SUMMARY

In her poem "A Day," Emily Dickinson uses beautiful imagery and symbols to describe a beautiful day that transforms children's innocence into experience. The ‘day’ is the symbol of ‘life’; ‘sunrise’ symbolizes ‘birth’ and ‘sunset’ the ‘death’. The major theme of the poem is how every organism has to take birth, live the life and fall into darkness of death. Despite that, birth does not stop and life goes on and after death there is someone waiting for everybody to guide.

She narrates a magnificent day that brings the youngsters from innocence to experience using amazing images and metaphors. The speaker opens the poetry by describing how the sun rises or the day begins. The sunrays are displayed one at a time as a succession of ribbons. The steeples of the churches take on a rich violet color, similar to amethyst, when exposed to sunlight. The news of the sunrise travels as quickly as squirrels running.

The hills are personified in the second stanza. The mountains unfastened their bonnets. The hills are covered in mist before daybreak. The mist that serves as the metaphorical bonnet over the hills disappears as the sun rises. The bobolinks are inspired to begin their morning singing as a result of this. She believes it is due to the dawn. The sunrise represents the beginning of life. It is the speaker's innocence that allows her to comprehend global events. She only notices the lovely aspects of life.

The speaker gets less confident in portraying the bustle of sunset in the third verse. She claims she is unable to describe the enigmatic sunset. There is a purple stair. The yellow children ascend the purple stair.

A dominie in gray (could be Jesus Christ) lead the yellow boys and girls (old people) away at the conclusion of the day. The dominie softly raises the night shutters and takes away the children (children of god). This implies that they are brought to a gloomy location. The darkness or sunset represents death or the end of life. Evening bars represent a sense of security. This provides the reader reason to believe.

The poem contains a variety of literary tropes such as symbolism, alliteration, metaphor, simile, personification, and so on.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW.

a. In the first stanza, how does the poet describe the morning sun?

The speaker of this poem describes the early morning sun in the first stanza. The sun's first dazzling golden rays wrap around it like ribbons. It brightens and makes everything visible. The steeple takes on an amethyst hue as a result.

b. What does it mean when it says, "The news like squirrels ran"?

The first stanza's line "The news like squirrels ran" suggests that the news of the sunrise and its rays being cast spread as quickly as squirrel’s run. The word "like" is used to compare the swift movement of the squirrels to the news of the sun coming up. This is a simile.

c. What do you take the phrase "The hills untied their bonnets" to mean?

The hills are enveloped in darkness before the sun rises. All of the hills appear stunningly green as the sun rises. When the first rays of sunlight reach the hills, they toss their caps aside. This line depicts the hills as women untying their bonnets, making them personified. This is a metaphorical sentence.

d. Is the speaker paying attention to the rising sun? Why? / Why not?

Yes, the speaker is looking at the sun rising. The speaker is observing the steeple turning into amethyst color, like the untied bonnets of the hills. Additionally, she is hearing the beautiful bobolinks sing, confirming that the speaker is observing the sunrise.

e. How is the sunset observed?

In fact, the speaker is not sure about the setting sun. She speculates the “boys and girls” are climbing the purple staircase till they reached the other side where a “dominie in gray” was waiting to guide this flock of boys and girls before putting up the “evening bars”.

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

a. what is the speaker's definition of a day?

According to the poet, a day is the time where all the activities happen. The poet symbolically compares the day with life; it starts with the sunrise (birth) that develops into a daytime (life) and culminates in the sunset (death) which is unknown to the writer how the sun sets because the nature of death is unpredictable.

b. In the poem, what function does the hyphen in the first line serve?

A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that is used in writing to connect two or more words. A hyphen is used in poetry to indicate a pause. In her poem, Emily Dickinson uses punctuation marks in a novel way. She uses hyphens when she can't find the right words to express her deepest feelings, to allow readers to imagine and find the missing words, and to demonstrate the power of silence in certain circumstances. It is also used to emphasize something suddenly.

c. What gives this poem its lyrical and musical quality? Discuss.

The poem is lyrical in the sense that it uses first-person narration to convey personal feelings or emotions. In lyrical poems, the poetic persona is indicated by the first pronoun, "I." The poetess is describing her own personal experience of seeing the sunrise in this brief poem. "Sonorous" refers to verse or language that is rich in sound and music. The poem is musical and melodic because of a number of factors such as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and rhythm.

d. Who is the speaker's intended audience? Why?

Since the poem superficially and simply talks about the day and it is musical and lyrical, the first target audience could be the children. However, it is also philosophical if the symbols and imageries are taken into condition. The poem talks about the process of taking birth, living life and dying. In addition, the poet also seems religious because she mentions about the mystical being who takes the pale boys and girls, symbolically old people, to the other side. So the target audience in this sense is the adult human beings too.

e. It appears that the poem is describing a day for children. How would this poem be received by adults? Write the response based on your parents' or guardians' responses to this poem.

Same answer as question number d.

REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT

a. Create a poem based on your own experience by observing your surroundings one fine morning.

One fine Morning

I woke up one fine morning; to see

The golden sunlight adorning

The distant mountains with its strokes

Since it was ephemeral; I tried to grope.

Then baffled by the birds singing

Followed by temple bells ringing

The melody hit me hard into my heart

Amazed by the Almighty’s splendid art.

The activities of humans then begun

As if everybody was trying to outrun

Saddened by this selfish commotion

Closed my eyes for devotion.

By Arpan K Sharma.

b. Write a personal essay on A Day in the School.

A day at school is an amazing experience for a student. It is a place where I may study, make new friends, and participate in a variety of activities. My average school day begins in the morning, when I pack my books and school supplies and walk to the bus stop. While waiting, I frequently talk with friends who live nearby about the previous day's activities or impending tests, which helps to relieve anxiety before the start of a rigorous school day.

The school begins with the ringing of the bell. With this we need to assemble for national song and prayer. In the assembly during winters we are also asked to give a speech on any topic while during the summer, we do not as the sun is scorching. After all the students are checked for their nails and uniform; we are sent to our respective classroom in a queue. To make the courses more interactive and allow for student participation and engagement, the instructor employs a variety of instructional approaches such as presentations, discussions, and group activities.

We enjoy a short pause after the first two periods to refuel and meet up with friends. We eat refreshments from the school cafeteria and play sports like football or basketball. It is time to relax and prepare for the next classes. We continue with our studies until we break for lunch. During lunchtime, we sit with our friends and share a meal, talk about social issues, and plan for extracurricular activities. After a 30 minute lunch break; we resume the classes.

Afternoon classes move at a slower pace, with shorter periods and fewer subjects, allowing us to give full attention to each subject. The classes are then held till the end of the day, with a few minutes of free time before the day ends with the afternoon assembly.

Overall, my school day is very busy as we are studying, socializing, presenting, and playing. I think that everyone should attend school in order to have a secure future, achieve professional greatness, and have a pleasant life, because schools are where young people are prepared for life.