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Emily DickinsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The form of the poem matches its tone. The diction and syntax are sparse, reflecting the brevity of the moment in which the speaker catches a glimpse of the snake. The poem is written in Dickinson’s own version of Common Meter. Traditional Common Meter usually alternates between iambic tetrameter (eight-syllable lines of alternative stressed and unstressed syllables) and iambic trimeter (six-syllable lines); however, Dickinson alters this, alternating seven- and six-syllable lines instead. Her decision to reduce the amount of syllables highlights the rushed nature of each snake encounter and the breathlessness of the speaker.
One of Dickinson’s most idiosyncratic stylistic choices is her use of dashes. The dashes are interesting because they have a variety of sometimes opposing functions. They can be end-stop punctuation that divides thoughts or, conversely, bridges connecting ideas together. They are often rhetorical devices, used for conveying emphasis or instructing readers to take a breath; however, at the same time, the dashes also permit enjambment—or the lack of end-stop punctuation which hurries readers from one line to the next. In “A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096),” the dashes reflect the fear and trembling of the speaker’s stunting, tight-chested breathing, making the experience of reading the poem more visceral.
By Emily Dickinson
A Bird, came down the Walk
A Bird, came down the Walk
Emily Dickinson
A Clock stopped—
A Clock stopped—
Emily Dickinson
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Emily Dickinson
"Faith" is a fine invention
"Faith" is a fine invention
Emily Dickinson
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Emily Dickinson
Hope is a strange invention
Hope is a strange invention
Emily Dickinson
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
Emily Dickinson
I Can Wade Grief
I Can Wade Grief
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
Emily Dickinson
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
Emily Dickinson
If I should die
If I should die
Emily Dickinson
If you were coming in the fall
If you were coming in the fall
Emily Dickinson
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
Emily Dickinson
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Emily Dickinson
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Emily Dickinson
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Emily Dickinson
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
Emily Dickinson
The Only News I Know
The Only News I Know
Emily Dickinson
There is no Frigate like a Book
There is no Frigate like a Book
Emily Dickinson