The Lamp Burns Sure Within
poem 233
The Lamp Burns Sure Within - meaning Summary
Inner Light Outlasts Service
Dickinson contrasts a steady, internal light with the labor that maintains it, suggesting the spirit or truth persists regardless of external caretakers. The poem uses the image of a lamp burning reliably though serfs supply the oil, then shifts to a slave who forgets to tend it yet the lamp continues. It explores endurance, autonomy, and the disjunction between visible service and inner continuity.
Read Complete AnalysesThe Lamp burns sure within Tho’ Serfs supply the Oil It matters not the busy Wick At her phosphoric toil! The Slave forgets to fill The Lamp burns golden on Unconscious that the oil is out As that the Slave is gone.
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