This poem, which takes it title from the first line, describes the power and impact of a storm in an imaginative and forceful way; it is a zoomorphised — or maybe anthropomorphized — “Monster” that disrupts peaceful life. It is only when it is over the mood returns once more to peace and “Paradise”.

Structure
The poem comprises three quatrains, that is four-lined stanzas, the first and third conforming to Dickinson’s characteristic four-lined common meter, also referred to as “ballad meter”. The pattern in each is broadly alternating iambic tetrameter (four iambs or metrical feet per line) and iambic trimeter (three metrical feet per line). A iamb or metrical foot comprises one unstressed followed by one stressed syllable.

The second stanza is unusual for Dickinson in that it has five lines. This is misleading structurally as lines three and four combined make up eight syllables, in other words a tetrameter. The poet split them, clearly in order to emphasize the repeated “And"s.

The third stanza reverts to the same structure as the first, so the poem moves from peace to turbulence to peace again.

There is a regular ABCB rhyme scheme in the first and third stanzas, while the second stanza follows the patter ABCDB.

As usual Dickinson uses frequent dashes to represent emotions and to create pauses or caesurae. There are no commas or full-stops, but one final exclamation mark.

Language and Imagery
The voice is that of a third person narrator who describes the tempest, but expressed in terms of Dickinson’s emotions and distinctive viewpoint.

The outstanding feature is the second stanza, with its repetition of “And” — an example of anaphora — creating powerful emphasis.

The storm is personified with the “frenzied” creatures on the roof. Or, depending on how one interprets this, zoomorphised or even anthropomorphized. Certainly the “Monster” in the final stanza can be either human or animal.

See The Poetry of Emily Dickinson; Atlantic Review
BBC Podcast ‘In Our Time’ – Emily Dickinson