Question

The speaker in "I Started Early Took My Dog" says, "And made as He would eat me up" For what reason does the speaker use personification to describe the ocean waves?

Answer 1

This poem is simple enough at the literal level. A young girl walks to the sea with her dog; she enjoys herself until the tide catches her; she becomes frightened and runs to the town for safety. The metaphors "His Silver Heel" and "Pearl" describe a wave breaking and the foam. She realistically describes the feeling of being unexpectedly engulfed by a wave ("would eat me up"). The dog offers companionship but not protection.The poem also has a symbolic level. What is clear is that initially the speaker is welcomed by the Sea, then attacked and frightened by it. Less clear is what the Sea represents and what the meaning of her experience is. Several possibilities suggest themselves: the Sea represents (1) sexuality, (2) the unconscious, (3) death, or (4) nature.
SexualityThe speaker is female and innocent whereas the sea is male and aggressive. She chooses to go to the Sea; "visited" indicates the Sea was her destination. She is initially attracted to the Sea, which is admiring; the mermaids "came out to look at me" from the ocean bottom. Ships offer her help ("Hempen Hands" are ropes) because she is perceived as a "Mouse"; what qualities do we associate with a mouse, and would any of them be appropriate here?In stanzas one and two, Dickinson uses the metaphor of a house to describe the Sea; the ocean bottom is the "Basement" and the surface is "the Upper Floor." Is a house ordinarily a threatening or dangerous image? Is there any hint of menace in these stanzas?With stanza three, the Sea is personified as a man. The speaker is sexually innocent ("But no Man moved Me"), though she presumably has felt secure up to this point. Now, she is sexually moved; she states no man "moved Me--till the Tide" engulfed her. The Tide moves up her body, higher than her bodice or chest. Engulfed and threatened by sexual feeling, she "started." Is she having an orgasm? You can decide by thinking about the text. In this interpretation of the poem, "His Silver Heel" and the overflowing "Pearl" have sexual meanings.She fears the sexual experience and orgasm because of the possible loss of identity and sense of autonomy ("would eat me up"). She fears her identity would be consumed as completely by sexual experience as "a Dew" is consumed by the ocean. The repetition and emphasis of "And He--He followed close" betrays how strong her fear is; this phrasing calls particular attention to itself because it is the only repetition in the poem. "Close" suggests what a close escape she finally has if you think she does not have sex with him; alternately, you may read this as a reference to her sexual experience and orgasm.She is protected from the Sea's sexual advances by the town. What is represented by the Town? why is it presented as an alternative to the Sea or nature? Solid can mean (1) resistant to pressure, not easily changed in shape, (2) substantial, firm, and (3) matter, opposite of liquid. Which meaning or meanings are appropriate?The Sea departs, "bowing" and "with a Mighty look." Is he acknowledging a worthy opponent, someone who outdid him? or is his acknowledgement ironic? Has she reached safety and overcome his threatening advances? (How aggressive was He? in how much danger, if any, was she?) Or has she rejected her own sexuality and the possibility of sexual fulfillment? Is the end of this poem life-affirming or life-denying?Dickinson wrote in a letter, "The shore is safer...but I love to buffet the sea." Does this assertion have any relevance to this poem? The answer is going to depend on how you read the poem.