The Railway Train by 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.

Activity
In this activity, you will analyze the literal and figurative meaning of Emily Dickinson's poem "The Railway Train."

Part A
Summarize the literal meaning of "The Railway Train."

Part B
What are the structure and rhyme scheme of the poem?

Part C
Discuss the speaker of the poem and what the speaker appears to be doing. Also, identify where or when the first-person pronoun is used in the poem.

Part D
Discuss the relationship between sound devices and imagery in “The Railway Train.”

Part E
Note any symbolism, similes, and/or metaphors you find in the poem.

Part F
What do you think the poem’s deeper meaning is? How is the Industrial Revolution significant to the poem?