19 pages • 38 minutes read
Emily DickinsonA Clock stopped—
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1896A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Hubris of Healers
It is natural when someone dies to wish for their resurrection, even while knowing that this is an impossibility. In “A Clock Stopped—” the speaker zeroes in on a breaking clock as a metaphor for this idea. In the poem, the slow stopping of the mechanism symbolizes a person dying. The clock “quiver[s] out of Decimals” (Line 8) and land[s] on the marker of 12 o’clock, or “Degreeless noon” (Line 9). The death, the speaker indicates through this symbolism, is permanent. While other clocks might be mended, this one cannot be.
The speaker in “A Clock Stopped—” leaves life-and-death decisions up to God, or another vast “Him” (Line 18). They are not a believer in human miracles. Their acceptance of the divine decision for the life of the clock to be done is contrasted with others in the poem who second guess the will of God and/or the permanence of death. This suggests the idea of man’s hubris in attempting to resurrect the body by either persuasive words or science. That resurrection—or fixing the mechanism of the clock—is paramount to the Geneva watchmaker, of “farthest skill” (Line 3), the “Doctor” (Line 10), and the “Shopman” (Line 12), who all try their hand at making the clock right. They attempt to fix the clock, respectively, by craft, medicine, and persuasive speech. All fail. In a similar way, one might try to fix an ill person by prayer, medical attention, or positive thinking.
The speaker notes their futility. The broken “Pendulum” (Line 11) will not “stir for Doctors” (Line 10). When the shopkeeper cajoles it, assuming it will work, the action is called “Decades of Arrogance” (Line 16). It is only the Divine, the named “Him” (Line 18), who gets to choose the end of the “Dial life” (Line 17). The speaker draws to the forefront how certain people may perceive themselves as being more in control of fate than they actual can be, particularly when it comes to death. In other words, just God, according to the speaker, makes the decision of when a human being leaves this mortal coil.
The Timing of Death
Even the quickest death requires the stoppage of the life force of the body, which physiologically takes time. In “A Clock Stopped—,” the speaker details the small, slow ending of this specific human, as represented by the stoppage of the timepiece.
The clock in the poem stops slowly, a fact revealed in the second stanza, which acts as a flashback from the first stanza when the clock is revealed as moving. Chronologically, therefore, the “awe came on the Trinket!” is the first thing that occurs. An “awe” can be conceived as a moment of dread, wonder, or stillness, perhaps a sudden awareness that something has shifted or is amiss. As a result, the “Figures hunched—with pain” (Line 7). In imagery from the first stanza, the consequence is that the “the puppet” (Line 4) who once had been “bowing” (Line 4) “just now” (Line 5) droops to rest. However, between the moment of arrest and the moment of stoppage are several smaller steps.
When the body dies, it takes a while for the synapses to stop firing in the brain and the organs to stop working like a clock that “quiver[s] out of Decimals” (Line 8). The body may or may not have convulsive movements as the final breaths are expelled. The “Dial life” (Line 17) eventually ends when the hands come to a “Degreeless noon” (Line 9) and the pendulum no longer swings. The body’s final embrace of death occurs when the heart no longer beats and it stills completely. Here, this is echoed by the “cool – concernless No” (Line 13) that comes from any effort to move the hands on the clock’s face.
The Clock’s Resistance
“A Clock Stopped—” is primarily about death and how the breaking down of any mechanism is fated by a Supreme Being rather than human choice. No expert can revive the clock after its death, the speaker informs us. While this is the poem’s primary focus, the speaker also brings to the forefront the idea that the clock is resistant to being fixed. The clock/person is done with whatever it is supposed to be beholden to, precipitating their breakdown. They are particularly done with the manipulative efforts of the “Shopman” (Line 12) in the last stanza of the poem.
There is a subtle suggestion to the reader to sympathize with the clock over the seller who “importunes it” (Line 12). “No [more]” (Line 13), says the clock’s “Gilded pointers” (Line 14) and “Seconds slim” (Line 15). Here there is a definite idea that the shopkeeper has worked steadily to demand that the clock perform. His “Decades of Arrogance” (Line 16) suggest that this strategy of harassment has motivated the clock/human for years. Now, the clock resists by stopping.
In some versions of the poem, “Can’t” (Line 4) is spelled Cant. This changes the meaning of the lines of the second stanza and enhances the image of the shopkeeper’s “importun[ing]” (Line 12). Cant is defined as hypocritical religious or political talk. In this version of the poem, the line is “Cant put the puppet bowing” (Line 4). This type of language/speech is the reason for the puppet’s bobbling out of whack. Perhaps, too, the “awe” (Line 6) the clock/human feels is the realization that these directive sermons do not need to be followed forever. Some critics have connected the Shopkeeper’s imploring with the sermons of Calvinist theological leaders that Dickinson rejected.
When the “Figures [hunch] – with pain –” (Line 7), perhaps they are tired and hurt from their “Dial life” (Line 17) routine as dictated by the shopkeeper’s demands. This may suggest a reason why the “puppet” (Line 4) decides to droop in his/her position before giving up the ghost. Perhaps it was sick of “bowing” (Line 4) in a subservient fashion and is finally able to resist, “cool [and] concernless” (Line 13) instead, knowing that a comforting Christ-like “Him” (Line 18) awaits.
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By Emily Dickinson
