Poem Essay

“Surgeons must be very careful”

By

Shanice Lee-Graham

ENG 103

Poetry Explications

April 21, 2015

Surgeons must be very careful

(Emily Dickinson, 1860)

Surgeons must be very careful

When they take the knife! 2

Underneath their fine incisions

Stirs the Culprit – Life! 4

“Surgeons must be very careful”

Dickinson, Emily. “Surgeons must be very careful.” In Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, by Robert DiYanni. 2nd ed. NY: McGraw Hill 2008, p. 632.

Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Surgeons must be careful,” attracts the worldly perception of surgeons, injuries, and life itself. The form of the poem, four lines, expresses a trochee (stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllable) to draw special attention towards the words of each line. This arrangement connects with the surgeons, the incisions associated, along with the “culprit” cycle of life.

The opening of the poem clearly acquaints surgeons must be careful when performing any procedure. This poem dramatizes the conflict between the “surgeons” and the “fine incisions” and how the surgeon’s responsibility held accountable for life after undergoing the knife. Dickinson relates her poem to reality and the delicate life itself. Line one explains the “surgeons” connection to the people and how critical people become when life throws curveballs. Line two, “when they take the knife,” (2) Dickinson relates to the life-threatening choices we make in our daily lives. Undergoing the knife portrays a large decision, one that relates to a weapon to oneself. In line three, she advises the “fine incisions” as the replications of one’s decision and the prevailing consequences, or even a life risking result. Lastly, in the final line, “Stirs the Culprit – Life,” (4) throughout our life decisions one should remain careful of the choices made because it can result in a life-threatening decision. Dickinson knows that life itself...