Emily Dickinson's The Mountain Sat Upon The Plain


This Emily Dickinson poem is so familial and picturesque at the same time. According to the first axiom of John Keats, "poetry should surprise by a fine excess, and not by singularity; it should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance."  This does both of those things.  It surprises us with how the mountain becomes a grandfather watching his children play and reminiscing his ancestors: dawn!  It also becomes a remembrance because to me this poem reminds me of the local mountain, Mt. Diablo.  I am sure it reminds everyone of the mountain they are near.  I found a blog from Peter Saint-Andre who said the following about this poem: 
This poem has something of a private or personal meaning for me, because I see it as connected with Mount Monadnock (Emerson's "new Olympus") -- the solitary mountain rising from the plains to inspire poets and artists.
This mountain remains steadfast as the seasons go around; this particular thought reminds me of Guru Nanak's Jai Ghar Karte: There are so many seasons, but there is just one sun!

The mountain sat upon the plain
In his eternal chair,
His observation omnifold,
His inquest everywhere.

The seasons prayed around his knees,
Like children ’round a Sire:
Grandfather of the days is he,
Of dawn the ancestor.

- Emily Dickinson



0 Comments