"I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road" Analysis

"I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road" by Emily Dickinson is a poem about thieves robbing a house. She is saying that she knows some ideal houses for people to steal from. The houses she describes are back from the road, and they are inhabited by elderly people who would not notice right away that someone had been in their house. She describes how such a theft might take place and what the robbers might steal, such as "Tankard, or spoon, earring, or stone, a watch, some ancient brooch" (Dickinson). This poem is a typical Dickinson work in some ways, but it is different from her usual works as well. She uses lots of descriptive words and really paints the scene so that it is easy to imagine the robbers peering in the window and creeping through the house. She also uses personification often, which is a common element in her poems. The last line is a great example of personification: "While the old couple, just astir, think that the sunrise left the door ajar!" (Dickinson). Since sunrises cannot, to the best of my knowledge, open doors, this is an example of personification in "I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road". These literary techniques are characteristic of not just Dickinson's poems, but Modernism as well. Her word choice is very careful, which is important in any writing, but especially in Modernism. I personally like how she used the word "chanticleer" instead of rooster in the line "The sun has got as far as the third sycamore. Screams chanticleer, 'Who ’s there?'" (Dickinson). Using that word gives the poem a more classy air, not to mention it sounds more lyrical than just saying "rooster". She also writes about a realistic occurrence that could have actually happened in real life. This is a characteristic of Realism. A characteristic of both Realism and Modernism that Dickinson uses is that she does not use any particular meter or rhyme scheme. The fact that Dickinson had characteristics of both makes her a sort of in-between poet, given that she does not fully fit into either category. An analysis of the setting in Dickinson's poems by Douglas Anderson stressed the importance of the setting. The setting is very important in this poem, as it is with others by Emily Dickinson. Had the houses been not so far off the road, the thieves would have had a more difficult time of stealing from their elderly inhabitants. Also, had it not been night time, said elderly inhabitants would not have been asleep, also making it harder for the thieves to take their valuables. I thought this poem was pretty good. It actually made sense to me, unlike half of Dickinson's other poems. I also thought that she picked a somewhat interesting topic for once. Instead of a snake in the grass or a robin on her lawn, we get all the action of a robbery. Also, unlike some of her poems, "I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road" is pretty literal and straightforward. Not a whole lot of hidden meaning to be found in the robbery of an elderly couple.


Anderson, Douglas. "Presence and Place in Emily Dickinson's Poetry." The New England Quarterly 57, no. 2. (June, 1984): 205–224. Quoted as "Presence and Place in Emily Dickinson's Poetry" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Emily Dickinson, New Edition, Bloom's Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=MCVED03&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 22, 2011).

Dickinson, Emily. "15. "I Know Some Lonely Houses off the Road." Part One: Life. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .