I Like To See It Lap The Miles – Emily Dickinson

I like to see it lap the miles
Emily Dickinson
I like to see it lap the miles,
And lick the valleys up,
And stop to feed itself at tanks;
And then, prodigious, step

Around a pile of mountains,
And, supercilious, peer
In shanties by the sides of roads;
And then a quarry pare

To fit its sides, and crawl between,
Complaining all the while
In horrid, hooting stanza;
Then chase itself down hill

And neigh like Boanerges;
Then, punctual as a star,
Stop–docile and omnipotent–
At its own stable door.

Biography of Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family’s house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.
Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime. The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson’s poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson’s writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily’s younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson’s work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content. A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet

Summary

Line 1
I like to see it lap the Miles —
• The speaker admires the speed and stamina of – what exactly? She only says that she likes to see “it” as it travels.
• The double-edged verb used here, “lap,” immediately brings to mind two different actions. The speaker could either be describing a racehorse, flying through the laps of a racetrack for mile, or a cat, languidly lapping up miles like milk.
• Either way, something is moving across a landscape – fast.
 
Line 2
And lick the Valleys up —
• Going off of the second meaning of “lap” in line 1, the image of the mystery animal “lick[ing] the valleys up” follows on this theme of eating and consumption. “It” is eager to eat up (metaphorically speaking) the distance it covers.
Line 3
And stop to feed itself at Tanks —
• A final, eating-related metaphor appears here, as the mystery creature “stop[s] to feed itself at tanks” (3).
• Hmm. “Tanks”? What kinds of animals eat out of “tanks”? We’re really starting to wonder what “it” really is.
Line 4-5
And then — prodigious step
Around a Pile of Mountains —
• After its pit stop, the creature goes onward, to step effortlessly around mountains – not just one, but a “pile.”
• Again, we wonder what this thing is; it’s large enough to require tanks of food, and to skip lightly around mountain ranges. It’s certainly no real animal…
Lines 6-7
And supercilious peer
In Shanties — by the sides of Roads —
• The creature “superciliously” (that is, haughtily or condescendingly) looks into the ramshackle buildings by the roadside.
• Notably, the speaker doesn’t say anything about what it sees there. Why do you think that is?
Lines 8-10
And then a Quarry pare
To fit its Ribs
And crawl between
• It “crawls” through a narrow tunnel or passage in the mountainous terrain.
• Some of the words here are a bit strange. We’ll help you out.
• “Paring” is a word you’ve probably heard before. Ever used a “paring knife” to “pare” (cut) up a piece of fruit?
• “Quarry” is a place where stone is cut from the ground.
• “Paring” a “quarry” makes it sound as though the thing slices through rock as effortlessly as a knife through an apple.
Lines 11-12
Complaining all the while
In horrid — hooting stanza —
• The mystery creature whines horribly as it moves through the rock, making a loud ruckus.
• Check out the use of the word “stanza.” It makes us think of stanzas of poetry, which have a rhythmic quality. It seems like the horrible sounds coming from this thing are rhythmic too.
Line 13
Then chase itself down Hill —
• Freed from the tunnel, it eagerly goes downhill. This line has a light, playful quality.
• But it also raises more questions about what the heck this thing is. How can something “chase itself”?
Line 14
And neigh like Boanerges —
• The creature lets out a rumbling cry, or “neigh,” which reminds us of its horse-like qualities from the first lines.
• The speaker compares it to Boanerges, a somewhat Biblical name that means “son of thunder,” and generally refers to a booming, loud preacher or public speaker.
Lines 15-17
Then — punctual as a Star
Stop — docile and omnipotent
At its own stable door —
• At last, the creature stops, right on time, and placidly returns to its home, or “stable” (another horse reference to bear in mind).
• What can this mysterious, super-powerful animal be? It’s up to you, dear reader, to figure that out from all of these clues – Dickinson never comes right out and gives an answer.
Symbol Analysis
 Animals
Though sleuth-like readers will soon figure out that the mystery creature referred to here is actually a train, Dickinson uses an extended metaphor to depict the train as a kind of super-powerful, foreign animal. This reminds readers that the train moves through the natural world, but doesn’t belong to it. The train is personified with various creaturely traits; as we read it, we might compare it to a whole menagerie of different animals. However, all of these familiar characteristics eventually only make this manmade beast seem all the more strange and extraordinary.
• Lines 1-4: The train-animal (tranimal?) is obviously a ravenous one; it doesn’t simply travel along, but rather gobbles up miles and valleys, before feeding itself (that is, refueling).
• Lines 11-12: The train is a vocal creature, and the description of its complaints in “horrid—hooting stanza” (12) emphasize its wildness and incomprehensibility. The alliteration here (“horrid,” “hooting”) highlights the uncivilized quality of its speech; think of an owl hooting creepily in a dark forest, or hyenas laughing wildly.
• Line 13: There’s a kind of fun, puppy-like quality to this line; the train “chase[s] itself downhill” the way a playful pup might chase its tail.
• Lines 14-17: Here, the train is a horse. It neighs loudly and returns peacefully to its stable. The simile Dickinson employs in line 14 is also a bonus Biblical allusion (“Boanerges” is an Aramaic nickname that Jesus once gave two of his vociferous disciples. It means “sons of thunder”).
Furthermore, Dickinson’s crisp alliteration (“star,” “stop,” “stable”) brings a kind of clipped precision to this stanza, kind of like a horse trotting briskly home.

 Consumption (eating, drinking)
The general theme of the first stanza is eating and drinking – the train is a ravenously hungry creature, and as it travels, it consumes and consumes. There’s some interesting mixed feelings here; while the speaker claims to “like” watching it, the hungry animal is a little menacing in its devouring path through the countryside. We’re not sure what exactly to make of it…but maybe that doesn’t matter. After all, the personified train is capable of eating all it wants, without our permission (it can even feed itself without human help, apparently, as we see in line 3).
• Lines 1-2: The speaker announces that she enjoys the way the train eats up the landscape – the alliteration here (“like,” “lap,” “lick”) implies the speaker savors her view of the train the way that the train savors its consumption of the miles and valleys.
• Line 3: The creature “stop[s] to feed itself at tanks” – literally, to refuel itself for the journey ahead. What’s interesting about this image is the idea that the train feeds itself, rather than being fed by human caretakers.

 Astronomy/Celestial Bodies
While this concept only shows up very briefly in the poem’s final stanza, it strikes us as an interesting one. Dickinson’s comparison of the train to living, earthly creatures (like a horse) puts it in the frame of our environment and our natural world, but this last comparison to a star makes the train seem otherworldly, as though it has a kind of alien life of its own.
• Line 15: The simile comparing the train to a star speaks again to its power; the trains moving along the railway are a manmade equivalent to the celestial bodies (sun, planets, stars) that move predictably through the heavens. The train is “punctual as a star” – which is to say, as punctual (steady and on time) as the most reliable thing in our known universe.
 Speaker Point of View
• Who is the speaker, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?
• The speaker in this riddle is even more mysterious than the subject of the riddle itself. We figure out that she’s talking about a train (“she” being an arbitrary gender assignment) – but who is doing the talking? We have no idea.
• “I like to see it lap the Miles” presents us with a rather extreme version of what we call the “Lyric I,” a nifty term for the unnamed speaker – you know, “I” – in a lyric poem. This mysterious “I” isn’t exactly a character, and may or may not even be a person. Here, all we know is that the speaker is a keen observer, who’s watching the train as it courses through the landscape.
• The speaker’s feelings are ambiguous, and seem intentionally unclear; the opening declaration that “I like to see it lap the Miles” (1) is kind of a red herring. In fact, though the speaker declares that she/he/it “likes” to watch the train, the rest of the poem seems to imply that this admiration is also tinged with unease. Whatever or whoever “I” happens to be isn’t quite so sure what to make of this newfangled invention, and it’s this feeling of ambiguity that’s the most important characteristic of the speaker.
The theme
Theme of Power
In the nineteenth century, the newfangled steam engine was a byword for power. Just imagine living in a world without planes, trains, and automobiles, where the fastest thing going was a speedy horse. Suddenly, the steam train shows up – and everything is different. “I like to see it lap the Miles” captures both the beauty and the menace of this new technology by emphasizing just how strong and mighty it is. After all, something powerful enough to devour landscapes and plow through mountains is certainly deserving of careful observation and meditation. What makes this new “creature” especially fascinating is the fact that it’s manmade – and this child of industry far surpasses its human parents in strength.
Questions About Power
1. The train is described as “docile and omnipotent” in line 16. What do you make of this odd juxtaposition of traits?
2. The final stanza compares the train to thunder (“Boanerges” means “sons of thunder”) and a star. What do these similes imply about this manmade force?
3. In your opinion, do you think the speaker depicts that train as the most powerful thing in the world she describes, or is there something else that might challenge it?
4. Do you think the train’s immense power makes it scary or admirable? Both? Neither?
Theme of Man and the Natural World
The train itself may be the star of “I love to see it lap the Miles,” but we shouldn’t forget about the supporting actors – valleys and mountains that serve as the backdrop to the poem. By framing the unnatural creature, the steam train, in natural terms and in a natural setting, Dickinson forces us to contemplate its unnatural nature, if you catch our drift. And, while manmade creation and the natural world coexist uneasily in the poem, there’s something missing. Did you notice how, except for the disembodied “I” of the speaker, there are no people to be found? The marked absence of humans immediately tips us off to the fact that the relationship between “man and the natural world” is something we ought to be thinking about.
Questions About Man and the Natural World
1. What do you make of the total absence of human beings in this poem?
2. What does the natural world, as described by the speaker, look like?
3. Why do you think the speaker chooses to describe the train in such lively, animal-like terms?
Theme of Admiration
Have you ever really admired someone – a friend, a teacher, a celebrity – but had the uneasy feeling that, try though you may, you just might not like them very much? You know, you respect this person and all, but you just can’t feel totally comfortable around him or her. That’s kind of how the speaker in “I like to see it lap the Miles” feels about the object of her admiration, the powerful railway train. Sure, she’s all about its effortless movement and amazing feats of strength, but there’s still something that feels a little off…she can’t exactly say what. The poem is a little shady and ambiguous, and demonstrates the fact that there’s a fine line between admiration and fear.
Questions About Admiration
1. How serious is the speaker being when she says “I like to see it lap the Miles”? What does the rest of the poem imply about this sentiment?
2. Aside from admiration, what other feelings do we see towards the train in this poem?
3. What kinds of terms does the speaker use to describe the train? Are they all positive or admirable?
Theme of Technology and Modernization
Though “I like to see it lap the Miles” doesn’t overtly engage with the question of technology and modernization, it’s definitely lurking in the background. This poem is a riddle to readers, just as new technology is a riddle to onlookers. After all, back in Dickinson’s day, the railroad was brand new, and it wasn’t exactly clear what its future impact on everyday life would be. After we puzzle out what the speaker is describing (a train), we might also think about the bigger questions being asked here: What is the train doing? How does it interact with the familiar world around it? How does this strange and unfamiliar beast change the world as it passes through it?
Questions About Technology and Modernization
1. We’ve talked about man’s relation to the natural world – how does the speaker describe man’s relation to this human creation in the poem?
2. The speaker describes the train as “supercilious” (6) when it looks into human habitations (“shanties”). How does this position technology in relation to mankind?
3. The train is described as a domesticated creature, yet it also seems to have a mind of its own. What do you make of the implication that the train is somehow in charge of its own actions?