Dickenson Poem

The poem "My Life has stood�a Loaded Gun�" by Emily Dickenson takes a unique approach to the definition of a gun and its relationship to its owner. Normally, a gun is a cold, hard, inanimate object capable of shooting, protecting, and killing. However, Dickenson uses personification to make the "gun" in this poem appear as a lover of the man who owns it. The first stanza describes the gun before its owner passed by and decided to carry it away. Until this time the gun stood alone, loaded, in a corner waiting "My Life had stood�a Loaded Gun� / In Corners�till a Day / The Owner passed�identified� / And carried Me away�." This is like the single maiden who stands waiting for the day when her beloved will pass by and carry her away. Personification is aided by the capitalization of the word "Me", as if the gun is a living being.

Once the owner has identified and carried the gun away, the two begin a relationship that includes roaming in the woods, hunting Doe, and hearing the echo off the mountains every time the gun is fired. However, personification is aided in this stanza by the capitalization of the word "We" which is also repeated to add emphasis to the fact that nature of the bond between the gun and hunter is more like a relationship. The gun also "speaks" for the hunter. The next stanza is from the gun's perspective (normally a gun does not have a perspective), and it is meant to express the warm and glowing

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