The
Shipwreck
(by Emily
Dickinson)
Emily Dickinson
• Emily Dickinson was born in the United
Stated of America in 1830.
• She was preoccupied with death from a
young age.
• When her best friend died at the age of
fourteen, she went into a deep spiral of
depression.
• She died of heart failure in 1886
Summary of poem
Glee! The great storm is over!
Four have recovered the land;
Forty gone down together
Into the boiling sand.
Ring, for the scant salvation!
Toll, for the bonnie souls,-
Neighbor and friend and bridegroom,
Spinning upon the shoals!
How they will tell the shipwreck
When winter shakes the door,
Till the children ask, ‘But the forty?
Did they come back no more?’
Then a silence suffuses the story,
And a softness the teller’s eye;
And the children no further question,
And only the waves reply.
Structure/Type and form
• 4 stanzas of 4 lines each
• Short lines
•Rhyme scheme:
abcb defe ghih jklk.
• First two stanzas > focus on the
positive news of the survival of four
people (line 1,2 &5)
• The last two stanzas > focus on the
loss of 40 lives (grief/mourning)
The Title
• Sets the background/setting > ocean
• Title sets the tone of the poem > sad/mournful
• The (definite article) > the poem is about a
specific shipwreck.
• The title implies a tragedy took place,
usually involving the loss of lives, grief and
mourning.
1) Glee! The great storm is over!
2) Four have recovered the land;
3) Forty gone down together
4) Into the boiling sand.
• Glee > joyous/celebratory TONE
• People are happy > emphasised by the exclamation mark!
• People are happy because the storm is over and 4 people survived.
• great > tells us it was a terrible storm.
• The great storm is over Conveys a sense of relief > emphasised by the !
• Ironic> While the people are relieved that the storm is over, 40 people died as a
result of the storm
• Recovered = survived > they made it back to land / the shore.
• Gone down together > Euphemism > they died
• Boiling sand > implies a very rough sea, with huge waves. It seemed to churn up the
sand at the bottom of the sea. > emphasises the violent nature of the storm. >
change in TONE: celebration > grief and mourning.
5) Ring, for the scant salvation!
6) Toll, for the bonnie souls,-
7) Neighbour and friend and bridegroom,
8) Spinning upon the shoals!
• Ring > They ring the bell to draw the attention of the people.
• Scant = very few Scant salvation > they are thankful that there are 4 survivors.
• ! Exclamation mark> highlights the sorrow, shock and distress of the people
• Toll = ringing of a bell bonnie =beloved souls = emphasises the dead people
• Toll = ringing of the funeral bell for the 40 who drowned > contrasts with line 5 where ‘rings’ evoke the sound of
bells ringing in celebration.
• – The dash > a description of who died follows
• Neighbour and friend > makes it personal > the deceased were member of the community > people knew them.
• bridegroom >increases the shock of their death > He had just started a new life > also implies that his wife was
one of the survivors > adds to the sad tone.
• shoals = where the sea is shallow
• spinning > the people are being tossed around helplessly in the shallow waters.
• Irony > The people did not die in the middle of the ocean. Though they were close to the shore, they had no
control because of the bi waves that sent them spinning.
9) How they will tell the shipwreck,
10) When winter shakes the door,
11) Till the children ask, “But the forty?
12) Did they come back no more?’
• How will they tell the shipwreck > How will the explain to the children what happened?
• When winter shakes the door > Personification > Winter is associated with death
• Literally: the door is shaking because of the cold and windy conditions
• Figuratively: Winter = Death > The personification refers to the death of forty people
• door = symbolic of life
• The initial celebration stops when the children start asking questions about the forty people who did not
survive.
• Did they come back no more? > The disbelief of the children are shown here.
13) Then a silence suffuses the story,
14) And a softness the teller’s eye;
15) And the children no further question,
16)And only the waves reply.
• Suffuses = to spread gradually
• Silence gradually spread among the adults, because they could not offer any explanation that would help the
children understand and come to terms with their loss > creates a mournful tone.
• And a softness the teller’s eye > creates a sombre tone > The storyteller is reminded (by the questions of the
children) of the deaths and how they have all lost a loved one.
• The children could sense that the adults could not really answer their questions. Their own grief causes them to
stop asking questions. > this emphasises the pathos (sense of pity)
• And only the waves reply >This emphasises the silence of the adults and the children.
• There is nothing that they can say to offer comfort.
• Personification > the waves are given the ability to speak.
• The sibilant s > emphasises the speaker’s sadness. It also slows down the pace and creates an almost respectful
silence.
Themes – Contrasts
Joy vs grief
Celebration vs mourning
Saved vs lost
Living vs death
The response to the loss of life
TONE
• Grief
• Mourning
• Sombre
• Sad
