And Zero at the Bone. Dickinson's many personae here include a man recalling boyhood. c. animals. ... 24 And Zero at the Bone. The fact that he is ‘friendly’ is humorous and ironic. These instances of personification build up to the final thematic turn, which reveals how non-human the snake truly is. ~Emily Dickinson. Several of nature's people I know, and they know me; I feel for them a transport Of cordiality; But never met this fellow, Attended or alone, Without a tighter breathing, And zero at the bone. Notes: Note to POL students: The inclusion or omission of the numeral in the title of the poem should not affect the accuracy score. Some printed versions of the poem include dashes, and it has been suggested that this imitates the snake’s darting movements and the narrator’s rapid telling of the tale. Dickinson describes the snake’s appearance and movement in detail. Most pressingly, the speaker’s metaphors for the snake fall away, revealing the terrifying reality of the creature. In this case the slant rhyme is formed by the “rr” and “ll” consonant sounds in the respective words. The poems in Zero at the Bone, Stacie Cassarino’s highly accomplished first book, emit a sonic calm even — or especially — while teasing out the adversities in their subject matter. 1. Who or what is the Fellow in this poem? By “Several of Nature’s People,” the speaker is referring to animals. If you don’t like snakes, consider yourself warned: snake stories follow. The 36-year-old protagonist receives a letter from her father, whom she has not seen since she was five. Dickinson’s imagery here thus makes the snake seem even more sly and menacing. This poem is one of my least favorites on the countdown because it does not have a meaning and does not express feeling. Literally, a chilling fear! Word Count: 304. In these stanzas of ‘A Narrow Fellow in the Grass’, the speaker reveals that he knows “nature’s people”. The poet observes the snake’s effortless movement and comments on its environment or, one should say, habitat — ‘a Boggy Acre’ and ‘a Floor too cool for Corn’. I Songs were echoing in the village street. ” is written in six stanzas of four lines each. This movement is untraceable, meaning that his appearances are even more shocking. Emily Dickinson created a wonderful idea. In the poem “Givens,” Klink imagines a collective experience rather than a solitary one: “We were given a book, and the book stripped / the world down to dirt and to rain, captivity / color.” Her use of the “we,” juxtaposed with “the world,” expands the poem's focus from personal to global. 37 sec read 191 Views. There seem to be variations in the way the poem is printed. Her first collection of poetry is Zero at the Bone (2009). The final line contains a multi-layered metaphor. See also: The phrase “Zero at the Bone” describes bone-chilling horror, a zero-degree temperature. The phrase “Zero at the Bone” describes bone-chilling horror, a zero-degree temperature. In this case, Dickinson doesn't say the snake crawls through the grass; her image is much more concrete and visual—the snake moves through grass like a comb through hair. d. neighbors. And zero at the bone— 4. Who or what is the Fellow in this poem? The grass divides as with a comb, A spotted shaft is seen; And then it closes at your feet And opens further on. But never met this fellow, Attended or alone, Without a tighter breathing, And zero at the bone. b. cold. Cassarino writes frankly about the body and sex. The alternating tetrameter and trimeter of the first two stanzas tightens up to a strict trimeter pattern as the poem hastens to its close. D. fish. The phrase Nature's People means. The word sounds similar to “glides” or “writhes,” which one might usually associate with snakes. Learn more. I believe Dickinson is speaking on the fear and how scared the boy is of the snake. The implication seemingly being a reference Zero (O° F – cold!) The narrator has a close relationship and respect for the natural world. Without a tighter breathing. The word “transport” operates in two ways here. a. nature-lovers. Other published versions combine stanzas three and four to form an eight-lined stanza splitting the poem in two. The second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme. 3rd and 4th stanzas actually make up one stanza. The ‘tighter breathing’ displays formality and constraint which is also shown in other poems by E.D such as 494 where it says ‘felt the bodice tug’. C. shadow. ZERO AT THE BONE - VG Walker, Mary Willis - standalone Texas heroine, dog trainer, and sleuth Katherine Driscoll. The snake is a friend, a…, Through the strait pass of suffering (792), Undue Significance a starving man attaches, I many times thought Peace had come (739), Blazing in Gold and quenching in Purple (228), Their Height in Heaven comforts not (696). In the latter case, the persona would be an invented male narrator, a man looking back on his experiences as a boy. The letter promises much needed financial help, but when she arrives at the zoo where he works, she discovers that he is dead. The third stanza opens with a quickening of the meter. In this poem Emily does not give the name away, but instead she calls the snake "A fellow creature". It is optional during recitation. e. an adult woman. a. a whip-lash b. a snake c. a gust of wind d. a boy 5. Dickinson’s handling of end rhyme is elliptical and subtle. The snake is a friend, a ‘fellow’, but also sinister. The lines broadly follow a iambic trimeter rhythm, that is three metric ‘feet’ to the line, though Dickenson varies this; for example, the first lines of stanzas one and two are iambic tetrameters, that is four metric feet to the line. A narrow fellow in the grass Occasionally rides; You may have met him,--did you not, His notice sudden is. This stanza illustrates the closeness Dickinson feels for nature in general, an important theme in her poetry that brings her into the circle of the Transcendentalists, who believed that Nature is, if not equal to God, almost as important as God. Notice that the word “Fellow” is capitalized. This final quatrain shows that the snake, personified as a harmless, “narrow Fellow” in the first quatrain, is not a person at all but a threat. Thus the speaker admits that the cordiality she feels for “Nature’s People” is an act of projection. Her tone modulates between intimate remark and a flatness called out by the weight of the scene. But never met this Fellow. the poet cries out, and Zero at the Bone urges this anxious question in each highly-wrought fibre of its lines. On the negative side the serpent is associated with the devil and temptation in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:1 and the Fall of Man. The two words also create what is called a “slant rhyme,” which is a rhyme that forms similar, but not identical, sounds. c. grief. Language and Imagery Though Dickinson often used em dashes for various, irregular reasons, the em dash here is critical. He likes a boggy acre, A floor too cool for corn. Cassarino's voice ranges far and near, from the gasp and sigh of creaturely love to the dizzying spaces of American distance, whiteness, silence. The term, “zero at the bone” she tries to describe how mesmerised she is with the flexible and swift movement of the snake, as if it does not have any bone in its body at all. It is almost as if the snake were approaching more rapidly. Rather than use the word snake, which may have negative connotations for the reader,  Dickinson constructs a completely non-threatening image. And Zero at the Bone — This is a poem that, on one level, describes an encounter with a snake. Poetry. Note too, that the snake is personified again with intentional capitalization of “Him,” giving the snake a less menacing, more human presence. This is a poem that, on one level, describes an encounter with a snake. On the one hand, the speaker might be suggesting that he has never encountered a snake, whether accompanied by others or alone, that has not caused extreme anxiety. In some versions the word ‘child’ is stanza three is replaced with ‘boy’. And zero at the bone. This final quatrain shows that the snake, personified as a harmless, “narrow Fellow” in the first quatrain, is not a person at all but a threat. Often her speaker observes herself in memory, moving through a landscape, carrying a dayload of uncertainty, … This is one of my favorites. It means she dies. Who ever said / there was a place for you? It was just the time when the young men and girls, tired with the work and cares of the day, were in the habit of assembling for the dance. 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