this line; the train "chase[s] itself downhill"
the way a playful pup might chase its tail.
Lines 14-17: Here, the train is a horse. It neighs loudly and returns peacefully to its stable.
The simile Dickinson employs in line 14 is also a bonus Biblical allusion("Boanerges" is an
Aramaic nickname that Jesus once gave two of his vociferous disciples. It means "sons of
thunder").
Furthermore, Dickinson's crisp alliteration ("star," "stop," "stable") brings a kind of clipped precision
to this stanza, kind of like a horse trotting briskly home.
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CONSUMPTION (EATING,
DRINKING)
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Symbol Analysis
The general theme of the first stanza is eating and drinking the train is a ravenously hungry
creature, and as it travels, it consumes and consumes. There's some interesting mixed feelings
here; while the speaker claims to "like" watching it, the hungry animal is a little menacing in its
devouring path through the countryside. We're not sure what exactly to make of itbut maybe that
doesn't matter. After all, the personified train is capable of eating all it wants, without our permission
(it can even feed itself without human help, apparently, as we see in line 3).
Lines 1-2: The speaker announces that she enjoys the way the train eats up the landscape
the alliteration here ("like,""lap," "lick") implies the speaker savors her view of the train the
way that the train savors its consumption of the miles and valleys.
Line 3: The creature "stop[s] to feed itself at tanks" literally, to refuel itself for the journey
ahead. What's interesting about this image is the idea that the train feeds itself, rather than
being fed by human caretakers.
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ASTRONOMY/CELESTIAL
BODIES
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Symbol Analysis
While this concept only shows up very briefly in the poem's final stanza, it strikes us as an interesting
one. Dickinson's comparison of the train to living, earthly creatures (like a horse) puts it in the frame
of our environment and our natural world, but this last comparison to a star makes the train seem
otherworldly, as though it has a kind of alien life of its own.
Line 15: The simile comparing the train to a star speaks again to its power; the trains moving
along the railway are a manmade equivalent to the celestial bodies (sun, planets, stars) that
move predictably through the heavens. The train is "punctual as a star" which is to say, as
punctual (steady and on time) as the most reliable thing in our known universe.
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LANDSCAPE
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Symbol Analysis
Trains move. They move through cities, they move through the countryside, and they move through
small little towns in the middle of nowhere. Even though "The Railway Train" is a short poem, we find
a lot of landscape description in it. It's not only a poem about a train, in other words; it's also a poem
about nature, cities, and all that good outdoors stuff.
Check out some examples:
l. 2: In the second line, we see the train moving through "valleys." The train is taking us right through
the great outdoors.
l. 5: The train also makes its way around "a pile of mountains." More lovely nature images here.
l. 7: In this line, we move into a more urban landscape. We're no longer in the beautiful mountains
and valleys, but in "shanties" and "by the sides of roads."
l. 14: The speaker describes the train as "punctual as a star." Again, an image of landscapethe
night skyis being evoked. The image is used to show us just how "punctual" the train is: it's as
regular as the stars that appear in the sky every night.
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Want to know more about Dickinson's rhyme, particularly her slant rhyme? Check out "Calling Card."
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ANALYSIS: SPEAKER
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The speaker in this riddle is even more mysterious than the subject of the riddle itself. We can figure
out that she's talking about a train ("she" being an arbitrary gender assignment) but who is doing
the talking? We have no idea.
"I like to see it lap the Miles" presents us with a rather extreme version of what we call the "Lyric I," a
nifty term for the unnamed speaker you know, "I" in a lyric poem. This mysterious "I" isn't exactly
a character, and may or may not even be a person. Here, all we know is that the speaker is a keen
observer, who's watching the train as it courses through the landscape.
The speaker's feelings are ambiguous, and seem intentionally unclear; the opening declaration that
"I like to see it lap the Miles" (1) is kind of a red herring. In fact, though the speaker declares that
she/he/it "likes" to watch the train, the rest of the poem seems to imply that this admiration is also
tinged with unease. Whatever or whoever "I" happens to be isn't quite so sure what to make of this
newfangled invention, and it's this feeling of ambiguity that's the most important characteristic of the
speaker.
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ANALYSIS: SETTING
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Even before we figure out that "I like to see it lap the Miles" describes a train in motion, we can
already feel the "chugga chugga (choo choo!)" rhythm of the railway. Dickinson's poem possesses a
clear, pulsing rhythm, due to the consistent rhyme scheme and iambic meters that she employs (see
"Form and Meter" for more on that), and it immediately meshes with her description of a steaming
locomotive chugging along through the countryside. The poem's forward-moving beat takes us right
into the moving picture that Dickinson creates: we see and hear andfeel the speeding train as it
glides easily over hills and valleys, then slices through a tunnel, huffing and dramatically, then gains
momentum downhill and pulls into the station.
Some of Dickinson's language is even onomatopoeic, meaning that it imitates the thing it's talking
about. For example, when she describes the train "Complainingin horrid hooting stanza" (11-12),
we can hear the train shrieking out its shrill steam whistle as it passes through a tunnel (a warning to
anyone who might be in or around the tunnel). This true-to-life sound effect helps us feel not only like
we're observing the train with the speaker, but also like we're traveling along with the train on its
exciting journey.
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Dickinson wasn't one for giving poems grand (or even explanatory) titles or, for that matter, any
titles at all. Instead, her poems are most commonly referred to by their first lines (in this case, "I like
to see it lap the Miles"). In scholarly circles, her poems are referred to by their sequenced numbers
in Thomas H. Johnson's famous 1960 edition of her poems (this one is 585). In some cases,
thispoem is also referred to as "The Railway Train," but that artificially imposed title seems a little too
easy to us talk about spoilers! We usually prefer to stick to the first line method, which offers a
cryptic taste of what this riddle-like poem is all about.
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ANALYSIS: TOUGH-O-METER
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ANALYSIS: TRIVIA
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It's possible to sing all of Emily Dickinson's poems to the tune of "Amazing Grace" (or, more
hilariously, "The Yellow Rose of Texas" or the theme song to Gilligan's Island). See "Best of the
Web" for evidence, or try it yourself if you don't believe us! (Source)
The original manuscript shows "I like to hear it lap the Miles" as an alternative that Dickinson
considered, before settling on the line we're familiar with. (Source)
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ANALYSIS: ALLUSIONS
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In the nineteenth century, the newfangled steam engine was a byword for power. Just imagine living
in a world without planes, trains, and automobiles, where the fastest thing going was a speedy
horse. Suddenly, the steam train shows up and everything is different. "I like to see it lap the Miles"
captures both the beauty and the menace of this new technology by emphasizing just how strong
and mighty it is. After all, something powerful enough to devour landscapes and plow through
mountains is certainly deserving of careful observation and meditation. What makes this new
"creature" especially fascinating is the fact that it's manmade and this child of industry far
surpasses its human parents in strength.
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
Though Dickinson's poem suggests that the mighty locomotive is a domesticated creature, the
ambivalent tone of the final stanza implies that man may not ultimately tame this powerful creation.
The absence of human beings in this landscape suggests that human activity has been rendered
unnecessary by the arrival of the steam engine.
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The train itself may be the star of "I love to see it lap the Miles," but we shouldn't forget about the
supporting actors valleys and mountains that serve as the backdrop to the poem. By framing the
unnatural creature, the steam train, in natural terms and in a natural setting, Dickinson forces us to
contemplate its unnatural nature, if you catch our drift. And, while manmade creation and the natural
world coexist uneasily in the poem, there's something missing. Did you notice how, except for the
disembodied "I" of the speaker, there are no people to be found? The marked absence of humans
immediately tips us off to the fact that the relationship between "man and the natural world" is
something we ought to be thinking about.
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
By playfully comparing the train to a mysterious animal, the poet attempts to frame this new
technology in terms of the preexisting relationship of man's dominance over the natural world.
The train's personification in "I like to see it lap the Miles" seems at first to suggest that it is an
inhabitant of the natural world; however, the exaggerated nature of these animal-like traits ultimately
emphasizes its foreignness to the natural landscape.
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Have you ever really admired someone a friend, a teacher, a celebrity but had the uneasy feeling
that, try though you may, you just might not like them very much? You know, you respect this person
and all, but you just can't feel totally comfortable around him or her. That's kind of how the speaker
in "I like to see it lap the Miles" feels about the object of her admiration, the powerful railway train.
Sure, she's all about its effortless movement and amazing feats of strength, but there's still
something that feels a little offshe can't exactly say what. The poem is a little shady and
ambiguous, and demonstrates the fact that there's a fine line between admiration and fear.
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
The speaker in "I like to see it lap the Miles" pretends to feel admiration at the beginning of the poem
in order to add to an illusion of simplicity that masks the poem's riddle-like qualities, thus forcing
readers to deepen their investigation of the poem's ambiguity.
The words of praise ("like," "prodigious") that populate the poem's first stanza are quickly replaced
with more negative elements, demonstrating the speaker's equal measures of admiration and fear of
the train.
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Though "I like to see it lap the Miles" doesn't overtly engage with the question of technology and
modernization, it's definitely lurking in the background. This poem is a riddle to readers, just as new
technology is a riddle to onlookers. After all, back in Dickinson's day, the railroad was brand new,
and it wasn't exactly clear what its future impact on everyday life would be. After we puzzle out what
the speaker is describing (a train), we might also think about the bigger questions being asked here:
What is the train doing? How does it interact with the familiar world around it? How does this strange
and unfamiliar beast change the world as it passes through it?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
In "I like to see it lap the Miles," Emily Dickinson asks readers to consider whether or not human
invention has overreached the boundaries of natural or divine law.
The unease with which the speaker describes the train in "I like to see it lap the Miles" highlights the
foreign and unnatural character of this new mode of transportation and, in so doing, depicts a
landscape uncomfortably undergoing the process of modernization.
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At first glance, you might not think this poem has much to do with transformation. (No, the train in the
poem is not a Transformer. Sorry to disappoint.) But if you dig a little deeper, you'll see how
Dickinson's simple poem about a train can be read as a poem about social, technological, and
geographic transformation.
The train takes us on a trip through nature into the urban shantytowns that were springing up in
cities all over America. We get a front row seat to see some of the changes and transformations that
are taking place in America's landscape.
Plus, the train itself was a pretty new invention, and its arrival marks an important time of
transformation in society. Once people could travel great distances in relatively little time, the
modernization and development of America really set into high gear.
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
The train in the poem is an embodiment of transformation.
The train in the poem is an embodiment of continuity.
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The speaker depicts the train on a scale larger and more powerful than a mountain range pretty
heavy duty. It's described as "prodigious," and it is clearly something of a prodigy, as it's able to
lightly "step" around a "pile" of mountains like a child stepping carelessly around a pile of toys.
Power
Quote #2
If you had any doubts about the train's strength relative to our own, let them be erased here. The
train clearly views itself as superior as it passes by human habitations, a sentiment betrayed by the
adjective "supercilious."
Power
Quote #3
As if the train didn't seem powerful enough already, the speaker demonstrates her awe of its
physical strength here it easily "pares," or slices, through rock as it passes through a tunnel.
Power
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Boanerges is a kind of nickname Jesus gave to two of his disciples for being super-fiery and
bombastic preachers. It means "son of thunder." To say that the train's "neigh" is like Boanerges
depicts it in pretty mighty terms.
Power
Quote #5
The movement of the stars in the sky has long been seen as one of the constants of the known
universe. This comparison to the stars implies that the railroad has now become as powerful and
trustworthy (and out of human control?) as the heavens.
Power
Quote #6
Hmm, need we really say more about this? The word "omnipotent" kind of says it all. This train is the
most powerful thing out there.
Power
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While it's cool to think about the train gobbling up the hills and valleys as it goes, it's also kind of
creepy and menacing. This image of ravenous eating doesn't bode well for the natural landscape.
Man and the Natural World
Quote #2
[] prodigious step
Around a Pile of Mountains 5
This image dwarfs both man and nature in relation to the train. The word "pile" trivializes the
mountains and makes us feel our own smallness and weakness; if we're already teeny tiny and
insignificant next to a mountain, how can we possibly compare with the power and majesty of the
train?
Man and the Natural World
Quote #3
This tunneling action of the train seems to emphasize the newfound, technologically-assisted might
of man; where rock might once have stopped us, we can now pass easily.
Man and the Natural World
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This phrase brings to mind a wild, untamed animal, yet the train emits this sound as it's doing
something very un-animal-like (plowing through a rocky impasse). This is another natural image
that's manipulated to demonstrate just how very unnatural this beast is.
Man and the Natural World
Quote #5
The image of the stable (and the "neighing" of the train in line 14) ultimately reminds us that it, like
the horse, is a domesticated creature. Man still wins out over both nature and technologyfor now,
at least.
Man and the Natural World
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This seems like a pretty clear and simple expression ofadmiration the speaker "likes" watching the
train as it passes through the countryside. However, the likeability of the train soon becomes
questionable
Admiration
Quote #2
The speaker seems to be in awe of the ease with which the train navigates these impassive features
of the landscape.
Admiration
Quote #3
Hmm. Is this admirable or not? After all, nobody likes a crybaby. The speaker seems truly
ambivalent towards the train at this time "horrid hooting stanza" is a pretty negative description.
Still, even though it's negative, it's also fascinatingly evocative; we wonder what it must sound like.
Even when the train's not looking (or sounding) so wonderful, it has a strange appeal.
Admiration
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The speaker closes the poem with a kind of wondering admiration for the train's seeming
understanding and willingness to comply with its own duty. However, "omnipotent" implies that it has
a choice as to whether it will stay "docile" or not
Admiration
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This is an intriguing image of the train being refueled. Interestingly, the speaker doesn't describe the
train being fed by human hands, but instead gives this amazing technology a kind of autonomy or
agency.
Technology and Modernization
Quote #2
Oh dear. Feeling high and mighty, are we? The train's inner life is filled out more here; it seems to
feel a kind of superiority to the inhabitants of the shanties (humans). What might this imply about the
relationship of technology to its inventors?
Technology and Modernization
Quote #3
Here, we see that technology is able to surmount even the greatest natural boundaries it carves
paths where none existed before.
Technology and Modernization
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This line also implies that the train has a measure of independence and a mind of its own.
Technology and Modernization
Quote #5
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. We've brought this quote up for every theme. It's for good reason this
is kind of the crux of the poem. The train is "docile," and does what it's supposed to do. However, it
(and other new, mighty technologies like it) is also "omnipotent," which implies that it's more powerful
than we ourselves are. That's a little creepy.
Technology and Modernization
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1
How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
In describing the train as "licking" the valleys, the speaker transforms the train into an animate being
(and a slobbery one, it sounds like). This is a great example of transformation appearing through the
imagery in the poem.
Transformation
Quote #2
Now we see the transformation of the landscape. The train moves from the great natural outdoors
toward "Shanties" and roads. These lines show us how America was being transformed at the time
that Dickinson was writing. Society was becoming industrialized even if the shantytowns weren't
quite as impressive as the Big Apple's skyline.
Transformation
Quote #3
The train makes its way through rocks and mountains, "crawling" between them. The fact that trains
could cross through such difficult landscapes was a new and exciting thing back in Dickinson's day.
Not only do we see the impressive train here, but "a Quarry pare" also gives us an image of the
transforming landscape.
Transformation
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Bring on the tough stuff - theres not just one right answer.
1. If this is a poem about a train, a manmade invention, why bother with all of this animal
imagery?
2. What are the speaker's feelings about the train? She says that she "likes" to see it as it
speeds by is that the only emotion she expresses, or might her feelings be more
complicated?
3. Is this train a girl or a boy? Or does it have both masculine and feminine aspects?
4. What do you think the train is "[c]omplaining" about in line 10?
5. We see a whole lot of the train, but not the countryside it passes through, or its inhabitants.
What might this empty landscape signify?
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