Comment 1 of 1, added on January 24th, 2009 at 6:01 AM.

i had 2 analyze this poem in the 9th grade 4 extra credit n this is what i
turned in but i dont know if it's right:
Although, it is difficult to interpret the meaning of this poem through
Emily Dickinson’s eyes and what possibly could have lingered in her mind at
the moment she wrote this is almost impossible to decipher, I’m sure this
poem can be observed at different angles. In my perspective, I think that
she meant in the first two lines of the poem that she felt like she was no
longer in control of her life and had no idea what to make of it. As she
continues in the next two lines, she could have been indirectly saying that
she saw an opportunity with great advantages, happiness, and comfort.
However, as she got closer, she realized that she happened to be mistaken
and the opportunity quickly disappeared. Moreover, it was quite the
opposite of what she thought; it left her with distress and misery instead
of the mirage of joy she had seen. This shows how in life, not everything
is what it seems to be; things can disguise themselves with masks until you
are close enough to notice it is the exact opposite as what you had thought
it to be.

Mounica from United States