Emily Dickinson

She Rose to His Requirement

poem 732

She Rose to His Requirement - meaning Summary

Marriage as Quiet Sacrifice

The poem depicts a woman who relinquishes personal pleasures and ambitions to meet her husband’s expectations, accepting the conventional roles of wife and homemaker. Any losses—of awe, opportunity, or richness—are understated and unspoken, like treasures hidden beneath the sea. The speaker emphasizes the private nature of such sacrifices: their depth and cost remain mostly known only to the couple, concealed beneath everyday duties.

Read Complete Analyses

She rose to His Requirement dropt The Playthings of Her Life To take the honorable Work Of Woman, and of Wife If ought She missed in Her new Day, Of Amplitude, or Awe Or first Prospective Or the Gold In using, wear away, It lay unmentioned as the Sea Develop Pearl, and Weed, But only to Himself be known The Fathoms they abide

default user
PoetryVerse just now

Feel free to be first to leave comment.

8/2200 - 0