I cannot dance upon my toes

Emily Dickinson

I cannot dance upon my toesI CANNOT dance upon my Toes--

No Man instructed me-- But oftentimes, among my mind,

A Glee possesseth me,

That had I Ballet knowledge-- Would put itself abroad

In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe-- Or lay a Prima, mad,

And though I had no Gown of Gauze-- No Ringlet, to my Hair,

Nor hopped to Audiences--like Birds, One Claw upon the Air,

Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls, Nor rolled on wheels of snow

Till I was out of sight, in sound, The House encore me so–

Nor any know I know the Art I mention--easy--Here--

Nor any Placard boast me-- It's full as Opera--

I cannot dance upon my toes

• Type: Lyric Poetry – Ode• Style: Open Verse

I cannot dance upon my toes

I CANNOT dance upon my Toes-- No Man instructed me--

But oftentimes, among my mind,

A Glee possesseth me,

anapest (~~/ )

iamb ( ~/) spondee (//)

dactyl ( /~~) trochee ( /~ )

I cannot dance upon my toes

• Theme: I feel the theme of this poem is that we have passions in life and while we might not receive professional training or perform for an audience that deep down our passions, our glee, make us happy.

I cannot dance upon my toes• Symbolism:

Nor any Placard boast me--

It's full as Opera– • Here Dickinson is referring that

no poster will promote her dance and she will never perform for a full house like at the Opera, but still the art of ballet will give her glee.

Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls,

• Eider is a type of bird with really soft, light feathers and the birds use them to keep their nests together, so I think Dickinson is referring to the lightness and swiftness of a ballerina and that her shape will never be like that.

I cannot dance upon my toes

• Imagery: – Similes

• Nor hopped to Audiences--like Birds,• It's full as Opera--

– Metaphors• One Claw upon the Air,

I cannot dance upon my toes

• The relationship between the poem and the title is that she cannot dance upon her toes because she has had no professional training to do so, but we discover in the poem that dance is still a glee that she posses.

I cannot dance upon my toes

• The message that the poet is sending is to have glee within your life regardless of professional training.

About the Poet• Emily Dickinson

– December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886

– American Poet– Never married, although she

had many close relationships, which she wrote many letters and poems to.

– She watched as her loved ones died one-by-one and then at the young age of 55, Emily died.

– She wrote some 1800 poems, only to publish a dozen within her lifetime. It was her sister whom put together books of her poetry and published after Emily’s death.

My Original Poem

By Rebecca Hollis

Rehearsal

Practicing my movesDancing around my toes bleed

My show soon to share

Presented by: Rebecca Hollis

Date: September 28, 2009 Class: ECE 3602

Bibliography:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 27 Sept. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki>.

Web. 27 Sept. 2009. <http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/>.