Wild Nights -- Wild Nights!

If one has ever experienced complete and utter infatuation, this poem, by Emily Dickinson is relatable indeed. Her form of expressing herself through metaphors is extraordinary. Through the metaphors in the poem, we can gather that the underlying theme is that once this special person is discovered, there is nothing more satisfying than being with them.

                “Wild Nights – Wild Nights!/Were I with thee/Wild Nights should be/Our luxury! (Dickinson, lines 1-4). This first group of lines introduces a love affair between two people. We assume the speaker is Emily Dickinson; however, the identity of her love interest is unknown. From these lines we can gather two things: First that Dickinson clearly has a desire to make love to this person, second, that it is impossible to do so because they are not together in the same place. In other words, these lines mean, “If you were only here, our nights together would be amazing”. She wants nothing else but to spend time with this person.

                “Futile – the Winds --/To a Heart in port --/Done with the Compass --/Done with the Chart!” (Dickinson, lines 5-8). There is so much meaning packed into these four lines. It is one continuous metaphor. Note that she replaces the word “ship” with “heart”. This is referred to as “metonymy”, which is a type of metaphor. She says, “Futile the winds to a heart in port”. If we break this down, we realize that she is saying that a storm will not sink a ship in port. She, in other words, is sturdy in her love for this person; her love is secure, and cannot be shaken. “Done with the compass, done with the chart” has symbolic significance as well. Where would one need a compass and a chart? They would need it if they were voyaging out at sea. We can translate this to mean that Dickinson is happy in this port, or with this person, and she does not need to go “out to sea” and look for anyone else. She is perfectly content and happy with this person, and she is determined that nothing can change that, not even distance.

                “Rowing in Eden --/Ah, the Sea!/Might I but moor – Tonight --/In Thee” (Dickinson, lines 9-12). Another metaphor, this group of lines represents the beginning of a relationship. When she refers to it as “Eden”, which we know, biblically, was the perfect place, we notice that she is referring to the beginning of a relationship; how it is all butterflies, and flowers, and perfect. She can see nothing wrong with this person. Most likely, according to her, they are perfect for each other in every way. She probably wouldn’t change a thing about them. But they have not experienced conflict yet. The last part of the stanza seems to suggest, again, sexual desires. But, the significant fact to remember is that this can never take place because distance separates them.

                This poem is very descriptive of what, I believe, a lot of young people have felt. And that is Infatuation. When we are infatuated with someone, nothing is better than being with that person. I believe she “hits the nail on the head” when she describes her feelings for this person. She feels that they are perfect, and that there is no one else that has ever, or can ever, make her feel this way. Unfortunately, this beginning stage fades, and couples have to deal with conflict and disagreement. If they stay together through these hard times and still find favor with the other person, then they can truly call it love.