What is a boggy acre?

Category: books and literature poetry
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In this stanza of A Narrow Fellow in the Grass, the speaker claims that the snake “likes a boggy acre”. This means he likes a soft, cool, swampy area in which to slither.



Regarding this, what is the narrow fellow in the grass?

In summary, the 'narrow Fellow in the Grass' is a snake, as the phrase 'in the Grass' suggests, summoning the idiom 'a snake in the grass'. The snake is seen from a child's-eye view. The snake appears and disappears suddenly, and is apt to be mistaken for other things (e.g. a whip), and eludes our understanding.

Similarly, what does the snake symbolize in a narrow fellow in the grass? In the first stanza, the “narrow fellow” refers to the snake slithering through the grass blades. Combing hair usually associates with females, thus, here the description of the snake evokes a sense of soothing and reassurance that contradicts with the panic and fright in the final stanzas of the poem.

Also Know, what does Nature's people mean?

The speaker knows and is known by "Several of nature's people" and feels "a transport / Of cordiality" for them. (Transport means carried away with emotion, rapture; cordiality means graciousness, sincerity, or deep feeling.)

What are two places where the narrow fellow can be found?

You can find the narrow fellow in the Boggy Acre or on the floor.

24 Related Question Answers Found

Who is the speaker of a narrow fellow in the grass?

That's because, smack dab in the middle of this poem, we learn that the speaker is… not a woman (as a reader might assume in reading a poem written by Emily Dickinson), but a man. More importantly, he's a man looking back at his youth as a boy. So, we're really at two removes from Dickinson the poet.

What does Plashless mean?

Definition for Plashless
plash (-ing)plate (-s) plashless, adv. [see plash, n.] Smoothly; fluidly; deftly; elegantly; gracefully; in a flowing manner; without splashing; without disturbing the surface of the water.

What does I like to see it lap the Miles mean?

This poem is four stanzas, each with a length of four lines, and describes a railroad engine and its train of cars in metaphors that suggest an animal that is both "docile" and "omnipotent". The train "laps the miles" and "licks up the valleys" then stops to "feed itself" at tanks along the way.

What does rowed him softer home mean?

The phrase is part of a metaphor: "he unrolled his feathers / And rowed him softer home— / Than Oars divide the Ocean." In this part of the poem, the speaker has cautiously approached a bird she has seen come down the walk. The phrase is actually grammatically incorrect.

What mystery pervades a well?

No. 161: “What mystery pervades a well!” - Dickinson Emily
The well is a mystery because of its depth and potential for danger, it is compared variously to “a neighbour in a jar”, a “lid of glass” or the ultimate horror; “an abyss”.

What sensation does Zero at the Bone suggest?

Attended or alone, Without a tighter breathing, And zero at the bone. It's an allusion to a basic fear (originally of serpents), it is a feeling in your bones (or perhaps soul).

What is the mood of the poem A bird came down the walk?

The tone of Dickinson's poem has a gentle and respectful demeanor regarding nature. As the reader, you experience the bird in the first person: "Like one in danger, Cautious, I offered him a Crumb/ And he unrolled his feathers/ And rowed him softer home --/ Than Oars divide the Ocean,/ Too silver for a seam --."

What is a spotted shaft?

A spotted Shaft is seen, The speaker goes on to describe what it looks like when you almost step on a snake, and it slithers off. In a really unique simile, the grass splits like hair being parted with a comb.

How does the speaker in a narrow fellow in the grass feel when he sees a snake?

In this stanza of A Narrow Fellow in the Grass, the speaker claims that the snake “likes a boggy acre”. In other words, he likes a soft, cool, swampy area in which to slither. He likes a cool floor and wet marshes. By using the word “like”, the speaker effectively personifies the snake.

Do snakes have bones?

In case you were wondering (cause they are soooo flexible), snakes actually do have bones. Animals with bones are know as vertebrates -- snakes are vertebrates. A snake's backbone is made up of many vertebrae attached to ribs. Snakes have between 200-400 vertebrae with as many ribs attached!

How do you describe the theme of a poem?

Subject. A poem's subject is the topic of the poem, or what the poem is about, while the theme is an idea that the poem expresses about the subject or uses the subject to explore.

Which line from a narrow fellow in the grass contains alliteration?

The first line refers to the 'comb' being the snake, and that the grass is inferior to the snake. "A spotted shaft is seen" is an alliteration of the 's' sound. Throughout the poem, Dickinson uses a repetition of 's' sounds, which when read aloud imitates the hissing sound a snake makes, hence it is an onomatopoeia.

How does the sound of a narrow fellow in the grass reflect the deeper meaning of the poem?

How does the sound of "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass" reflect the deeper meaning of the poem? The sound of "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass" is serious, quiet, and almost fearful. This expresses the author's thoughts about the snake that she sees.

What is considered a stanza?

Definition of Stanza. In poetry, a stanza is a division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter, or rhyming scheme. Stanzas in poetry are similar to paragraphs in prose. Both stanzas and paragraphs include connected thoughts, and are set off by a space.

How does the final stanza develop the theme that things that are admirable may still be terrifying?

Answer: The final stanza develops the theme that things that are admirable may still be terrifying when The speaker calls the snake a fellow, but his reaction upon seeing the snake shows he is shaken up.

Why does Emily Dickinson compare hope to a bird?

Dickinson, in her cleverness, never uses the word bird in her poem. She gives enough hints for the reader to understand the exact image that she describing. The song the bird's sung is the feeling that hope gives a person when he is at his lowest. It builds a person up and gives him the will to go on.