1850 - 1859 Summary

The first of Emily Dickinson's poems, and the only one written in the year of 1850, is a cry for a single man to choose for himself a lover. As many poets do Emily begins this poem with by summoning a muse, a higher power to help her write her poem and achieve her goal. Throughout this poem Emily points out examples of couples found in the universe to prove to the reader of her poem that being part of a couple is normal. These couples include the moon and sun, the bird and flower, as well as earth and heaven. Emily attempts to convince the man that being single is not natural. She encourages the man to pick the love of his choice then treat her royally.

In Poem 12 Emily talks about loss. Her losses include the loss of a piece of money...