Blood Covers the Landscape

Emily Dickinson’s poem The name-of it – is “Autumn” illustrates heavy images of the death of the soldiers during the Civil War. Independent of the other portrayals of the war, it captures the gruesome side of the war by depicting a landscape that is drenched with blood. She describes the landscapes hue as “blood, an artery upon the hill- a vein- along the road” (2-4). Contrary to Timrod’s description of the beauty of the Southern landscape, it is not exactly clear which landscape (whether North or South) that Dickinson is referring to yet it is quite clear that it wouldn’t even matter because the only color that stands out is the red from the blood of the soldiers. The image of the soldiers’ blood falling upon the landscape is described as the “spill the Scarlet Rain” (8).
Yet, amidst this grotesque imagery there is something serene or gentle about the narrator’s tone. The images of the fallen soldiers are contrasted to symbols of tranquility. For instance, she contrasts the blood shed from the soldiers’ bodies to bonnets when she writes: “It sprinkles Bonnets- far below” (9). This imagery is ironic because not only do the color of bonnets, which are white, contrast greatly to the bloody images, but bonnets symbolize purity, youth, and innocence. Although they are worn by young woman the bonnets are meant to symbolize the youthfulness and beauty of these dying young men that both sides are losing to the war. Supported with the image of the blood falling gently like a “shower of stain,” the innocence of these young men invokes a sense of sadness within. This image of blood raining upon the bonnets could also symbolize the losses of the young wives and mothers of the war as their husbands and sons are dying slowly. Even the movements portrayed within the poem convey the lingering and lengthy event of the battle. This battle is not portrayed as a quick fight between two sides, but the images support the idea that it is drawn out and parallels an image of young men gradually fading away. The flow “a vein – along the Road” seems slow in the same manner that the blood “gathers (in) ruddy Pools” (4, 10).
The effect of portraying the gradualism of the war is to truly reflect and oppose images of the war as just a historical event or tale. Like Horton, Dickinson aims to portray the essence of the war, not an event that is over-dramatized as a heroic tale. The narrator’s calm tone in describing this disastrous battle implies that the war is a dreadful event, but that it is a part of nature. Even the hue of the blood presented in the poem evokes a sense of peace, hope, and rebirth. The colors of red utilized such as scarlet, ruddy, and vermillion are reddish-orange in color which do not represent death, but health. So maybe the narrator is trying to show that the war is a cycle in nature and it is necessary not to dwell on the events, but to look ahead to peace. Depicting all the blood that is shed in contrast to images of nature embodies the heartbreaking aspect of the war. What is even more ironic is the image of all these things in nature being covered by blood. Up until now we have seen nature as the number one influencing factor over everything that happens. We have learned that man cannot rise above nature, nor can man’s knowledge about science destroy nature. Yet, Dickinson confronts this idea with death covering nature. It is not the idea that death in any way can control nature or that the war exerts power over nature, but that the war has greatly impacted nature. The landscape being simply covered by a hue of red portrays how nature is affected not only by the losses of its people, but by their bloodshed.