#READING THE DASH POEM FULL#

But what about the dashes in the middle of the poem? The dashes in the middle show no real sign of having any emotion-based life behind them. So, it is easy to see that the first dash is used from an overflow of emotion and is used in an emotional state the last dash is used for a completion of thought. The final dash of the poem is also broad and strong but more than likely this dash was meant to symbolize the completion of a thought rather than an overflow of emotion into the pen. In fact, the tistens on the Ts of the first two lines are only matched with her crossing of 'obliterate.' The tisten on 'Guest' is harsh, dark, and short, similar to the dashes on the other lines. If this is correct, Emily felt such a strong emotion when writing the first two lines that it changed her penmanship. If a tisten will change, then it is safe to affirm that a dash will also be able to undergo change when impacted with a strong emotion. When a person writes, the amount of pressure on the paper will change with a person's mood, as will marks such as a tisten upon a T or a tilde over an I. The long dash at the end of this line may be completing the thought that Emily's soul will not leave Susan or it may be a subconscious act on Emily's part to show the bold emotions associated with her platonic love for Susan. 'Doth seldom go abroad-' can be analyzed as meaning that her heart will not wander or leave because it is already filled with love. Emily's heart carried Susan within it and seemingly only had room for her. 'The Soul that hath a Guest' is obviously referring to Emily's heart having Sue within it this is apparent because the poem was found within a letter to Susan. Susan and Emily were extremely close in their friendship, almost 'soul sisters' in a sense. However, it is also possible that these dashes were used in a more emotional state.

#READING THE DASH POEM FULL#

This may be due to Dickinson completing a full thought, such as a soul with a guest, or the end of the entire poem at first glance. The large dashes, or the dashes that seem to convey more emotion, are placed after the second line and the ending line. Upon analyzing this poem's use of punctuation, it is easy to see the different lengths of the dash at the end of the lines.

Any punctuation errors within the poem are also included within my transcription. For a short dash in Emily's poem, I will be using a '-' dash and for a longer or bolder dash, I will be using a '-' dash. There are several dashes in the poem to examine. This poem was found written in a letter to Susan, her best friend. The first poem worth looking at is 'The Soul that hath a Guest' by Emily Dickinson. I will be including the links to the original manuscripts as well as transcribing them exactly as they are here on this pager in order to grasp the use of the dash in a better context. When viewing the use of the dash in Emily's poetry, it is important to see the work exactly as Emily wrote it in order to see how the dash was used in its original context.

Reading the dash poem