“I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Summary

“I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Themes

• 

  The Value of Thoughtful Gifts

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• 

  The Beauty of Everyday Surroundings

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—”

• Lines 1-2

  I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—
  But You have enough—of those—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 3-4

  I could bring You Odors from St. Domingo—
  Colors—from Vera Cruz—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  Berries of Bahamas—have I—
  But this little Blaze
  Flickering to itself—in the Meadow—
  Suits Me—more than those—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  Never a Fellow matched this Topaz—
  And his Emerald Swing—
  Dower itself—for Bobadilo—
  Better—Could I bring?

  

  

  

  

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“I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Symbols

• 

  The Flower

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“I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Parallelism

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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“I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Had I a mind to
• Odors
• St. Domingo
• Colors
• Vera Cruz
• Topaz
• Emerald Swing
• Dower
• Bobadilo

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Speaker

“I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—”

More “I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem in Dickinson's Own Hand — Peruse Emily Dickinson's handwritten manuscripts at the Emily Dickinson Archive. 

  • The Poet's Life and Work — Read a Poetry Foundation biography of Emily Dickinson. 

  • The Poet's Family and Friends — Read about some of the people to whom Dickinson was closest (and, perhaps, who may have received a "little Blaze" from the poet).

  • Listen to the Poem Out Loud — A reading of "I could bring You Jewels."

  • "How Emily Dickinson Grew Her Genius in Her Family’s Backyard" — This Slate article discusses the ways Dickinson's fascination with nature fueled her poetry. 

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Emily Dickinson

  • A Bird, came down the Walk

  • After great pain, a formal feeling comes –

  • A Light exists in Spring

  • A Murmur in the Trees—to note—

  • A narrow Fellow in the Grass

  • An awful Tempest mashed the air—

  • As imperceptibly as grief

  • A still—Volcano—Life—

  • A Word dropped careless on a Page

  • Because I could not stop for Death —

  • Before I got my eye put out

  • Fame is a fickle food

  • Hope is the thing with feathers

  • I cannot live with You –

  • I cautious, scanned my little life

  • I did not reach Thee

  • I died for Beauty—but was scarce

  • I dreaded that first Robin, so

  • I dwell in Possibility –

  • I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

  • If I can stop one heart from breaking

  • I had been hungry, all the Years

  • I have a Bird in spring

  • I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -

  • I like a look of Agony

  • I like to see it lap the Miles

  • I measure every Grief I meet

  • I’m Nobody! Who are you?

  • I started Early — Took my Dog —

  • I taste a liquor never brewed

  • It was not Death, for I stood up

  • I—Years—had been—from Home—

  • Like Rain it sounded till it curved

  • Much Madness is divinest Sense -

  • My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun

  • Nature is what we see

  • One need not be a Chamber — to be Haunted

  • Publication — is the Auction

  • Safe in their Alabaster Chambers

  • Shipwreck

  • Success is counted sweetest

  • Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

  • The Brain—is wider than the Sky—

  • The Bustle in a House

  • The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants

  • There came a Wind like a Bugle

  • There is no Frigate like a Book

  • There's a certain Slant of light

  • There's been a Death, in the Opposite House

  • The saddest noise, the sweetest noise

  • The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean

  • The Soul has bandaged moments

  • The Soul selects her own Society

  • The Wind – tapped like a tired Man –

  • They shut me up in Prose –

  • This is my letter to the world

  • This World is not Conclusion

  • 'Twas the old—road—through pain—

  • We grow accustomed to the Dark

  • What mystery pervades a well!

  • Whose cheek is this?

  • Wild nights - Wild nights!