Dickinson: Wild Nights
Poem
By Emily Dickinson (source)
Wild nights — Wild nights!
Were I with thee
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!
Futile — the winds -
To a Heart in port -
Done with the Compass -
Done with the Chart!
Rowing in Eden -
Ah — the Sea!
Might I but moor — tonight -
In thee!
TV adaptation (S1E3)
In this episode, Emily dreams of a stormy night at sea and Sue falling overboard and wakes up to the written poem. The Dickinson siblings throw a rager in their house that evening and Austin discovers the poem after he is led to suspect that his sister and Sue have feelings for one another. As he reads the poem, we see flashbacks of Emily’s and Sue’s interactions.
Reflections on the poem
The poem inspires feelings of adventure and delight in me with the repetitive of “wild nights”, exclamation points, and navigation references. There is a sort of careless abandon, or more specifically a disregard for rules or convention, that I feel given the lines “Done with the Compass- / Done with the Chart!”. It suggests to me that Emily feels secure in love because her heart is in the port where the winds, no matter how strong, cannot touch it.
Love is about companionship, safety, and dependability. The first stanza of the poem suggests that with the one you love even the craziest experiences are wonderous. Love also gives you comfort — you can anchor yourself to someone else.
