Dickinson's Fantasy

        Emily Dickinson (USA, 1830-1886) is an enigmatic poet, whose voice is unlike any other.  Although it’s clear that her imagination is rich, wild, and original, no one would characterize her as a fantasy poet.  She certainly does make use of fantasy images, as in

I started early, took my dog, 

And visited the sea; 

The mermaids in the basement 

Came out to look at me…

        Or this description of a storm

The creatures chuckled on the roofs 

And whistled in the air, 

And shook their fists and gnashed their teeth. 

And swung their frenzied hair. 

        But those instances are metaphorical, so for something truly out of the world of fantasy, we have to look at 

The only ghost I ever saw 

Was dressed in mechlin, -- so; 

He wore no sandal on his foot, 

And stepped like flakes of snow. 

His gait was soundless, like the bird, 

But rapid, like the roe; 

His fashions quaint, mosaic, 

Or, haply, mistletoe. 

His conversation seldom, 

His laughter like the breeze 

That dies away in dimples 

Among the pensive trees. 

Our interview was transient,-- 

Of me, himself was shy; 

And God forbid I look behind 

Since that appalling day! 

        What I find so remarkable and wonderful about this description of a ghost is its apparently benign presence -  so courtly and shy, even laughing rather than moaning or shrieking or behaving in any way scarily - and yet it nevertheless inspires utter terror.  This is a reminder that the idea of ghosts is frightening not really because they are harmful or evil, although certainly there is plenty of folklore and fantasy that portrays them as such, but because they are inexplicable, because they are from outside our own world and knowledge, and because they know and remind us of death.  And that’s enough to be appalling.  Capturing that simple truth gives this poem a serious kick.

        As for calling it “fantasy,” I don’t know how Dickinson herself viewed it.  Was it another metaphorical description, using “ghost” to get at some other idea?  Did she really see an apparition and consider this a literal description of a literal ghost encounter?  Or was she imagining what ghosts might be like in her life?

[Picture: Emily Dickinson II, wood engraving by Barry Moser (Image from R. Michelson Galleries).]