To make a prairie

The first line of Dickinson’s poem is the longest, and it introduces the reader to the instructional tone of the poem. The speaker specifically creates this didactic tone by using the infinitive “To make” (Line 1) at the very beginning of this first line. The whole infinitive verb phrase is “To make a prairie” (Line 1), with “prairie” (Line 1) serving as the object of the infinitive verb phrase. A “prairie” is a specific type of landscape, defined as fertile land covered in grasses. Prairies have also typically been associated with North American landscapes. The selective word placement on the part of the speaker shifts readers’ attention directly to the act of “making” and creating—making the phrasing much more robust and active as opposed to passive.

The phrase “To make a prairie” is technically a subordinate clause; however, its prime placement at the beginning of the line negates this subordination. The inverted order of the first line helps to place this focus on the act of construction and creation. After this opening phrase, readers finally run into the subject and verb of the main clause of the sentence, “it takes.” The instructional tone of the poem begins to sound almost like a recipe, directing readers how to make their own