Question

Use the following points and write an appreciation of the poem:

• About the poem, poet, and title
• Theme
• Poetic style, language, poetic devices used in the poem
• Special features
• Message/values/morals in the poem
• Your opinion about the poem

Answer 1

Appreciation of the poem 'There Is Another Sky‘

'There is Another Sky' is written by Emily Dickinson, who is an American poet from the 19th century, who is famous for her motivational and philosophical poetry. Her verses of simple and short lines with a short rhyme scheme are unique to her era. This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, which means that it is a fourteen-line poem divided into two parts, such that the first part of the poem is an octave (a stanza of eight lines) and the second part is a sestet (a stanza of six lines). In this poem, which was written as a part of a letter addressed to her younger brother, she tries to convince him to return home by talking at length about an ideal place; which is just like paradise.
The theme dwells upon nature and human feelings as it describes the infinite, The lines are short and the language is simple. The poet has used poetic devices like Alliteration, Antithesis, Ambiguity, Hyperbole, Inversion, Metaphor, Onomatopoeia, Personification, and Repetition to beautify the poem. The first stanza of the poem tells us about this 'other' place (not the physical world) and the second stanza is an invitation to the brother to come to visit this place (their home which is serene like the 'other' place). The poem conveys a sense of happiness that surrounds one's home and the special bond that siblings share.
Overall, the poem seems like a call to one's sibling to return home because they are missed. The comparisons are drawn with paradise highlight the peace and happiness that a home offers.

Answer 2

About the poem, poet, and title:

‘There is Another Sky’ is an inspirational poem with a positive message by the poet for her brother, Austin. It is a Petrarchan sonnet with an octave and a sestet. The poet is communicating to her brother through a letter. She encourages her brother not to get depressed under any circumstances and pleads to him to return home. Life is full of challenges; one can tackle the challenges with a positive attitude. The poem ends on an optimistic note.

The title of the poem ‘There is another sky’ gives a sense of optimism to the readers. ‘There is another sky’ means that there is still a better place to be happy, free, and optimistic. Where the heart will not be filled with darkness and melancholy.

The poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) is an American poet of the nineteenth century. She lived a lonely life. Most of her poems are motivational and philosophical. Her poems are the psalms and hymns of life in all its shades.

Theme:

It is an inspiring and encouraging poem that makes the reader feel happy and optimistic and gives the sense of ‘never give up on your life’. She is trying to make her brother understand the same thing through the poem, who is depressed and very sad and has left home. The poem actually is an appeal made by the poet to her brother and asks him to come back home.

Poetic style, language, poetic devices used in the poem:

‘There is another sky’ is a Petrarchan sonnet of fourteen lines. The first eight lines the octave, show the quandary or express an emotional tension. The last six lines, the sestet, try to resolve the problem by relieving the tension. The poem also brings out the poet’s love for nature. The language of the poem is quite complex and quite ornamented.

She often used slant rhymes and unconventional capitalization and punctuation. Here in the poem also the poet has used the same technique. The poet made use of many literary devices like Hyperbole, Alliteration, Inversion, etc. Some examples of hyperbole are – “Whose leaf is evergreen” and “In its unfading flowers.” Examples of Alliteration- “Never mind faded forests,” and “bright bee hum.”

Special features:

The sonnet is quite different from those of Emily Dickinson’s other poems, which generally have a gloomy atmosphere. In this poem, she is trying to give hope and positivity to her brother and asking him to come back home, where there is everything positive and never fading happiness for him. In the moments of depression, sadness, and confusion, the best thing one can do is to resort to one’s own home. Emily Dickinson feels that our home is a place where there are never-fading flowers, evergreen forest, and everything around is happy because you have your own people to take care of you and make you feel better and more optimistic. She makes us believe that such a world really exists. That makes the poem appear so special to the readers.

Message/values/morals in the poem:

The message that the poet tried to convey is that one might leave their home or hometown, but the place called ‘home’ would never change and she tries to convince her brother as well as the readers by using the expression ‘evergreen’ to convince the readers about eternal existence of one’s own comfortable place, i.e. our home. Thus, the poet shows us all the brightness, never-fading flowers, evergreen forest, humming of bees around her home just to remind us of the importance of family and home. The poem also brings forth the undying love of the poet for her brother, Austin who was troubled by some problems.

Your opinion about the poem:

This beautiful poem has taught us to be optimistic and see the brighter side in every situation. The poem has also shown us the importance of home where our loved ones will be there in all our thicks and thins. Instead of leaving home, when depressed and sad we should try to stick around to our family so that we can get the mental support we need during those times.