It Is an Honorable Thought,
It Is an Honorable Thought, - meaning Summary
Immortality as Courtesy
The poem presents a modest, almost civil notion of immortality as an "honorable thought" that prompts a courteous gesture like lifting one’t’ap. Dickinson contrasts private confidence in an enduring place with the visible decay of great monuments and transient kingdoms. The tone is composed and equanimous: immortality is not triumphalist but a quiet consolation against historical change. The images of pyramids and orchards underscore that human creations fade, while the speaker clings to a personal sense of continuance beyond public loss.
Read Complete AnalysesIt is an honorable thought, And makes one lift one’s hat, As one encountered gentlefolk Upon a daily street, That we’ve immortal place, Though pyramids decay, And kingdoms, like the orchard, Flit russetly away.
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