“I had been hungry, all the Years” Introduction

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“I had been hungry, all the Years” Summary

“I had been hungry, all the Years” Themes

• 

  Wanting vs. Having

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “I had been hungry, all the Years”

• Lines 1-4

  I had been hungry, all the Years—
  My Noon had Come—to dine—
  I trembling drew the Table near—
  And touched the Curious Wine—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  ’Twas this on Tables I had seen—
  When turning, hungry, Home
  I looked in Windows, for the Wealth
  I could not hope—for Mine—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  I did not know the ample Bread—
  ’Twas so unlike the Crumb
  The Birds and I, had often shared
  In Nature’s—Dining Room—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  The Plenty hurt me—’twas so new—
  Myself felt ill—and odd—
  As Berry—of a Mountain Bush—
  Transplanted—to a Road—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-20

  Nor was I hungry—so I found
  That Hunger—was a way
  Of Persons outside Windows—
  The Entering—takes away—

  

  

  

  

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“I had been hungry, all the Years” Symbols

• 

  Hunger

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“I had been hungry, all the Years” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Simile

  

  

  

  

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• Irony

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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“I had been hungry, all the Years” 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.

• Curious
• 'Twas
• Ample
• Plenty

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “I had been hungry, all the Years”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“I had been hungry, all the Years” Speaker

“I had been hungry, all the Years” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “I had been hungry, all the Years”

More “I had been hungry, all the Years” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Emily Dickinson Museum — Visit the website of the Emily Dickinson Museum to find a treasure trove of information on Dickinson's life and work.

  • Dickinson's Influence — Listen to the contemporary writer Jo Shapcott discussing how important Dickinson has been to her.

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

  • The Poem in Manuscript — Take a look at Dickinson's handwritten copy of the poem.

• 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 could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—

  • 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 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!