For Each Ecstatic Instant, Emily Dickinson: Summary & Analysis

For Each Ecstatic Instant, Emily Dickinson: Summary & Analysis

"FOR EACH ECSTATIC INSTANT" by Emily Dickinson explores the balance between moments of joy and the accompanying moments of anguish and suffering. Through its concise yet powerful verses, the poem delves into the idea that moments of intense happiness often come at a cost of equal intensity in terms of pain and sorrow. Dickinson reflects on the complexities of human emotions and the bittersweet nature of life's experiences. FOR EACH ECSTATIC INSTANT For each ecstatic instant We must an anguish pay In keen and quivering ratio To the ecstasy. For each beloved hour Sharp pittances of years — Bitter contested farthings — And Coffers heaped with Tears! Summary "FOR EACH ECSTATIC INSTANT" delves into the idea that moments of intense joy or ecstasy are often accompanied by a corresponding intensity of anguish or suffering. The poem asserts that there is a proportional relationship between these emotional states, with the anguish serving as a counterpart to the initial hap…