In “After Great Pain, a formal feeling comes –” Dickinson is once again focusing on one of her most popular topics; war. I was very intrigued by the first stanza of the poem; because, I honestly feel that the words comprised here truly capture the after math of war. The introduction powerfully grasps the reader. “After great pain” leaves the reader wanting to know just what occurs after such immense hurt. The diction used in the following lines continues to form this vision of the horrendous affects of war. Words such as “nerves,” “tombs,” and “contentment” arouse strong feelings of uncertainty, and most importantly, uneasiness, in the reader. As I read I found myself hesitating and becoming nervous about the text I was going to read. By using such strong wording, Dickinson entrances her audience with this “formal feeling” she refers to in her title line. I see her as almost painting a picture of a baron battlefield without describing the scenery. As opposed to referencing dead bodies or bullet shells, she details “the nerves [that] sit ceremonious, like tombs –” and “the stiff heart.” As I read this poem, I formed a vision in my head of a battlefield littered with bodies and haunted by a deep fog. I could even almost smell the gun powder and hear the moans of the wounded. When a poet can portray such a vivid image without so much as describing the first visual, not emotional, scene, they have truly mastered the utmost skill of their art. I also find this amusing considering that a large majority of people consider Dickinson this emotionless hobbit that stowed away in her attic. She, in fact, was full of emotions and this is just one of her finest examples of the severity of the emotions that did consumer her.