What Is
poem 215
What Is - meaning Summary
Paradise Compared to Amherst
The poem frames heaven as a matter-of-fact, curious question: Dickinson asks whether paradise resembles everyday life in Amherst and whether its inhabitants notice or care about her arrival. Using plain, childlike images—hoes, new shoes, walking on jasper—she voices anxieties about homesickness, judgment, and being comforted by a celestial Father. The final turn offers a tentative consolation that Eden might be less lonely than her New England home.
Read Complete AnalysesWhat is Paradise Who live there Are they Farmers Do they hoe Do they know that this is Amherst And that I am coming too Do they wear new shoes in Eden Is it always pleasant there Won’t they scold us when we’re homesick Or tell God how cross we are You are sure there’s such a person As a Father in the sky So if I get lost there ever Or do what the Nurse calls die I shan’t walk the Jasper barefoot Ransomed folks won’t laugh at me Maybe Eden a’n’t so lonesome As New England used to be!
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