Emily Dickinson 165

165
A Wounded Deer -- leaps highest --
I've heard the Hunter tell --
'Tis but the Ecstasy of death --
And then the Brake is still!

The Smitten Rock that gushes!
The trampled Steel that springs!
A Cheek is always redder
Just where the Hectic stings!

Mirth is the Mail of Anguish
In which it Cautious Arm,
Lest anybody spy the blood
And "you're hurt" exclaim!

- The speaker uses the hunter and the deer as a metaphor for love. "The hunter tells" that a wounded deer jumps higher than when not wounded, meaning they have been hurt before emotionally, and try to recover from the pain by rebounding into another relationship, thinking this is the cure all. Until they feel the rush of pain coming on again of what heart break feels like, they run and protect themselves in the "brake," shutting people out from their heart. She italicized "wounded" to symbolize being scared of heart break, and italicized "death" to symbolize heart break itself.

The second stanza goes to again show how sensitive your emotions are after you get your heart broke. When you are "smitten" from love and it's taken away from you (trampled steel), you're always more cautious (a cheek is always redder) and more sensitive where you feel the most pain - in your heart (just where the hectic stings!)

The third stanza again refers to protecting yourself from being hurt. The first line states that laughter - an unconscious and uncomfortable cover-up - is a shield for pain when your walls (cautious arms) are up. The third line says god forbid you let anybody back into your heart (spy the blood) and instead use "you're hurt" as an excuse for why you are scared of love.

After a heartbreak, you wonder "how could I have been so stupid to let my guard down?" and say you'll never let it happen to you again. And because the pain of heart break is so excruciating, it is hard to let other people into heart because you are so afraid of being hurt again. What this does, in turn, is it shuts out other people from getting into your heart, but it also keeps you lonely. So, in a sense, it's like a double edged sword because your in pain from heartbreak, but you're also in pain from being lonely.

This poem could also show the speaker, who is trying to penetrate the heart of the broken hearted. They want to tell them "Hey, I know your pain and I know what you're going through, but I will not hurt you." It shows their frustration because they feel they could love the person only if they would open their heart back up. -

I aced that fucker