The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean

The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean.
A Travelling Flake of Snow
Across a Barn or through a Rut
Debates if it will go —

A Narrow Wind complains all Day
How some one treated him
Nature, like Us, is sometimes caught
Without her Diadem.

Summary of The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean

Popularity of “The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean”: Published back in 1890 in a posthumous collection, “The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean” is a short yet meaningful poem. Emily Dickinson has beautifully captured the winter’s gloomy, chilly, and dismal attributes. She wrote this poem keeping in mind the similarities between man and nature. The poem became popular because it draws a debatable contrast between humans and the natural world.
“The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean” As a Representative of Surprise: This poem is about the effects the winter season cast on the world. The poem begins with the description of a cold and dark winter day. The sky seems heavy and grey with dark and stingy clouds. The heaviness and gloom block the way of a wandering snowflake that seems unable to decide whether it will travel past the barn or not. Besides the snowflake, the wind is also in a bad mood, as if someone has mistreated him. Every line of the poem brilliantly shows how nature and humans share common attributes. Although nature objects seem static, they speak to those who understand their music. The speaker, being a lover of nature, claims that nature, too, sometimes passes through difficult times.
Major Themes in “The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean”: Imagination, man versus nature, and similarities between man and nature are the major theme of this poem. This short poem sets the mood where the writer infuses human elements into nature. One can easily trace human qualities in a natural setting right from the start when she presents winter as gloomy and dark. Also, she personifies a snowflake to reflect human nature and decision-making capabilities. Unlike humans, the snowflake seems confused and debates a decision. Furthermore, the complaint of the wind once again alludes to the human ability of having mood swings. Throughout the poem, the poet does not glorify nature. Instead, she speaks of it realistically, giving it a human touch. She even strips down nature from supremacy to show that seemingly alluring nature, too, undergoes sadness.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean

literary devices are the building blocks of literature. Their appropriate usage makes literary pieces enchanting. Emily has used some literary devices in the poem whose analysis is as follows.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “Nature, like Us, is sometimes caught” and the sound of /o/ in “How some one treated him.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ in “Across a Barn or through a Rut” and the sound of /n/ in “A Narrow Wind complains all Day.”
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;

“A Narrow Wind complains all Day
How some one treated him
Nature, like Us, is sometimes caught
Without her Diadem.”

Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate a statement for the sake of emphasis. Emily Dickenson exaggerates the mood of the weather, such as “The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean.”
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Emily Dickenson has used imagery in this poem, such as “Across a Barn or through a Rut”, “A Narrow Wind complains all Day” and “Nature, like Us, is sometimes caught/Without her Diadem.”
Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The writer has used this device in the opening lines of the poem where she calls nature mean and low such as; “The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet compares clouds to humans in the very first line of the poem, such as “The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean.”
Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. The poet personified nature in the poem, such as “A Narrow Wind complains all Day.”
Simile: It is a device used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. Emily Dickinson used this device in the second stanza of the poem, such as “Nature, like Us, is sometimes caught.”
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as expression, comparison, similarities, and imagination.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean

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 descriptive diction having rhetorical devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in this poem with each comprising four verses.

Quote to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote during lectures and debates while talking about nature and its relevance to mankind.