Emily Dickinson's poem, "There's No Frigate Like A Book," is concerned with the theme of the self-discovery. The poet used the vehicle of books to explore other worlds than her own protected, isolated one. In her poetry, the power of words carry the reader into worlds of fantasy and imagination.
To assist in analyzing the poem, it is important to understand Dickinson's life history. During the latter period of her life, she became a recluse and her only means of diversion were books. She completely "withdrew from society." (Capps 21) Books were a risk-free way to explore the world without leaving the seclusion of her home.
In this poem, she uses many metaphors for travel such as: "frigate, chariots, and coursers." Yet one questions why she would use such fanciful words to describe such commonplace forms of transportation. One explanation is that she chose to use the poetic terms rather than the commonplace terms because she wanted to add an illusion of romance. These grandiose terms have more romantic connotations. They take the reader on a fanciful journeys to far off, exotic lands. She also refers to other forms of exotic transportation, including: "coursers," for horses and "chariot" for carriage. The term "courser" is a fanciful name are used to describe a spirited horse. In the former reference, she uses the simile, "coursers like a prancing page of poetry," to describe the rhythm of the verse. In the latter, a chariot is a vehicle which can either travel swiftly on the land or magically through the air. In addition, the term "frigate" is used instead of ship. The definition of a frigate is a large vessel of the British Navy that carries guns. It conjures images of adventures and exploration. Since a frigate is a battle ship, its purpose is to conquers new lands of the imagination. Thus her allusion to "frigate" rather than another type of ship. However, another lesser-known meaning for frigate is a sea-bird that ...