Through the Dark Sod — as Education —
The Lily passes sure —
Feels her white foot — no trepidation —
Her faith — no fear —

Afterward — in the Meadow —
Swinging her Beryl Bell —
The Mold-life — all forgotten — now —
In Ecstasy — and Dell —

Analysis, meaning and summary of Emily Dickinson's poem Through the Dark Sod — as Education

3 Comments

  1. frumpo says:

    A flower passes through dirt to be born; we pass through childhood or trials to “greener pastures.”

  2. Breanna says:

    I love this poem.
    Its so true and heartfelt!!
    I adore it!

  3. Khrystian says:

    After reading Emily Dickinson’s “Through the Dark Sod” I was quite overwhelmed to begin with. There are words that I didn’t know the meaning of and phrases that just didn’t make sense. My first impression was, ‘Dickinson was crazy. There is no point in me trying to understand her work.’ But I am not one to give in to being unable to comprehend a poem. So I took the plunge head first.
    “Through the Dark Sod” Okay. Something is coming through the earth. But why is “Dark” and “Sod” capitalized? “as Education” Had no clue what that meant to begin with. I keep swimming and will eventually come back to it. “The Lily passes sure” Wow! A flower is coming up out of the ground but why is this word “Lily” capitalized and why is it coming out of the ground so confidently? “Feels her white foot” She has feet? Lilies don’t have white feet or feet at all. Well maybe you could consider roots feet. “no trepidation” I will have to look that word up. apprehension: fear or uneasiness about the future or a future event (Encarta Online). “Her faith-no fear” So she is not scared of coming out because she has faith. But faith in what?
    From the first stanza the first time I read this poem I thought, ‘there is a lily coming out of the earth and she is not scared’.
    The first bar in the second stanza begins “Afterward- in the Meadow-” . After the flower comes out of the ground she’s in a meadow. Simple enough. “Swinging her Beryl Bell” Well, what is a Beryl and why is her bell beryl? Beryl is a gemlike mineral, crystalline and comes in the color white. HEY! Lilies are white! “ The Mold-life-all forgotten-now-” Mold rhymes with old. Maybe she forgot her old life. But what old life? “In Ecstasy-and Dell-” She’s really happy in that valley. But I thought she was in a meadow. Hmmm… After the lily comes fearlessly into the meadow she forgets her old life and is happy in the valley. Maybe I should do a little bit more research before I make my complete idea.
    Emily Dickinson was a somewhat very religious type person to my knowledge, so what if I go from that aspect? “Dark Sod” Dark is usually connected with sin and immorality which is also connected to dirt or sod. She’s in sin and immorality in the beginning of the poem. I’m still trying to figure out what the “Education” has to do with it. Lilies are white and white generally represent purity or morality. Lilies are also associated with the Christian holiday Easter. Christ has something to do with this. The lily has a foot which leads me to believe she can stand possibly in her faith without fear or apprehension. Okay. My idea is forming. The Lily represents a female and she was in sin but being educated about Christ, she has faith in him. That he died so that she could be come pure, or without sin, as the color white represents. She can believe in Him without fear because of Her faith in him.
    “Afterward-in the Meadow” – Meadow can represent living out life in the world. There will be other Lilies who have accepted Christ and possibly weeds that haven’t and I see a meadow as a very vast place, like the world. She is obviously happy, because she is swinging about, to and fro. “Beryl Bell” – So She is a crystalline gem of the color white in the shape of a bell. Sounds somewhat angelic. Now what is the “Mold-Life”? Well according to Encarta Online mold can be dirt. Dirt is in connection to sin. Therefore her life oh sin is forgotten, not only by her, but also by Christ. “In Ecstasy-and Dell” – You might expect Ecstasy to come as the last word in this poem because the last word leaves an impression in the mind. But dell was put instead. She wanted to leave the fact that this lilies faith was kept during the awesome times and in the ruff times. So basically, this poem is about being saved in Christ.

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