Heart! We will forget him!
You and I — tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave —
I will forget the light!
When you have done, pray tell me
That I may straight begin!
Haste! lest while you’re lagging
I remember him!
Heart! We will forget him!
You and I — tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave —
I will forget the light!
When you have done, pray tell me
That I may straight begin!
Haste! lest while you’re lagging
I remember him!
Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Emily Dickinson better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
Emily lives…
Heart! We will forget him!
Heart, you know I love him!
You and I to-night
The night knows my tears
You may forget the warmth he gave
I am still burning
I will forget the light
And his light defies the bitter darkness
When you are done, pray tell me
I pray that grief will be my companion
That I may straight begin
In the night I begin
Haste! Lest while you’re lagging
My heart is slow to forget
I remember him
I remember him
I won’t presume to think that my lonely ramblings are even remotely comparable to Dickinson’s masterpiece, but her poem was my mantra for a long time. I wanted desperately to forget someone, but love him so much that I just couldn’t. One night, when I was all out of tears, I wrote a response to the words I’d been repeating over and over in my head. And I finally felt peace. Her poetry speaks to me in a way no living person has ever spoken to me, and I thank her for her words! Maluhia… peace.
Emily Dickinson is writing about the pain this one man brought her and is asking for some relief from her heart as it is too painful to think about this person. When she does begin to think about him she blames her heart for failing her. I think a lot of individuals, including myself can certainly identify with her pain.
i love this poem, she wants so hard not to forget him and all the memories she has but knows she has to and cant find the stength to do so through all the pain. She tells her heart to forget him so the next time she thinks about him the pain will go away
i love this poem, she wants so hard not to forget him and all the memories she has but knows she has to and cant find the stength to do so through all the pain. She tells her heart to forget him so the next time she thinks about him the pain will go away
in this poem emily sort of jokes about how she knows she needs to forget about her loved one, but she doesn’t want to, so she blames it on her heart. it’s sort of darkly humorous, if you think about it.
i love this poem. i think it is about the pain of getting over a man that she loves. she still loves him because she talks about “the warmth he gave”. i think it is about the pain of unrequited love because he is still perfect in her mind. when we love someone from afar it is easy to believe they are perfect and idealize them. she wants to forget him because loving someone who doesnt love you can only really cause pain. believe me that is something i know too well.
What i think it means is she DOESNT want to forget. She suffered a great loss and the image of him is slowly slipping away and she doesnt want to lose it. When i first read it i thought the same thing but after keep reading and reading it for an english paper this new meaning came to me.
I think this poem is a good one, it went straight to my heart,I felt identified with it. This guy, Juan doesn’t know anything about poems He probably doesn’t even get the point of it, he shoul take a poetry class and a writing one too doesn’t even spelled some words the right way.
i think this poem is talking about how she wants to forget the man she loved but her heart won’t let her forget him.
I really think that Emily Dickinson was one of the most fasinating poets. She wrote in a very gloomy way,and in very interesting ways.This well written poem is simply telling you that she is having trouble choosing weather she should beleive in her heart or if she should listen to her mind. I really do think she was a great poet and it’s a shame she died.
The theme is about Emily Dickinson trying to persuade her heart to forget the guy she loved. It is compulsory to forget him because of the circumstances, and on the other hand, he gave her the warmth and light. Her conflict in this poem is between her heart and her mind. She is trying to tell her heart to forget him otherwise she can’t go on with her life.
I like this poem, too. It is better than pie! Ok, seriusly though, if anyone knows a site about her and can give me info… EMAIL ME!!! Thanks
This poem is soooooo great! I can relate to it. She tells of how she has been hurt so bad by someone, that she wants to forget about him, but her heart won’t let her.
This poem is soooooo great! I can relate to it. She tells of hoe she has been hurt so bad by someone, that she wants to forget about him, but her heart won’t let her.
this poem is one out of many wonderful poems Emily Dickinson wrote and it should be rememberd. i loved this poem cuz i can relate to what she is saying 🙂
everything in her poetry has a meaning u just have to look a little deeper to find it.
I think this poem is about how she lost a loved one and wants to forget the tragedy that she has suffered from for such a long time.
This poem has been set to music by James Mullholand for women’s chorus, piano and french horn. It is a gorgeous piece that really captures Dickinson’s meaning.
I love the meaning of the poem besides that its beauty period.
In this beautifully written poem, the poet, Emily Dickinson battles between her mind and her heart. In lines 1&2 she quotes, “Heart! We will forget him! You and I -tonight!”. Her mind is telling her heart that they will both forget their loved one. The heart begins by imagining itself and it’s lover together when the mind interupts, insisting that the heart forget about it tonight.
There is a connection between the poem and modern-day life. Sometimes when you feel a connection between you and another individual you have an internal conflict. One part of you wants to think and daydream about the person, while the other scolds you and contradicts what you feel.
Literary analysis questions:
1.) Which part of the author is more powerful, the mind or the heart?
2.) The lover gave botht the heart and the mind something different, why is each gift important?
3.) What do the exclamation points add to the poem?
4.) Why does the mind give up on the heart?
5.) What feeling does the author want the reader to feel while reading this poem?