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2.3 There Is Another Sky

The poem 'There Is Another Sky' by Emily Dickinson expresses concern for her brother, suggesting he return from a gloomy place to a hopeful and serene environment. It contrasts dark, lonely imagery with a vibrant, welcoming garden, symbolizing opportunities and encouragement. The poem conveys a message of hope and the importance of focusing on the brighter aspects of life.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
78 views5 pages

2.3 There Is Another Sky

The poem 'There Is Another Sky' by Emily Dickinson expresses concern for her brother, suggesting he return from a gloomy place to a hopeful and serene environment. It contrasts dark, lonely imagery with a vibrant, welcoming garden, symbolizing opportunities and encouragement. The poem conveys a message of hope and the importance of focusing on the brighter aspects of life.
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2.

3 There is Another Sky


Appreciation
1. About the poem:
The poem ‘There Is Another Sky’ by Emily Dickinson, is one of concern for her brother.
It indicates that he is away elsewhere and may be going through dark times. The poet
speaks of a better place, hopeful and cheering to which she suggests he should come
back. The words inspire hope and encouragement to return.
2. Theme:
The theme is one of comparison of two places. One is gloomy, dim, colorless and
lonely. The poet’s brother may be in a place like this. She describes a serene and
evergreen little forest under ‘another sky’ with fresh flowers and humming bees. It is
untouched by frost, and she tells him to come here. Another sky means there are other
opportunities that are waiting for Austin. He should not get depressed by his failure.
3. Poetic style, language, poetic devices used in the poem:
The poem is a Petrarchan/Italian sonnet. The octave describes the cold, faded forest
while the sestet speaks of the warm welcoming place, the poet’s little garden. This
kind of sonnet may have the rhyme scheme of – abba, abba, cdecde, cdcdcd. There
may be variation also. In this poem the rhyme is apparent clearly in several instances
and is slanted in other cases. Dickinson often used slant rhyme. This means that
sometimes the words at the line-end do not rhyme exactly but only approximately.
4. Special features:
When the poet refers to ‘Another sky’ and ‘Another sunshine’, the reader could
interpret it as another world. One wonders if the poet is describing Heaven where it
is always serene, green, and frost has not touched, the flowers which never fade. The
idea is only hinted at, and we cannot be sure.
5. Message/values/morals in the poem:
The poem could be a message of hope. It is a poem to entice the poet’s brother back
home. It is a message to her brother who is away and who would encourage him not
to give up, in case he was in despair. This shows the poet was concerned about the
well-being of her sibling.
6. My opinion about the poem:
The poem is short and is not difficult to understand. But there seem to be layers of
meaning- the immediately obvious meaning and then the figurative interpretation if
we look more deeply.

Chapter 2.3: There is Another Sky

• Life is an amalgam of happy and sad moments. Think of such moments in your life,
pair with your classmate, and share both the aspects of life.
Happy Moments Sad Moments

1. Winning the first prize in a competition Losing your mobile, bicycle, or wallet
2. Learning a new language/art. Losing someone close to you.
3. Spending time with your family on a vacation. Fighting over petty matters and
hurting your loved ones.

• Discuss with your partner and find proverbs, idioms, or phrases of similar meaning to
the one given and fill them in the stars given below:

Ans: 1. All's well that ends well.


2. He who falls today may rise tomorrow.
3. Blessing in disguise.

• When we look at the sky, we find several objects. They stand for something or the
other. Complete the following table by finding the significance of the given objects.
One example is given to you.

Celestial Bodies association


The Sun Power, Heat, Energy, Commitment, etc.
The Moon the Rainbow
The Stars Celestial Bodies

Ans: The Sun - Power, Heat, Energy, Commitment, etc.


The Moon - Beauty, purity, calmness, youthfulness, etc.
The Rainbow - Happiness, promise, equality, peace, spirituality, etc
The Stars - Guidance, protection, dreams, good luck, eternity, etc.

• Colours mentioned in the hexagons given below are associated with something or
the other. Discuss with your partner and fill in the blanks.

Ans: blue – tranquillity; gloom


pink – innocence; compassion
yellow – happiness; joy
red – danger; anger
black – power; mystery; darkness.

• Imagine your younger sister is not paying attention to her studies and is seen
wasting time playing games on her cell-phone. Suggest some ways that will help her
to concentrate on her studies and overcome her bad habit.
Ans: Ways to concentrate on studies & Overcome her bad habits:
Put your cell-phone away while studying.
Maintain a schedule with properly sketched out study hours for each subject. Don't re-read
as it leads to boredom.
Take short breaks in between after every 3-4 hours of study. It refreshes your mind and
helps to concentrate better. Don't extend the break to more than 10 minutes.
Simplify broad concepts into pointers to remember them better.
I shall try my best to be friendly with her and give her company.
I shall gift her a drawing book and encourage her to draw and colour.

I shall take her out for a short time and let her play with the neighbours.
I shall take her to the garden and nourish the plants.

• You have noticed that many of your classmates are not interested in outdoor games
or participating in co-curricular activities. Discuss some ways in which they will be
encouraged to participate in activities.
Ans: Co-curricular activities play a major role in our lives. We should take part in it because:

They help to broaden our minds and keep us occupied.


They help to develop team-building skills.
They help us gain experience.
They help us to hone our skills and showcase our talents.

• The poet encourages her brother in the second part of the poem by telling him
about the brighter side of life. Discuss with your partner and make a list of the
expressions in the poem that mean encouragement.
Ans:
Brighter garden
not a frost has been
unfading flowers
bright bee hum

• The poem expresses feelings of serenity. Pick out expressions from the above poem
that express the same.
Ans: “…another sky, Ever serene and fair.”
“…another sunshine,”
“…a little forest, …leaf is ever green.”

“…brighter garden,”
“…unfading flowers, …the bright bee hum.”

• Compare and contrast the two opposing human feelings as expressed by the poet.

Ans: The poet has used expressions of gloominess and happiness in her poem. These
contrasting expressions are used to highlight the fact that there are two sides to life. Each
one of us has the choice to focus on what we desire. For instance, the poet describes a
happy garden and also the silent fields. She tells her brother not to focus on the silent fields.
We should think about the ideal nature of life and ignore the sorrow and sadness of this
physical world.
‘Never mind faded forests, Austin’. The word ‘faded’ means to become dim or faint. The
word describes the forests that have become faint or dim in appearance. Now go through
the poem again and complete the table.
Describing word Object Explanation
1. faded forests the forests have become faint or dim in
appearance.
2. silent fields The fields are lying barren and empty.
3. unfading flowers the flowers are vibrant and colourful.
4. bright bee the bee is lively and busy humming while at its
work.

• ‘I hear the bright bee hum.’ The poet has used the word ‘hum’ that indicates the
sound made by the bee. This is an example of Onomatopoeia. The poet has used
different figures of speech like alliteration, inversion, and hyperbole in the poem.
Identify them and pick out the lines accordingly.
Hyperbole
Ans: "Here is a little forest, whose leaf is evergreen;"

Explanation: Hyperbole - The statement has been exaggerated to make the 'little forest'
seem like a place where happiness is ever-lasting.
Alliteration
Ans: "In its unfading flowers,

“I hear the bright bee hum:"


Explanation: Alliteration - The sound of the letter 'b' has been repeated for a poetic effect.
Inversion:
Ans: "Here is a brighter garden, where not a frost has been;"

Ans: Inversion - The order of the words has been changed for a poetic effect. The correct
order should be “Where (there) has been no frost”.
• Imagine your friend is a table tennis champion who has won the semi-final in the
inter-collegiate championship. Due to overconfidence, she neither practices nor does
she take her opponent seriously. This may result in her losing the final. Suggest some
ways to make her aware of the importance of hard work and regular practice.
Ans: Hard work and regular practice are very important to win. It always pays off in the end.

Hard work teaches us not to give up until the end.


The saying – 'Practice makes a man perfect' stands true. It hones your skills.
Hard work helps us stay focused and disciplined.
Regular practice teaches us determination.

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