Emily+Dickinson

By: Emily Dickinson


Summary: The pedigree of Honey is about how a bee doesn’t care what type of flower they pollinate or the pureness of the honey. All they care about is that it is a flower that will supply honey for them. Taken into real life this poem means that people shouldn’t concern themselves with finding out a person’s background or taking where they came from into perspective when befriending them. They should just accept them and take in the goodness from the friendship. Emily Dickinson uses an ABCB rhyme scheme in this one stanza poem. Although it is short it uses a metaphor to explain its deeper meaning.

Excerpts: “ The pedigree of honey Does not concern the bee,” These are the first two lines in the poem and start out by saying that a bee doesn’t care how pure a source of honey is, as long as it is honey and they can do what they need to do. Bees depend on honey for their survival and we, as humans, should not care how pure or perfect a person is when making friends with them. “A clover, any time, to him” This line means that a clover is a clover no matter if it is the greenest, biggest, or smallest. In real life it should mean that a person is a person no matter their size or background.

Reflection: I like this poem because it is short and simple, but has a big meaning. I agree with this poem in its underlying message, but find it hard sometimes to follow it. I can be a very judgmental person on looks and background and always make stereotypical comments to myself based on first impressions.