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Dickinson 'Twas here my summer paused.(Emily Dickinson )(Critical Essay)

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From: The Explicator
Date: 20030622
Author:Frank, Bernhard

   'Twas here my summer paused 
   What ripeness after then 
   To other scene or other soul 
   My sentence had begun. 
 
   To winter to remove 
   With winter to abide 
   Go manacle your icicle 
   Against your Tropic Bride. * 

Oh, no! Not another of Dickinson's seasonal pieces! Not yet another death poem! Well, yes and no. Winter is indeed coming; death is indeed implied. But there is a bonus in '"Twas here my summer paused": The speaker harks back to Greek mythology. "To other scene or other soul / My sentence had begun" (emphasis added) may be spoken by Persephone, who was ...

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