I Like a Look of Agony
I like a look of Agony,
Because I know it’s true—
Men do not sham Convulsion,
Nor simulate, a Throe—The Eyes glaze once—and that is Death—
Impossible to feign
The Beads upon the Forehead
By homely Anguish strung.
Summary of I Like a Look of Agony
- Popularity of “I Like a Look of Agony”: This beautiful short poem first appeared in 1890 in Emily Dickinson’s poetic collection published after her demise. However, it is interesting to note that this poem also won the same popularity as others related to the theme of death and despair. Her whole personality seems to ooze out of this poem, the reason that it has won popularity as being a short but highly ambivalent poem.
- “I Like a Look of Agony” As a Representative of Pain and Death: The speaker, who seems to be a woman, states that she likes when somebody is showing inner pain. She states that it is because it is a true expression. In this respect, she argues men are good as they do not show sham discomfort and are also a failure in simulating such agony. Similarly, when there is a glaze in the eyes, it means certain death, and there is no way to simulate these expressions. It means that such anguish brings beads of sweat to the forehead of the person. It seems that although the poet is showing her feelings about the likely death of somebody, her intention is to state that men are truthful and cannot feign agony to gladden their partners.
- Major Themes in “I Like a Look of Agony”: Agony, simulation of feelings, and death are the major themes of this poem. However, within these lines, the poet wants to state that men are not better at simulating painful experiences, while women may be able to do that better, which has not been directly stated. However, the simulation of such pain is hard to come by to men. Therefore, when there is such agony in men, they often show glazed eyes, which means certain death. Therefore, this agony is a sign of death.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in I Like a Look of Agony
Emily Dickinson’s use of literary devices to enhance the beauty of her poetry is apparent from the analysis below. Some of the major literary devices of this analysis are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /u/ in “By homely Anguish strung” and the sound of /o/ in “I liked the look of agony.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /m/ in “Men do not sham Convulsion” and the sound of /t/ in “Because I know it’s true.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
The Beads upon the Forehead
By homely Anguish strung.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Emily Dickinson used imagery in this poem, such as “I like the look of Agony”, “The Eyes glaze once” and “The Beads upon the Forehead.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has presented glazed eyes to compare with death or show the arrival of death.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols like eyes, looks, and beads upon the forehead to show the arrival of death.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in I Like a Look of Agony
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows the use of formal and poetic diction. Yet, its tone is religious and ironic.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABCB in the first stanza and ABCD in the second one.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when telling the signs of the coming of death.
The Eyes glaze once—and that is Death—
Impossible to feign
The Beads upon the Forehead
By homely Anguish strung.
