"The long sigh of the Frog " By Emily Dickinson [Analysis]

The long sigh of the Frog [1] Upon a Summer's Day [2] Enacts intoxication [3] Upon the Revery [4] But his receding Swell [5] Substantiates a Peace [6] That makes the Ear inordinate [7] For corporal release [8]
Poem 1359 [F1394] "The long sigh of the Frog" Analysis by David Preest [Poem]

This poem concludes the letter (L459) to Thomas Higginson which towards its beginning included poem 1293. The words 'the Revery' in line 4 of the manuscript of the poem are changed in the letter to 'the Passer by.' The poem is introduced by the sentence, 'I was always told that conjecture surpassed Discovery, but it must have been spoken in caricature, for it is not true.' Most of the time we can only 'conjecture' or guess what heaven might be like, but when something happens which feels like an actual 'Discovery' of heaven, we know this to be superior. Emily has had this experience 'upon a Summer's Day' with, strangely enough, a Frog. His 'long sigh' intoxicates the passer-by, and, as it dies away, makes the passer-by feel so at peace that he longs beyond measure to be released from his body to heaven.
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