The Human Mind Exploring the Evil Side of Human Life

The Human Mind Exploring the Evil side of Human Life

The human mind is very complex and mysterious. The human mind is a topic that is very common throughout history and also found in poems. In the two poems that show this topic is: “One need not to be a chamber-to be haunted” by Emily Dickinson and “The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allan Poe. These two poems share similarities and also differences. The similarities are more apparent and more essential than the differences. Similarities within these poems include the use of a house as a metaphor for the human mind and the human body; the fact that they all try to explore the evil or dark side of human life. Also, another similarity present in both poems is the author’s tone and style of writing. The differences between the poems are the different rhyming schemes, and plot.

In both poems, a house is obvious a metaphor for the human body and the human mind. In “One need to be a chamber-to be haunted”, Dickinson writes, “One need not to be a house” (Dickinson 4). She build the metaphor by stating that “The brain has corridors” (Dickinson 5), thereby shows that the house is symbolic to the human mind. With Poe, he does not directly state that the palace, in his poem, is a symbol for the human body or mind; but words and phrases that he uses, makes one interpret differently. “And all with pearl and ruby glowing, was the fair palace door ... came flowing, flowing, flowing”, writes Poe; symbolizes that the door is a mouth.

Both poems explore the human mind and body in terms of a house, but both poems also explore the evil side of human life. Dickinson states that “It would be far safer to meet a ghost at midnight and a hidden murderer in our apartment than to