Dickinson’s Use of Dashes

Dickinson’s use of dashes is interesting because it’s one of the many things that makes her poetry different from other poetry. However, really understanding why Dickinson uses dashes is difficult because every part of the poem uses them a bit differently. I think the dashes allow Dickinson to make words and phrases seem more important and thought provoking as well as create a certain style to her writing. The lines in the poem are split into fragments by these dashes and beauty of a dash is that is allows the continuation of a sentence without a blunt end such as a semicolon or period, instead the reader is visually able to move from one fragment to the other following the line. For example when she writes, “There’s a certain Slant of light, / Winter Afternoons – / That oppresses, like the Heft / Of Cathedral Tunes –” the dash separates the first and second line from the third and fourth line allowing for each to hold individual significance but not disconnecting the train of thought. The dashes create an emphasis on parts of the sentence and take on the role of either commas or parentheses. When she uses the dashes as commas like the stanza from above it shifts the focus on the words that follow the dash, so the phrase “that oppresses” is meant to resonate with the reader. In addition, throughout the poem Dickinson uses dashes to frame specific terms. When she writes, “When it comes, the Landscape listens – / Shadows – hold their breath – / When it goes, ‘tis like the Distance / On the look of Death –” the dashes still end the lines but they also put emphasis on the statement “hold their breath” because being sandwiched between two dashes on the same line draws the reader’s attention. In this case Dickinson uses dashes to replace the use of parentheses because while parentheses are a subtle way to add key notes, dashes are a more intrusive, blunt method to make a side statement. Plus, it seems that the dashes are a stylistic choice as its kind of formats her poem in a pattern and makes it seem like a sequence of fragments rather than sentences. Ultimately, I think the purpose of the dashes is to give specific parts of the poem more significance and by doing so Dickinson wants to make the audience more attentive and thoughtful about what they are reading.