Summary of poem murmur in trees to note
Answers
Answer:
Dickinson takes a break here from matters of life, death, and the afterlife to find the world full of magic. Something whispers in the trees, an indeterminate star appears – a fairy lantern perhaps? And in the long yellow light of the moon, the fairies hurry home. Maybe they are elves or brownies or something else, though; but for some reason they are all male. I like that their feet are more dapper and sweet than those of our human males. The mystery of the poem is who the “you” is in the last stanza? I suspect Dickinson addresses the stodgy townspeople who don’t believe in fairies or magic or wonders in the night. These folks have a “Road” they travel, and because they aren’t tempted into following fairy lights, are unlikely to miss it. Dickinson is pretty blunt about this world view: you “go your Way – and I’ll go Mine.” She is not going to give up the magic world.
The Forest of Arden, Albert
Pinkham Ryder, 1888
The poem begins as if it were a story and continues in a lighthearted vein all the way through. I am happy to believe in the little dapper, sweet footsteps of “little Men” hurrying home, and that trundle beds have robins trying to hide their wings in children’s nightgowns. A bit of googling of “Robins in the Trundle bed” reveals that I am not the only one who finds that a charming phrase. There are lots of antique and boutique shops called “Robins in the Trundle bed.”