She sweeps with many-colored Brooms —
And leaves the Shreds behind —
Oh Housewife in the Evening West —
Come back, and dust the Pond!

You dropped a Purple Ravelling in —
You dropped an Amber thread —
And how you’ve littered all the East
With duds of Emerald!

And still, she plies her spotted Brooms,
And still the Aprons fly,
Till Brooms fade softly into stars —
And then I come away —

Analysis, meaning and summary of Emily Dickinson's poem She sweeps with many-colored Brooms

9 Comments

  1. frumpo says:

    A beautiful sunset seen as the sweeping of a heavenly housewife.

  2. Nadia says:

    At first glance the poem is decieving but once the idea of the sunset is established the meaning becomes clear and the description is beautiful. The use of aliteration in the first line of the poem starts the poem out great!

  3. Isuzi says:

    Its the sunset, and about mother nature.

  4. Holly says:

    The poem truly captures the beauty of the sunset, showing its majestic appearence.

  5. Stephanie M says:

    It seems there is some questioning as to the meaning within Emily’s poem. She is Not actually taking about a Housewife Sweeping. She is simply using a sweeping housewife To Describe The Sunset.

    In the first stanza, “She sweeps with many-colored Brooms — And leaves the Shreds behind –” is simply referring to the dramatic colors of the sunset as its sweeps across the horizon, leaving “shreds“ of color everywhere.

    By “Oh Housewife in the Evening West-” by using “housewife” she is referring to the sun and it’s rays being swept away below the horizon… the sun that sets in the “west“. “Come back, and dust the Pond!” is referring to the colors the setting sun casts upon the surface of the water.

    In the second stanza, “purple” ravellings and “amber” thread is referring to the multiple streaks and hues in the sky at sunset. Which as a result “littered all the East With duds of Emerald!”. With “east” being her east America home in Amherst.

    In the third stanza, “And still, she plies her spotted Brooms,” refers, once again, to the multicolored rays of the sweeping sun. “And still the Aprons fly,” is referring to the brightly colored clouds moving in the wind.

    “Till Brooms fade softly into stars-” is the final setting of the sun into night. “And then I come away –” meaning she has finished viewing the majestic beauty of the horizon after the sun departs.

    I hope this helps to better understand the poem. It is truly gorgeous and deserves to be fully understood by all!

  6. Brittany says:

    Very well constructed and almost intimidating…
    next time you may want to consider an outline format!
    But still very well expressed!

  7. STAR says:

    ITS A VERY COMPLEX AND SLIGHTLY Hard to understand at the first glance, but very good.

  8. Michael says:

    I think that in the Purple Ravelling sentence, Purple is the noun. It’s definitely a feminist poem as she in a way defends women through the poem.

  9. Jennifer Gould says:

    I like the poem I just want to see it in an outline form. So I can understand it better.

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