With the aggressive tone, it shows that the narrator is proud of herself for being "royal," regardless of the physical proof. The tone of a poem allows the reader to become aware of the narrator's voice, and therefore giving closer meaning to the poem.
An allusion in poetry is a reference to stimulate an association. There is a clear allusion to religion in the poem. The most obvious allusion is in line 4 when the poem states, "Empress of Calvary!" (Dickinson 4). It is believed the Jesus was crucified in Calvary, a place right outside of Jerusalem. This is noticeably referring to religion, and suggests some type of relationship with god. Another instance where the poem refers to religion is when the poem opens with, "Title divine-is mine!" (Dickinson 1) The word divine instantly triggers implications of god, the divine being. When reading further, with the abrupt tone, we can see through the following reference that this is an attack on the inability to reach a divine status unless a woman is married. The poem states, "God sends us women- When you-hold-Garnet to Garnet- Gold to Gold" (Dickinson 7-9) By using the word "God", the narrator makes it obvious that the poem alludes to religion. The narrator does not differentiate between a woman who is married and a woman who is not. This is compared to holding up a garnet stone against garnet stone or gold against gold. Both look the same. Therefore when you hold a woman against another woman they should be the same regardless of their marital status. Using allusion in a poem builds on the tone to help decipher the meaning of the poem. In this case, it allows the reader to connect the allusion of religion to the frustrated tone exposing that the narrator is hostile towards religion and god.
A literary trope uses language to give off the recurrent theme of the poem. The poem's theological trope establishes the background and landscape against which marriage is measured.
