FORBIDDEN FRUIT
Forbidden fruit a flavor has
That lawful orchards mocks;
How luscious lies the pea within
The pod that Duty locks!
That lawful orchards mocks;
How luscious lies the pea within
The pod that Duty locks!
Analysis
The first line of "Forbidden Fruit" in talking about how the forbidden fruit has flavor implies how anti-social behavior whether vices/excess that society derides or looks down upon are often sweet or delicious. Indulgences that are seen as unconventional or unorthodox and are hidden or secret are seen by the indulger as seductive and pleasant. The second line being that society usually frowns upon behavior that isn't within socially accepted standards. The third line being that the pea (or vice) is very pleasurable, but how society forces the the vice to be locked away or risk shunning or social exile.
This could also be referring to the supposed relationship between Emily Dickinson and her sister-in-law Sue Dickinson, the wife of her brother William, although this is up to debate among critics as its speculative as to whether the relationship between them was physically sexual (Comment 61). Although it is worth mentioning that in many of Dickinson's other works she describes herself as a boy, a boy possessed with a fierce desire to return to his mother, symbolized by objects such as houses, rooms, food, and nectar (Patterson 7).
This could also be referring to the supposed relationship between Emily Dickinson and her sister-in-law Sue Dickinson, the wife of her brother William, although this is up to debate among critics as its speculative as to whether the relationship between them was physically sexual (Comment 61). Although it is worth mentioning that in many of Dickinson's other works she describes herself as a boy, a boy possessed with a fierce desire to return to his mother, symbolized by objects such as houses, rooms, food, and nectar (Patterson 7).