No+Rack+Can+Torture+Me-Poem+Analysis

No Rack can torture me --
 * No Rack Can Torture Me ****by Emily Dickinson **

 My Soul -- at Liberty --

 Behind this mortal Bone

 There knits a bolder One --

 You cannot prick with saw --

 Nor pierce with Scimitar --

 Two Bodies -- therefore be --

 Bind One -- The Other fly --

 The Eagle of his Nest

 No easier divest --

 And gain the Sky

 Than mayest Thou --

 Except Thyself may be

 Thine Enemy --

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> Captivity is Consciousness --

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> So's Liberty.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> This captivating poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) has many theories as to why it was written. It is said by historians that Dickinson had always been fascinated by torture and death. Some say it is because she was bitter because she never married, but it is known that Dickinson was obsessed with death since childhood, because of some psychological complexities. It is said that she liked writing about starvation because she herself was thin and frail. She also writes about loss because of her own losses.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> I personally believe that this poem perfectly captures the meaning of the Salem Witch Trials. The immediate exclamation of “No rack can torture me” shows her resistance towards being weak. She doesn’t give up and let herself be tormented. This behavior is like that of the convicts during the Salem Witch Trials who stuck by their stories, continually saying they weren’t witches, they were innocent.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> First verse: The first line already shows the strength of the victim of torture. She proclaims that no one will be able to torture her. This is just like what the convicted victims of the Salem Witch Trials said. None of them admitted to being witches, no matter how much they were tortured. Then she says that her soul is at liberty. Liberty represents many things, including control, independence and power. The victims of the trials kept their control throughout their long and hard convictions. When she says the third and fourth lines, it means that she may be just a human, but inside she is strong, just like those who had pain inflicted upon them and still resisted giving up.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Second verse: I believe this verse says that no matter what you do, you won’t be able to fully kill her. She says two bodies are bound together. I believe the second body is actually her soul inside of her. Our souls portray all of our secrets openly, so when she says you cannot reach her soul, it means you cannot reach her secrets. This verse is much like the first verse in its meaning towards the trials.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Third verse: This verse strays from the theme of the first two verses. She uses an eagle to represent herself and says that you will not be able to strip the eagle down completely before the eagle takes off into the sky. This verse actually is the opposite of the Salem Witch Trials. Whereas the eagle can fly away into freedom before all his secrets are spilled, the victims of the trials were killed before they could defend themselves. However, when it says the eagle flies away, it gives off a meaning of freedom. I suppose the victims finally reached their freedoms when they died and left this world for a better one.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Fourth verse: This last verse is like the third one because of its meaning of freedom. In this verse, it is said that the victim of the torture knows who their enemy, or torturer, is because the torturer is keeping them conscious of their surroundings and of the reason they are being tortured. However, it is also stated that while they are being held hostage to the torture, they not only are conscious, but are also well aware of the liberty, or freedom, with which they are about to be granted. The victims of the tortures during the Salem Witch Trials were probably aware that they weren’t going to get out alive, and so, they welcomed the freedom that death offered.