Emily Dickson’s poem There is no Frigate like a Book can be difficult to read and comprehend at first. The lines initially seem disconnected. Most of this confusen stems from the language she employs in this work. There are several words which she capitalizes in the text (it appears the capitalization is to draw careful attention.) Most of these words are not commonly used currently in everyday speech.
Several of the capitalized words are common: Book, Lands, Page, Poetry, Toll and Human Soul. Clearly Dickenson is emphasizing the importance of these words but the true meaning really comes to light when we explore the less well known terms: Frigate, Courses, Traverse and Chariot.
Frigate is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as: “A light and swift vessel, orig. built for rowing, afterwards for sailing.” The first line of the poem is clear: Dickenson is comparing a book to a boat, a method of transportation. Coursers is another older term (OED):
“a.orig. A large powerful horse, ridden in battle, in a tournament, etc. [compare course n. 5] ; a charger.
b. Since 17th c. usually taken as: A swift horse, a racer. But in either sense now only poetic or rhetorical.”
The pattern of transportation has become apparent. In this couplet Dickinson contrast “prancing Poetry” with swift, powerful horses.
Now we move on to some slightly more common terms: Traverse and Chariot. Traverse (OED): “The act of passing through a gate, or crossing a river, bridge, or other place forming a boundary (obs.): represented in quotes. only by the sense, A toll paid on crossing the bounding-line of a town or lordship; = passage.” In this case, the Traverse is one that “the poorest take/Without oppress of Toll” so it is important to understand that she is referring to passing through or crossing a boundary, a boundary that would normally requiring a toll.
Lastly, we come to Chariot. The Oxford English Dictionary gives us: “A stately vehicle for the conveyance of persons; a triumphal car, a car of state, or a carriage for private use. Now chiefly poet., and applied fig. to the car in which the sun, moon, night, etc., are represented as pursuing their course.” The point here is to recognize the twist of using “frugal” to describe a stately vehicle for private use.
Now if we read the poem again:
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Humane Soul –
– Emily Dickenson
The poem compares literature to an inexpensive method of travel available to all classes that can carry them across a boundary. This is literature’s most stately use, to transport the humane soul to places that would otherwise be inaccessible to many.
Canine Literary Analysis 