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 ease as a Star
Abolish his Captivity --
And laugh -- No more have I --
The word that poses the most questions for me in the above poem is the word PROSE. This first line does not seem to fit with the rest of the poem, but of course it has to fit, it is the first line! But what does she mean by "they shut me up in Prose"? The rest of the poem seems to be speaking about being confined, yet finding a way to break that confined state. So is the whole poem about her finding a way to break away from prose? It would seem to me that as a writer prose would be the least confining as there are no meter or rhyme scheme requirements for prose, so how could someone be "shut up in prose"? Perhaps she is referring to not being able to write anything else but prose...was she shut up in prose because she was not permitted to write poetry? And the rest of the poem is about how she broke away from prose and wrote whatever she wanted anyways? Is this why she often wrote in private, why she didnt publish her poetry while alive? There are more question marks in this blog than periods so as you can see this word is boggling my mind and leaving me with more questions than answers. Sorry I could not have been of more help in answering these questions but hopefully they have given you some good things to think about in regards to this poem.
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