First Quatrain: “I measure every Grief I meet”
The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “I measure every Grief I meet” from Thomas H. Johnson's Complete Poem of Emily Dickinson asserts that she scrutinizes every person who has sorrow with especially observant attention. “[E]very Grief” provides a metonymic reference to a person who is grieving, of whose sorrow the speaker wishes to determine the breadth and depth. She knows the “size” of her own suffering, and thus she wonders if her fellows take their suffering as seriously as she does.
Second Quatrain: “I wonder if They bore it long”
She avers that she speculates about how much time has passed since the griever’s suffering began. She notes that her own has been with her so long that it seems to be as old as pain itself.
Third Quatrain: “I wonder if it hurts to live”
The speaker then ponders the possibility that the depth of hurt might cause the suffering one to wish for death; she wonders if the sufferers think about or contemplate making the choice between continuing to live in pain and committing suicide.
Fourth Quatrain: “I note that Some – gone patient long”
She reports that from her observations she has detected that some of those people in pain have grown so accustomed to their lot that they “renew their smile,” but their “imitation” smile is as faint as a lamp with “so little Oil.”
Fifth Quatrain: “I wonder if when Years have piled”
She then wonders if after the passage of “[s]ome Thousands” of years, they might finally have recovered from their original hurt; could such a long period of time be “a lapse” that “[c]ould give them any Balm”?
Sixth Quatrain: “Or would they go on aching still”
The speaker suspects that the suffering might continue, especially if the “pain” grew “larger” than “the Love.”
Seventh Quatrain: “The Grieved – are many – I am told”
The speaker then philosophizes that there are, in fact, many folks who have suffered and continue to do so; of course, she knows this only by word of mouth, not possessing the quality of omniscience. She also has been told that there are many reasons for all this suffering, and “Death” is only one cause, and besides even though “Death” is touted as a onetime affair, in fact, death “only nails the eyes.” It does nothing to mitigate the suffering that the real self might be experiencing.
Eighth Quatrain: “There's Grief of Want – and grief of Cold”
The speaker continues speculating about other causes of pain: “Grief of Want” and “grief of Cold” are two examples; then there are “Despair” and the “Banishment from native Eyes” despite remaining “In Sight of Native Air.” All of these instruments of pain are ancient and ever-present; they can never be eliminated.
Ninth Quatrain: “And though I may not guess the kind”
The speaker finally realizes that although she cannot ascertain the origin of the pain, she finds a deep measure of consolation from the experience and struggles of the blessed Lord Jesus.
Tenth Quatrain: “To note the fashions – of the Cross”
As she observes the many styles of crosses people over the centuries have worn and borne, she realizes that suffering is universal and shared, and while such knowledge does not alleviate the suffering, it does demonstrate that there is a divine purpose, and that fact makes the act of bearing grief a spiritual duty, which ultimately leads to divine Bliss.
 |
