Many conflicts are created because of religious choice. Although in our country, we have religious freedom, there is still a pressure to conform to social standards. Today, we are able to practice or abstain from practicing whatever religion we may choose, but that does not keep us from suffering the consequence of social prejudices. In the 1800's, society dictated religion. In the poem, "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church", by Emily Dickinson, the narrator rebels against society by choosing Wicca as her religion.
The narrator denies Christianity in many ways. She does not attend church with the rest of her peers. Church bells ring without response. Christianity claims to be the one true way to Deity. Wicca does not make such claims, nor does it try to recruit others to share in its beliefs. Church groups are abundant, as Christians seek others with the same religious convictions. The poem's narrator practices her religious rites in the company of songbirds.
Wicca has long been viewed as satanic and evil. Witchcraft has been persecuted for centuries because society fears what they do not understand. Wicca embraces nature and all of its elements. All living creatures are precious and should be cared for. This religion centers its practice on simple rules. We should do no harm to other living creatures or to ourselves. Any harm that is caused will return to the person causing it, threefold. .
In this poem, the narrator views the birds in the orchard as her chorus. The line, "With a Bobolink for a Chorister"(3), illustrates this. It shows her respect for her environment and other living creatures. Wicca believes in reincarnation, so death is viewed as another beginning. "So instead of getting to Heaven, at last." (11), shows that the narrator is not trying to reach an end. .
Smith 2.
Metonymy is used in the poem between the words home and heaven. Both words are capitalized in the poem to reflect that the narrator views her environment as her place of supreme happiness.
