17 pages 34 minutes read

Emily Dickinson

To make a prairie

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1896

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Poem Analysis

Analysis: “To make a prairie”

The first line of Dickinson’s poem is the longest, and it introduces the reader to the instructional tone of the poem. The speaker specifically creates this didactic tone by using the infinitive “To make” (Line 1) at the very beginning of this first line. The whole infinitive verb phrase is “To make a prairie” (Line 1), with “prairie” (Line 1) serving as the object of the infinitive verb phrase. A “prairie” is a specific type of landscape, defined as fertile land covered in grasses. Prairies have also typically been associated with North American landscapes. The selective word placement on the part of the speaker shifts readers’ attention directly to the act of “making” and creating—making the phrasing much more robust and active as opposed to passive.

The phrase “To make a prairie” is technically a subordinate clause; however, its prime placement at the beginning of the line negates this subordination. The inverted order of the first line helps to place this focus on the act of construction and creation. After this opening phrase, readers finally run into the subject and verb of the main clause of the sentence, “it takes.” The instructional tone of the poem begins to sound almost like a recipe, directing readers how to make their own

blurred text

blurred text

Related Titles

By Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

A Bird, came down the Walk

Emily Dickinson

A Bird, came down the Walk

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

A Clock stopped—

Emily Dickinson

A Clock stopped—

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)

Emily Dickinson

A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)

Emily Dickinson

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Emily Dickinson

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

"Faith" is a fine invention

Emily Dickinson

"Faith" is a fine invention

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)

Emily Dickinson

Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

Hope is a strange invention

Emily Dickinson

Hope is a strange invention

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers

Emily Dickinson

"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

I Can Wade Grief

Emily Dickinson

I Can Wade Grief

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind

Emily Dickinson

I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain

Emily Dickinson

I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking

Emily Dickinson

If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

If I should die

Emily Dickinson

If I should die

Emily Dickinson

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE
logo

If you were coming in the fall

Emily Dickinson

If you were coming in the fall

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

I heard a Fly buzz — when I died

Emily Dickinson

I heard a Fly buzz — when I died

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

I'm Nobody! Who Are You?

Emily Dickinson

I'm Nobody! Who Are You?

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

Much Madness is divinest Sense—

Emily Dickinson

Much Madness is divinest Sense—

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

Success Is Counted Sweetest

Emily Dickinson

Success Is Counted Sweetest

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

Tell all the truth but tell it slant

Emily Dickinson

Tell all the truth but tell it slant

Emily Dickinson

Study Guide
logo

The Only News I Know

Emily Dickinson

The Only News I Know

Emily Dickinson