As Imperceptibly as Grief by Emily Dickinson (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature)

Language, structure and form revision

What happens in the poem?

Language: 

• Imagery (nature, light and dark)

• Alliteration

• Assonance

• Metaphor

• Simile

• Personification

• Oxymoron 

Form: 

• Iambic meter (trimeter and tetrameter)

• Ballad rhyme scheme (ABCB), but with slant rhymes (“away/Peridify”)

Structure: 

• Four quatrains 

• Enjambment 

• Caesura

Stanza One:

• The poem explores the gradual passing of summer, so gentle that it nearly goes unnoticed; Dickinson uses this as a metaphor for how grief fades over time. The transition away from summer leads to a calm moment of introspection and reflection for nature, personified (and therefore intertwined with human experience). Summer departs gracefully and quietly as the days shorten, but with a poignancy, similar to grief

• The poem concludes with summer slipping away "into the Beautiful", suggesting that the passing of time should not be feared; instead, comfort should be taken from the realisation that transience, ultimately culminating in death, enables transcendence to something more exquisie

Poems for comparison:

• ‘Afternoons’ by Philip Larkin: passing of time, loss, reflection

• ‘To Autumn’ by John Keats: seasons, passing of time, nature

• ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley: time and impermanence

• ‘Death of a Naturalist’ by Seamus Heaney: nature, time, change

• ‘A Wife in London’ by Thomas Hardy: war, death, grief, sacrifice, love

Context: 

Death 

Spirituality

The Civil War 

Isolation 

Themes: 

Transience 

Loss/grief 

Nature 

Transcendence 

Themes

Key Quotations

Language, form and structure

Transience 

“The Summer lapsed away —”

“Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon —”

“A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone —”

“lapsed” suggests a gradual change, further enhanced by assonance, creating a smooth, flowing sound, mirroring the idea of imperceptibility 

Describing quietness as “distilled” suggests purity and tranquillity; here Dickinson implies the transition to autumn is inevitable, bringing an opportunity for reflection. The rhythmic break invites the reader to pause and reflect

The word “Guest” highlights the impermanence of the summer and of feelings of grief, emphasised by the use of alliteration in “Guest”, Grace”, “gone” 

Loss/grief 

“As imperceptibly as Grief”

“Too imperceptible at last
To seem like Perfidy —”

“The Morning foreign shone —
A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone —”

Through the simile, Dickinson draws an unusual parallel between the passing of summer (usually associated with life) and the passing of grief (often associated with darkness and death). Just as summer’s beauty is fleeting, so too is the pain of grief 

"Perfidy" (betrayal) can apply both to the summer's departure and to a person moving on from grief, linking nature with the human experience; to move on from grief is not a betrayal but the result of the passing of time

The poem only contains two lines that rhyme perfectly: line 10 “shone” and line 12 “gone”. This has the effect of emphasising that presence is transient and that all things, however painful, will eventually fade

Nature

“The Dusk drew earlier in —”

“And thus, without a Wing
Or service of a Keel”

“Dusk drew”: alliteration suggests the encroaching darkness and underscores its gradual onset

“Keel” and “wing” evoke classical imagery, suggesting a desire to ground the poem in tradition and thus giving it a sense of timelessness

Transcendence 

“Our Summer made her light escape
Into the Beautiful.”

By describing summer’s escape as “light”, Dickinson suggests that it was not painful. The word “light” also contrasts with the notion of darkness, suggesting a moment of transcendence; death, (often symbolised by darkness) is a natural part of life and not something to be feared

In ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’, Emily Dickinson explores the theme of change.

Choose one other poem from the anthology in which the poet also writes about change. Compare the way the poet presents sacrifice in your chosen poem with the way Emily Dickinson presents it in ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’. 

In your answer you should: 

• compare the content and structure of the poems — what they are about and how they are organised 

• compare how the writers create effects, using appropriate terminology where relevant 

• compare the contexts of the poems, and how these may have influenced the ideas in them

Thesis/Essay introduction: Both poets convey the inevitability of change, but from very different perspectives. Dickinson focuses on the personal and emotional experience of grief through summer’s end; Shelley, however, addresses change through the lens of an empire's decline, using the ruined monument as a symbol of human transience. Despite their differing contexts, both poems present human existence as fleeting. Shelley's work emphasises loss with the desolate remains of Ozymandias' statue, while Dickinson offers a more hopeful view, suggesting the possibility of transcendence as summer slips into "the Beautiful".

Similarities

Differences

Both poets convey the idea that change is inevitable and underscore the universal truth that it is an inescapable aspect of human existence

The poets’ perspectives diverge; Shelley writes about change in the context of an empire, whereas Dickinson focuses on deeply personal and emotional change in the context of grief 

Both poems present human life as transient and convey the impermanent nature of existence, prompting contemplation on the brevity and fragility of life

In ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’, Dickinson uses the metaphor of nature to contemplate the passing of human life. In ‘Ozymandias’, the motif of transience is a monument, crafted by a sculptor

Both poems explore loss within the context of the passing of time. They convey how loss is not only a consequence of time but also intertwined with the transient nature of existence 

In ‘Ozymandias’, besides the statue, “Nothing beside remains”. In contrast, Dickinson portrays loss as summer escaping into “the Beautiful”. Thus, Dickinson’s poem offers hope of transcendence after the loss of human life 

Thesis/Essay introduction: Both ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’ and ‘To Autumn’ explore the theme of change through the passing of the seasons. Dickinson focuses on the transition from summer to autumn, personifying nature as a quiet, contemplative woman, while Keats depicts the end of autumn and the approach of winter, personifying autumn as an active "gleaner". Both poems portray change as a gradual process; however, they differ in tone: Dickinson's is subdued and contemplative, whereas Keats' is joyous and celebratory.

Similarities

Differences

Both ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’ and ‘To Autumn’ explore the theme of change through the transition of the seasons. They both highlight how the cyclical nature of the natural world mirrors the inevitability of change in human life

‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’ focuses on the transition from the warmth of summer to the introspective embrace of autumn, while ‘To Autumn’ portrays the waning days of autumn and the impending arrival of winter’s chill

Both poems feature the personification of nature. This creates a sense of intimacy and connection to the natural world

In ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’, Dickinson depicts nature as a woman, spending quiet time alone; in the Keats poem, autumn is personified as a “gleaner” harvester poised to take action

Both poems explore the theme of change, portraying it not as a sudden upheaval, but as a gradual, almost imperceptible transformation

The tone of ‘As Imperceptibly as Grief’ is subdued and contemplative; in contrast, in ‘To Autumn’ the mood of the poem is joyous and celebratory