Emily Dickinson’s a Route of Evanescence

A More Complex, but Meaningful Route

Emily Dickinson’s “A Route of Evanescence” is a condensed poem that describes a hummingbird and its quick presence. Hummingbirds are mystical creatures that are graceful, yet sometimes misunderstood. Their bodies consist of lavish colors that appear as if painted on. The movements of the hummingbird’s wings send the observer into a trance. When released from this trance, the hummingbird is usually no longer in sight.

The compact poem offers a brief description of a hummingbird, but it holds a strong and powerful message in form and structure. The reader can break the eight-lined poem down into two stanzas consisting of four lines. The two stanzas will therefore help the reader to understand the depth and meaning of the poem. Each stanza is different in form and meaning and as a result, the contrast creates a sense of time and movement for the reader.

The first “stanza” starts out with the first sight of the hummingbird. The speaker in the poem uses exotic words such as “Evanescence” (1), “Resonance” (2), and “Cochineal” (3) to grab the reader’s attention and illustrate how exotic the hummingbird actually is. A repetition of the beginning consonant “R” occurs in the first four lines. The word “revolving” (2) describes the flapping motion of the bird’s wings and compares the repetition of the “R” to the wing movement. In addition, the sound of the “R” words such as “Resonance” (3) and “Rush” (4), cause the reader to “hear” or imagine the quick movement in the hummingbird’s wings. Dashes at the end of lines 2, 3, and 4, hint at the rapid movement and make the reader dart on to the next line in the poem. No distinct rhyme is found between lines 1 and 3, but “Wheel” (2) and “Cochineal” (4) are a perfect rhyme. This occurrence is seen as a loop: a nonrhyming ending then a rhyming ending that repeats, such as the rhyme of “a, b, c, b.” Referring back to the “revolving Wheel” (2) and the wing movement, the loop brings the poem together and shows beauty in the movement of the hummingbird. In addition, the meter in these four lines is not consistent, and quickly changes to increase both the movement in the poem and the random movement of the hummingbird’s wings. In lines 1 and 3, the endings veer off and it is hard to find the meter. This is due to the words “Evanescence” (1) and “Emerald” (2). Lines 1 and 3’s