Compare and Contrast 2 E.D. Poems

[ccfan]

I need help comparing and contrasting two Emily Dickinson poems. I have to write a four page paper on things like poetic devices, use of language/words, meaning, theme....that sort of stuff. Here are some poems to choose from:

"I'm Nobody! Who are you?"
"Success is counted sweetest"
"After great pain, a formal feeling comes"
"Much Madness is Divinest Sense"

Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

[chaplainkrcole]

The theme for both "After great pain a formal feeling come" and "Success is counted sweetest" both have the theme of death and war. When reading the first picture a bullet entering (ie: great pain) and then the body become numb with shock. Life is then drawn out against his will. Knowing how a person dies of a bullet wound, the person goes into shock, then begins to lose the sensation of pain. The soldier has died in the snow and basically dies of the combination of the bullet and freezing to death. The second is is once again about the death of a soldier. Here the soldier dies on the battlefield...most likely from a bullet wound though it is not as clearly stated. He dies before the victory is won and will never know that they did win. Like the first soldier he gives his life for a cause that he will never see the outcome of or benefit from. In a way...though Dickinson would never have seen this...she is the same as the two soldiers. She would work extremely hard to write her poems and never see their success. She would spend the majority of her life in her father's home writing. Most of her poems were published after her death...ie: never seeing the outcome or benefit of them.

I wish you the best of luck and I hope this info finds you in time to be helpful!
Blessings ~
Chaplain K. Cole