I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to— Essay Questions

Discuss Dickinson's use of personification.

Dickinson lightly personifies the flower that is the focus of her poem, referring to "his Emerald swing." She also notes that no "fellow" can compare, using a term for "equal" that also can connote a man or a boy. In contrast, Dickinson does not personify any of the poem's other images—the "Odors from St. Domingo—" and "Colors—from Vera Cruz—," for instance, are not personified. By imbuing the flower with human traits, Dickinson underlines its vitality and makes it seem even more vivid and unusual. She also cultivates a feeling of sympathy for this inanimate object, putting a spotlight on the vulnerability of the natural world.

How does Dickinson depict the relationship between the speaker and the addressee?

The broad facts of the relationship between the speaker and the addressee in this work are left unstated. Dickinson does not tell readers whether the speaker and addressee are friends, family members, or even lovers. However, the emotional contours of their relationship are made clear: they evidently have a close, loving, and informal relationship marked by mutual unconventionality. This closeness becomes clear in the straightforward intimacy of the poem's second-person address, and in the unstructured playfulness of its meter and form, as well as in the speaker's determination to find a suitable gift for the addressee. The shared unconventionality, meanwhile, is demonstrated in the speaker's choice of a gift. She invites her listener to find the flower more appealing than other, more widely desired types of gifts, and in doing so suggests that they are unified by unorthodox attitudes.