A Still Volcano Life
poem 601
A Still Volcano Life - fact Summary
Reflects Dickinson's Reclusive Life
Written in 1862, the poem compares interior feeling to dormant yet potent geological forces—volcanoes, earthquakes, and corrosive tides—to suggest an intense inner life concealed from ordinary view. Its images imply slow, steady energy and a capacity to transform or erode outward appearances without spectacle. Scholars commonly read this as tied to Dickinson’s reclusive existence: powerful emotions and thoughts lived largely unseen, expressed obliquely rather than publicly. The poem frames private intensity as both solemn and dangerous, quietly reshaping the visible world over time.
Read Complete AnalysesA still Volcano Life That flickered in the night When it was dark enough to do Without erasing sight A quiet Earthquake Style Too subtle to suspect By natures this side Naples The North cannot detect The Solemn Torrid Symbol The lips that never lie Whose hissing Corals part and shut And Cities ooze away
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