A slash of Blue —
A sweep of Gray —
Some scarlet patches on the way,
Compose an Evening Sky —
A little purple — slipped between —
Some Ruby Trousers hurried on —
A Wave of Gold —
A Bank of Day —
This just makes out the Morning Sky.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Emily Dickinson's poem A slash of Blue

23 Comments

  1. 17 year old teen from FREDDOM HS in VA says:

    Some of you people dont know what your talking about. Some of you peoples comments dont have anything to do with Emily Dickinson’s topic. Ex- the 2 people (MARISOL and Katie from United States) talking about the Civil War. The poem is talking about the colors of the morning and evening sky NOT the CIVIL WAR. PLEASE STICK TO THE TOPIC NEXT TIME YOU MAKE A COMMENT.

  2. becky! says:

    i liked it.

  3. Michael says:

    I agree with alot of people that this is a great poem by emily dickinson about the about the civil war

  4. MARISOL says:

    I THINK ITS A REALLY NEAT POEM BUT I DIDNT SEE THE MEANING ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR BUT I CAN SEE WHY IT MAY BE THE IMAGERY OF THIS POEMS FELLS SO SURREAL THAT U CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE SKY BEING COMPOSED

  5. Janey says:

    This is such an interesting poem with a double meaning. I love double meanings, they are so neat. You know the person really thought out their poem before making it, you know they hold it dear to their hearts, and hope that other people will love it just like they do, which I hope we all do.

  6. that gurl says:

    wow i never thought about the whole idea of war is this poem but it makes sense after awhile…
    i love the double meaning

  7. Jenny says:

    I am using this poem for an honors application and I love how it has two meanings! Thanks for helping me out on the civil war meaning guys. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  8. owen says:

    I have to agree with dale(comment 13)on this poem I think it adressed it perfectly.

  9. Katie says:

    I am using this poem as part of a collabration that i am using for a Forensics meet. I love that this poem has too meanings… The civil war and the morning sun.

  10. jamie says:

    i love this poem ilove the sky! i love how the sun sets but is it truely about the civil war? maybe it is maybe its not but it is a gorgeous poem!

  11. dale says:

    this poem is definitely about the civil war. The civil war was one of the most influential times on Dickinsons poetry. The slash of Blue is representative of marching Union soldiers, while the streak of gray is the confederates early in the morning. red patches could be representative of the bandages used for the soldiers wounds. The evening sky is Emily’s wish for the war to finish. Purple slipped between might be cannon smoke as shelooks out the window. ruby trousers hurried on is the wounded soldier being stretchered quickly away. the repetition of morning sky elaborates on how gruesome war is in a matter of moments. Maybe I’m completely off but thats what I saw.

  12. nicolette says:

    really? how do you get the civil war out of this. i agree witht he others. if there is something i am not seeing, please help and explain more. thanx

  13. anita says:

    I believe the civil war is what she is talking about. It is not beautiful at all, it is sad and descriptive. It is almost like she is saying, what seems to be isn’t.

  14. Audren Glass says:

    Why does no one see what the lady is describing. The irony in it is that a poem so beautiful describes a scene so horrible. I think she is telling us about the Civil War.

  15. Rachel says:

    The poem has vivid and colorful imagery. And the diction is simple and comprehensible. When the gold wave is mentioned I get a beautiful picture of the sun. This free verse poem is really good also because of the figurative language within its context.

  16. Waylon says:

    If there are other words to describe the sky like this, they are no longer needed. This is truly a masterpiece.

  17. some guy... says:

    Finally! One poem i understand. I look at the other poems and go all wierd scrunched in face to wonder what it means…

  18. Ashley Morales says:

    I am doing a project for literature and i don’t understand most of these poems. But this one I understand perfectly, Whenever I am looking at the sky I always think of it as a perfect painting and this and this poem explains my idea perfectly.

  19. cutie pie :) says:

    I am doing this for a project and was having a hard time knowing what to choose. I have decided on this one because of the comments that people wrote on this poem.

  20. Michelle says:

    A beatuiful poem. If i close my eyes i can really picture the sky.

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