Two Butterflies Went Out at Noon
Two Butterflies went out at Noon—
And waltzed above a Farm—
Then stepped straight through the Firmament
And rested on a Beam—And then—together bore away
Upon a shining Sea—
Though never yet, in any Port—
Their coming mentioned—be—If spoken by the distant Bird—
If met in Ether Sea
By Frigate, or by Merchantman—
No notice—was—to me—
Summary of Two Butterflies Went Out at Noon
- Popularity of “Two Butterflies Went Out at Noon”: Published posthumously like several other notable poems, “Two Butterflies Went out at Moon,” too, came out in 1896. It occurred in series two of Emily Dickinson’s poems. The poem presents a novel idea of the butterfly as a symbol of transient beauty. The popularity of the poem rests on this symbolic idea of the butterfly and its beauty.
- “Two Butterflies Went Out At Noon” As a Representative of Natural Beauty: The speaker presents two butterflies, their flight as their waltz dance on the stream, their flight toward heaven, and their rest on the beam as a way to play with the beauty of nature and present it as a permanent presence. The poet continues with her flirtation with the same idea of two butterflies stating that they travel to the sea and may have gone to a seaport, but she did not hear anything about this. Then she concludes that even if somebody has talked about them, she has not heard about them as yet. The main idea, thus, seems to the speaker that this type of natural beauty exists only for a while and then takes its flight toward heaven.
- Major Themes in “Two Butterflies Went Out At Noon”: Nature, the beauty of nature, and a sense of carelessness are three major themes of this poem. The poet has beautifully depicted the beauty with the picture of two butterflies, their flight toward heaven and sea, and their resting place. However, in this flight, she is not oblivious to the idea of the beauty of nature that always exists and will exist. In the midst of this beauty, she knows that this beauty is transient and that we often ignore it as if we have never heard its name.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Two Butterflies Went Out At Noon
Emily Dickinson used various literary devices further polish her ideas to insert into her poem. Some of the major literary devices as they occur in this poem are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /o/ in “Two Butterflies went out at Noon—” and the sound of /e/ in “Though never yet, in any Port—.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /s/ in “shining sea” or “stepped straight.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “And then – together bore away” and the sound of /s/ in “If spoken by the distant Bird.”
- 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;
If spoken by the distant Bird—
If met in Ether Sea
By Frigate, or by Merchantman—
No notice—was—to me—
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Emily Dickinson uses imagery in this poem, such as “Upon a shining Sea— ”, “If spoken by the distant Bird—” and “By Frigate, or by Merchantman—.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The writer has the metaphor of butterflies to show the beauty of nature.
- 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 butterflies, beams, firmament, and sea for different things to show the beauty of nature and its transience.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Two Butterflies Went Out At Noon
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 and Tone: It means the language and the tone of the language. The poem shows formal language and an ambiguous tone.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABCB in its three stanzas except for the first one, which is unrhymed.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in this poem, with each comprising four verses.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote to show the beauty of nature.
Two Butterflies went out at Noon—
And waltzed above a Farm—
Then stepped straight through the Firmament
And rested on a Beam—
