Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers Summary and Analysis: 2022

Emily Dickinson- The brilliance of the great American poet, Emily Dickinson, lies in her nontraditional writing style, her unconventional themes of death & immortality, her treatment of time and her extraordinary awareness and understanding of human emotions and feelings.
Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers- “Safe In their Alabaster Chambers” is a poem penned down by Emily Dickinson and follows the theme, recurring in most of her works, of death portrayed as friendly, but at the same time is also representative of Emily’s religious beliefs & values.

Setting of Safe In their Alabaster Chambers-

This lyric poem is set in the rhythm of a natural speech conveying the poet’s feelings and is representative of her views on Christianity’s notions of death and the eternal peace.

Poetic Devices in Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers-

Alliteration: “Rafter of satin and Roof of stone”/ “Sleep the meek members of the”/ “Soundless as dots on a disk of snow”/ “alabaster chambers”
Anaphora- “Untouched by morning and untouched by noon”
Metaphor- “Safe in their alabaster chambers…Sleep the meek members”- Here, the tombs where the dead bodies lie are compared to bedrooms.
Metonymy- Metonymy refers to the figure of speech which is a type of a metaphor where an object is used to describe something closely related to it, or as a substitute for referring relatable things. In “Diadems drop”, Diadems meaning crowns has been used to represent rulers.

Summary of Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers-

The poem is representative of Emily’s views on the Christianity and the religious notion that faithfulness in Christ provides eternal peace and death becomes a medium of friendly and resolute departure to the home of God. In the first stanza, the poet metaphorically compares the “alabaster chambers” or the tombs where the dead lie to a bedroom. The poet says that the loyal believers of resurrected Christ lie safely in their “alabaster chambers” that is their tombs, lying serenely unaware of the outside life and above them is the satin stone roof. In the second stanza, the poet explains the notions of calmness and peaceful unawareness experienced by the dead. The poet says that the Christians sleep in their tomb safely, unaware of the passage of the grand times. Through the fall and rise of great kings and their kingdoms, nothing resonates with them or their eternal bliss.

Critical Analysis of Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers-

“Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers” by Emily Dickinson is a lyric poem representing the poet’s Christian beliefs and sentiments, portraying death as a friendly medium towards the achievement of eternal serenity. This poem strengthens the readers’ belief in the notion of true Christianity and the religion’s teaching of faithfulness and loyalty towards Christ. Emily portrays the serenity achieved by the blessed after their death and their eternal connection with the Almighty.

Tone of Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers-

The tone of the poem is calm and yet assertive in the sense of representing the strength in one’s belief. The theme is the portrayal of Death as a path towards God’s home.
Conclusion- “Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers” is a magnificent poem that undoubtedly strengthens the readers’ belief on Christianity and Christ.