blog 2: There is no frigate like a book

Dickinson emphasizes the journey and travels you can experience without even moving a foot, all from a book. The poem begins with the descriptive word "frigate", saying that there is no frigate like a book. this shows that not only is the boat something like a sail boat or a small paddle boat, but it is a large brawny ship which will embark on a journey and journey to come. Dickinson continues her journey through your imagination by speaking of how we can be taken "lands away". the use of "coursers" is to show how our imagination can even include something like a horse. the symbolism of a horse continues on the next line as "prancing poetry" speaks of the poetry which uses the word "prancing" to describe it. the importance of that is that the word prancing is used to refer to horses in their prowess and bold stance, and when used to describe poetry it emphasizes the prowess of the poetry and language.

the poem shifts to talking about the cost of the journey, which is free. the word "traverse" is used rather than travel to give the reader a sense of traveling all of the lands and the universe. when the word traverse is read in this context, it sticks out as a more descriptive word showing the essence of a vast expanse of lands. Traverse also shows how the imagination can travel the entire universe in a matter of seconds and embark on a journey to anywhere rather than just traveling there. The point of the word traverse also ties in with the discussion of the poor being able to take the journey. usually a poor person couldn't afford to travel anywhere except on foot but through a book, not only can they travel, they can traverse the entire world. The following line continues the talk about the poor being able to traverse in the story, without the "oppress" of toll. This means that the poor can travel anywhere for free using their imagination. Oppress is used in context to show how the poor are able to traverse without the burdening or weighing down of having no money.

The final two lines summarize and elaborate upon the overall point of the poem. the word "frugal" is used to represent something inexpensive yet still very useful,and it describes the "chariot". The chariot is a symbol of the book, it is a majestic stately carriage; The word chariot matches the use of the book perfectly, as the book is a majestic carriage for ones imagination to take you anywhere you want to go in the most luxurious and pristine manner possible. the final line is a continuance of the phrase above, "how frugal is the chariot that bears the human soul". the majestic carriage being the book, is what holds up or supports the human soul. this is another way of saying that a book is a very inexpensive and perfect way to hold up the imagination and feelings of our souls as humans.