"They shut me up in Prose" - Emily Dickinson

They shut me up in Prose –

As when a little Girl

They put me in the Closet –

Because they liked me “still”   –

Still! Could themself have peeped –

And seen my Brain – go round –

They might as wise have lodged a Bird

For Treason – in the Pound –

Himself has but to will--

And easy as a Star

Look down opon Captivity –

And laugh – No more have I –

   "They shut me up in Prose" seems to provide almost something of an origin story to Emily Dickinson's poetic career. The poem itself is fairly straightforward: it describes how when Dickinson was a child, she was often put in a closet to keep her quiet, and this is what led her to start writing. Aside from the obvious though, "They shut me up in Prose" also presents the idea of physical versus metal captivity. Even though young Emily was physically locked up in a closet, her captors had no control over the freedom of her mind, which manifested itself in her "Prose." It is not unlikely even that she only came to this realization because of her time trapped in a closet, which doubtless gave her a great deal of time to think and reflect.

--Wald der Frei