There is no frigate like a book

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry,
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll.
How frugal is the chariot
That bears the human soul!

Emily Dickinson’s poem, “There is no frigate like a book” uses denotation/ connotation and figurative language in powerful ways. If Dickinson had used more common words in her poem, readers would not be allowed the experience to truly explore the meaning behind her poem. Using denotation, one would translate the first line into there is no ship like a book. Using the connotation that Dickinson did, she is saying that there is no escape or refuge from life that works as well as a book does and that it can take us as far away as we allow ourselves to. Dickinson means to take us into the text and truly feel and experience what she is talking about, not just traveling to another country or city. In the third line, the figurative language being used is a simile, comparing a beautiful horse and a “free spirit” to the border of a page. It means that within a page, of a book, one is allowed to see beauty in the story and experience not what is happening in the world around them, but the storyline. “Of prancing poetry” can be read as happy poetry and the reader can jump around and interpret their own view. “This traverse may the poorest take without oppress of toll” explains that the reader travels across the page and they can be the poorest person and not have to pay a fee in order to feel the greatness of a fairytale. The last lines are telling us that no matter how cheap the book or “chariot” is, we can still have the royal treatment in our lives. As long as our soul possesses the goodness and love that only the joys and mysteries of a book hold, then Dickinson did her job. Using words such as frigate, lands, and coursers, Dickinson allowed the audience the possibilities to explore her world and most importantly their own, and to truly feel the emotions of her writing.