The Difference Between Despair
poem 305
The Difference Between Despair - meaning Summary
Despair Versus Fearful Anticipation
The poem contrasts despair and fear by comparing fear to the instant of disaster and despair to the numb calm after it. Dickinson shows that despair is not frantic but a motionless acceptance: the mind becomes smooth and untroubled, like a sculpted forehead that cannot see. The image suggests emotional shutdown and the eerie serenity of having survived or endured an event whose impact persists internally.
Read Complete AnalysesThe difference between Despair And Fear is like the One Between the instant of a Wreck And when the Wreck has been The Mind is smooth no Motion Contented as the Eye Upon the Forehead of a Bust That knows it cannot see
Feel free to be first to leave comment.