TO MAKE A PRAIRIE BY DICKINSON compared to Pascoli

 

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee—
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.

In this brief, five-line poem we can find several themes central to Dickinson’s work: imagination, nature, and the inner life of the mind.

Imagination as Creative Force-At first glance, the poem appears to be a literal recipe for a prairie—requiring clover and a bee. But Dickinson quickly shifts the focus with the word “revery” (a dreamlike or meditative state). -FANTASTICHERIA

She’s not talking about physical creation, but imaginative creation. A single bee and clover can be enough to evoke the vastness of a prairie in the mind. And if even those aren’t available, revery alone will do.

This means that imagination is not just powerful, but sufficient. It suggests the mind’s ability to conjure entire worlds from almost nothing—one of Dickinson’s most recurring beliefs.

Minimalism and Essence Minimal language to express complex ideas

Solitude and Self-Sufficiency There’s also a subtle celebration of solitude here

Meaning

“To make a prairie” is a celebration of the imagination. Dickinson reminds us that the external world is not the only source of beauty and meaning—our inner world, through reverie, can be just as vast and sustaining. It’s a testament to the power of thought, memory, and poetic vision.

Comparison: Dickinson and Pascoli

1. Use of Nature as Symbol

• Dickinson uses nature—here, a clover and a bee—as minimal symbols to represent vast imaginative possibilities. The prairie becomes a metaphor for what the mind can create.
• Pascoli, especially in poems like "L’assiuolo" or "Il gelsomino notturno", also draws from small natural images (an owl’s cry, the scent of jasmine) to evoke profound emotional or existential states.

Both poets see nature not as scenery, but as a key to inner experience.

2. Power of Imagination and Inner World

• In “To make a prairie”, Dickinson ultimately claims that the dream alone is enough—imagination is self-sufficient.
• Similarly, Pascoli develops the concept of the “fanciullino” (the child within), whose pure gaze can transform ordinary reality into mystery and meaning through poetic imagination.

They both celebrate a kind of mental autonomy, where external reality is less important than how it is perceived or imagined.

3. Simplicity and Symbolism

• Dickinson's poem is incredibly short, almost aphoristic, yet symbolic and layered.
• Pascoli’s style, though more lyrical and rich in sound patterns, often hinges on simple, concrete images that open up to symbolic or metaphysical interpretations.

Example from Pascoli’s “Il gelsomino notturno”:

E s’aprono i fiori notturni,
nell’ora che penso ai miei cari.
[...]
È l’alba: si chiudono i petali
un poco gualciti...                                                                                                                                                                                             Here, the flowers' nocturnal blooming reflects the mystery of love, memory, and perhaps even death—just as Dickinson's bee and clover reflect a mind creating vastness from the minimal.