The Soul has Bandaged Moments: Themes & Linking Poems

The Soul has Bandaged Moments: Themes & Linking Poems

Structure and Language Techniques

• Dickinson’s ‘The Soul has Bandaged Moments’ has three stanzas, each varying in length. This erratic structure parallels the emotional instability of the speaker.
• Frequent use of dashes to create a disjointed, fragmented rhythm, reflecting the speaker’s mental state.
• Use of personification and metaphor to characterize the ‘Soul’. E.g. ‘The Soul has Bandaged moments’ – portraying the soul as a living, tangible object which experiences pain.

Themes & Linking Poems

• Themes: emotional trauma, psychological suffering, the unseen inner battle.
• Dickinson’s ‘I felt a Funeral, in my brain’ can be linked due to the similar exploration of psychological turmoil.
• Both poems also focus on the soul’s reactions to distress, enforcing the abstract concept that the soul and emotions are intertwined.

Key Quotes

• “The Soul has Bandaged moments”, illustrating the soul’s capability to experience extreme emotional pain.
• “A Doom is dark upon the Soul”, indicating the despair and apprehension that overshadows the soul.

Poet & Context

• Emily Dickinson’s reclusive lifestyle often fuels her introspective and abstract themes.
• Dickinson’s exploration of emotional anguish may stem from her own experiences of isolation.
• Dickinson’s poems, including ‘The Soul has Bandaged Moments’ were published posthumously, allowing her to write with authenticity and disregard public judgement.