Alter! When the Hills Do

Alter! When the Hills Do - meaning Summary

Conditional Devotion Mirrored Nature

Dickinson’s brief lyric links the natural world’s reliability to the speaker’s emotional fidelity. Addressing a second person as "Alter" and "You," the poem says that if hills falter, the sun questions its glory, or the daffodil is sated by dew, then the speaker will likewise alter their stance toward the beloved. The logic is conditional and reciprocal: human constancy is measured against nature’s constancy. The poem explores uncertainty, the limits of perfection, and a pact of mutual change rather than unconditional devotion.