Death is the classic metaphor for something that is in literature always\u00a0poetical as an experience, but never as a written text. And it places the\u00a0tenderness of the final line within a context in which excess is by definition\u00a0harmless. Unless the tenderness comes from one side, of course. Which\u00a0describes The Last Lover to a dot. And well-phrased as the metaphor may be,\u00a0Dickinson has placed the comma behind \u2018tender\u2019 spot on. The culmination of\u00a0metaphors therefore indicates that the narrator has good reason for wishing\u00a0Death NOT to admit the mortal herds to his pen :<\/p>\n
if \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Death<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0= \u00a0\u00a0the unilateral lover<\/span><\/strong> Within context, \u2018worse than death\u2019 is an euphemism rather than a metaphor. One\u00a0that writes the opening line as a sincere, and deeply felt, death wish. And it\u00a0revokes any request to lock us mortals out. Tenderness, however, is not to be\u00a0expected in an encounter that is defined by its (threat of) violence. Such an\u00a0encounter is therefore ruled out from the start, by \u2018music\u2019 that identifies the\u00a0death wish as purely metaphorical. And \u2018death\u2019 itself as imminent. This positive\u00a0attitude is only dropped after revealing how close the two are : \u2018too near thou\u00a0art for seeking thee\u2019. At which point you may have heard enough :<\/p>\n —<\/span><\/p>\n – – – – – — – – –\u00a0<\/span>V \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 V<\/p>\n – – – — – \u00a0<\/span>Discovery Route<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 back to the paper<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Death is the classic metaphor for something that is in literature always\u00a0poetical as an experience, but never as a written text. And it places the\u00a0tenderness of the final line within a context in which excess is by definition\u00a0harmless. Unless the … Continue reading
\nand \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Death \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>= \u00a0\u00a0the \u2018Oh\u2019 in \u2018love\u2019<\/span><\/strong>
\nthen \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Death<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0= \u00a0\u00a0worse than Death<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n