Theme of Sight in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko and Emily Dickinson’s This World is not Conclusion Essay Sample

📌Category: Books, Entertainment, Literature, Music
📌Words: 876
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 10 April 2022

This essay explores the theme of sight in Aphra Behn and Emily Dickinson. I will interpret sight as a theory of perspective. In both extracts sight is visible as the writers explore the paradox of life and death, both linking death to the theory of the unknown, and how there is always more than what meets the eye. Whilst Behn explores the effect of perspective and perceived knowledge in relation to this theory, Dickinson questions the very concept of life and death. In this essay, through close analysis of both texts, I will argue that both Behn and Dickinson present the theme of sight through the irony in finality. 

In both extracts the writers analyse a paradox of meaning. In the extract from Oroonoko, Behn’s description of Caesar and Clemene’s reunion centers around the theory of the unknown, and perspective and perceived knowledge. Incorporating the theme of sight pertaining to the characters’ unexpected reunion, and the revelation of Imoinda’s existence, I interpreted sight to be in relation to what the characters, and the reader could not see. Oroonoko’s abstinence from sexual relations or romance after Imoinda’s ‘death’ as he was ‘proof against all charms of that sex’, and that if he ‘could be so perfidious to love again after Imoinda, he believed he should tear it from his bosom.’  As with Clemene, who, ‘as if she had resolved never to raise her eyes to the face of a man again, bent ‘em more to the Earth when he spoke’, neither of the characters expected to see each other again, and so resolved to never love any person again. Behn expresses the irony in their blindness, as they were blinded by the King, who led Oroonoko to believe his love was dead. Blinded by true love, Oroonoko believed Imoinda was dead, and so lived his life accordingly, when Imoinda was in fact alive, except with a new identity. By highlighting that Oroonoko simply believed that Imoinda was dead, Behn could be interpreted as to propose a philosophical question to her reader, as if Imoinda’s death is simply perspective and manipulation of sight, is death as a concept defined by perspective. It commences a paradox of meaning, as if individual knowledge, or perceived knowledge is not based on fact, but on perceived fact, then fact is only given meaning by individual thought and influence. 

This links to Emily Dickinson's analysis of the ‘paradox of meaning’ in relation to life and death in the extract from ‘This World is not Conclusion’. Dickinson similarly explores the irony of finality, by theorising the meaning of ‘being’ and of knowledge and perspective themselves. Throughout the extract, Dickinson uses contrasting lexical fields to highlight the debate between fact and belief, or science and religion. Using scientific lexis which connotes knowledge and definitive wisdom such as ‘species’, ‘sagacity’ and ‘scholars’, to juxtapose ‘music’, ‘riddle’, and ‘faith’, which connote artistic expression and religious or spiritual beliefs, Dickinson incorporates sight into her poem through questioning knowledge. The use of ‘music’ is especially striking, as it connotes art and freedom of expression, which suggests to the reader that Dickinson sees a certain beauty in life and death with its inconformity and fluidity, and that by trying to define death, we are simultaneously taking the beauty out of life. In the title of the extract, ‘This World is not Conclusion’, Dickinson emits the prefix before conclusion, foregrounding her philosophical premise that no level of knowledge, or perceived knowledge, can define death, which therefore means life can also not be defined, as life and death are linear. Sight is evident as a theme in this extract as Dickinson argues that through ‘contempt of generations' and a feeling that ‘nibbles at the soul’, death cannot be defined through reasoning or belief, its definition is created by each individual person, based on perspective and personal insight.  

Behn’s presentation of the irony in death, is evidenced by the use of imagery, a literal interpretation of the theme sight. Behn romanticises, through nature imagery, that Oroonoko’s life is incomplete with Imoinda’s love, saying that her beauty ‘called forth his soul...and left his body destitute of almost life’. The syntactical structure employed by Behn reflects the fluidity of love and life that Imoinda brings him, as ‘the minute he saw her face, her shape, her hair, her modesty’, he comes alive and finds himself once more. The repetitive sentence structure also aids in creating cohesion when reading, creating a melodic rhythm to the extract. This is also reflected in the nature lexis used, such as ‘earth’ and ‘creature’, which suggests that their love is fluid, and comes naturally to the both of them. Love and life are harmonious. 

Similarly, Dickinson explores the harmony between life and death in her extract, as they are not conclusive, but a never-ending cycle of life. Dickinson creates a highly disparaging tone about the ‘philosophy’ that ‘baffles’ and ‘puzzles scholars’, which emphasises her mockery of the people who try and define death with facts and ‘sagacity’. Interpreted by the theme of sight, she undermines this constant need strive for knowledge and fact in humanity and aims to highlight the beauty which comes from the fluidity and boundlessness of human life and death. This also suggests a social criticism from Dickinson, a criticism of modern life and the obsessive science and overbearing control which dictates modern life, which eradicates the beauty which Dickinsons argues that there is in life’s uniqueness and fluidity. This supports Dickinsons overarching narrative, which observes that the irony in finality, is that death is portrayed as the ‘ultimate end’, a dark sinister end to life, whereas Dickinson argues that death is simply a beautiful continuation of life, and finality is determined by perspective. 

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