Dickinson's "My Life Had Stood-A Loaded Gun"
             Today, few would deny that Emily Dickinson is an important figure in American literature. The numerous ways to interpret her poetry draws more and more readers into her publications. It's as if everyone could interpret Dickinson's poems into his or her personal life; seeing the poems the way they want to see it. This is the effect "flexible" poems have on people.
             In Dickinson's "My Life Had Stood-A Loaded Gun", I interpreted the poem literally, thinking the poem was really about a gun and the relationship with its owner. But as I read the poem more and more, I felt the power and rage engulfed into this piece. I also gathered that, like most of Dickinson's poetry, there is a common denominator of her personal life and views into each of her pieces pf poetry. And the poem may very well supposed to be about a gun, but I interpreted it in a way that factored her into it.
             I also read a little about Emily Dickinson and her life as a poet. And when I read about certain parts of her life and feelings, the poem seemed to "click" with her personal feelings about her life with poetry, like there was a sort of connection. She felt forced to practice her art privately, that is, she wrote her poetry privately and shared it with only a few family members and friends. To be able to dedicate herself to poetry, she withdrew into seclusion. It was a heavy price to pay to be a poet. This poem, with its "Vesuvian" voice, expresses her rage at the restrictions on the woman poet, her sense of the power of language, and the sense of control that writing poetry gave her.
             This poem seems very powerful and full of rage. The speaker compares her life to an unused loaded gun and finds joy in fulfilling its purpose to kill. She seems to have been in a corner, or more unused with no purpose until one day a hunter finds her and knew he...