Emily Dickinson’s poem 508 is one of progression. She begins
with the image of a young child being baptized in a small country church. The decision
was not hers to make, as it was apparently the beliefs of the parents being imposed
upon the child, as seen in line 8. The image then progresses to that of a woman
who is of age and able to make her own decisions in life. While the childhood
baptism wanted by her parents is considered to be of no use, she now chooses the
same path for herself as a “conscious” (9) adult. If one looks past the
theology of the poem and looks at the imagery of the character, one can see
that the character has progressed from a small child who had no authority over
herself to an adult who is able to make important life decisions based on her
own understanding and authority.
Likewise, the poem After a Greek Proverb by A.E. Stallings,
also shows progression with the main character. The progression is not the same
as illustrated by Dickinson, yet arguably just as essential in life of the main
character. In this villanelle style poem, Stallings uses the imagery of moving
from one place to another for what is supposed to be a short time (2). It is
revealed that this short time has become a dozen years, which has made the
narrator less than pleased (10). A character
(who is the apparent spouse of the narrator) tells our narrator not to think
about the past and its plans because it will only cause sorrow (11). Our narrator
proceeds to speak of bottling up her sorrows and disappointments and continues
to live as if she only has a short time left in this place. What was supposed
to be temporary has become lasting.
Unlike Dickinson’s poem, which
depicts progression with an increase in knowledge and authority concerning
decision making, Stallings displays a progression from hopefulness and ambition
to that of hopelessness and sorrow. Though the two poems contrast in the
direction of progression, they both depict realistic evolutions that progression
can have on a person.
