"Nature" is what We see –

“Nature” is what We see –
The Hill – the Afternoon –
Squirrel – Eclipse – the Bumble bee –
Nay – Nature is Heaven –

“Nature” is what We hear –
The Bobolink – the Sea –
Thunder – the Cricket –
Nay – Nature is Harmony –

“Nature” is what We know –
Yet have no Art to say –
So impotent Our Wisdom is
To Her Sincerity – 
                            721 (1863)

Emily Dickinson wrote many definition poems in her life time. The common theme with this format of her poems was the constant rewriting of whatever the topic truly was. Here, we see Dickinson struggling to nail down what she thinks nature really is. She starts with the most obvious explanation that nature is something we can see. She lists off examples of this visual nature such as landscape and animals. Next, she adds on by saying that nature is what we hear. Again, she provides examples of this, like birds and storms. Finally, she seems to reach a better conclusion that nature is actually something we know but can’t fully articulate due to its powerful sincerity. In an alternate version of this poem, that final word is “Simplicity” instead, which adds an interesting layer to Dickinson’s final definition of nature. Sticking with that version would have created an irony in the idea that humanity couldn’t articulate nature despite, or maybe because of its simplicity.

Bobolink

The repetition of “Nay – Nature is” at the end of the first two stanzas allows Dickinson to continue to explore her definition of nature. After amending her initial explanation of nature, she goes on to claim that we don’t only see nature, but we also hear and know it. This progression from simple sense experience to a more full and knowledgeable understanding of nature shows that despite nature’s simplicity, it is still hard for humans to grasp it. We know it but are unable to accurately capture and describe that knowledge; we “have no art to say.”

It’s interesting to note the change in how she presents the word “nature” throughout the poem. In the opening line of each stanza, she places it in scare quotes to emphasize that nature is something that we simply see, hear, and know. The quotes here imply that she has yet to reach her final explanation of what nature really is. There seems to be a sense of doubt with the quotes that show she is still working through her thought process. The capitalization of “We” adds in an emphasis on human understanding of nature. In the last line of each stanza, she corrects that by removing the “We” and the scare quotes around nature, trying to focus in on a more objective truth.

The long e vowel sounds in the rhyme scheme of this poem work to make it flow more smoothly and create a feeling of Dickinson’s natural thought progression. The rhymes keep the poem uplifted and give readers the sense of the “Sincerity” that Dickinson describes. She also uses a lot of shorter, monosyllabic words that support this idea of nature’s simplicity that cannot fully be encapsulated by art.