Emily Dickinson Group

Question:

poem
poem
Student
High School - 12th Grade

What are the two things being compared in the two lines below from Dickinson?

"Narcotics cannot still the Tooth/That nibbles at the soul"

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Posted by poem on Sunday November 2, 2008 at 7:26 AM and tagged with comparison, emily dickinson, metaphor, quotes.

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  1. ms-mcgregor Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Dickinson is comparing a tooth or painful problem that keeps nagging at one's heart. The tooth is something that can cause pain by both biting and throbbing on its own because of a cavity or inflamed root. When one has a toothache, it is hard to think of anything else. Thus, Dickinson uses the tooth as a metaphor for a painful problem. That problem, like a tooth, can nibble or eat away at one's heart or mind. In Dickenson's poem the tooth is nibbling at the soul, or heart of a person. She is saying that no amount of narcotics or drugs can cover over a problem that bothers one's heart and mind.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/emily-dickinson

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    Posted by ms-mcgregor on Sunday November 2, 2008 at 9:22 AM