I would like an analysis of Emily Dickinson's poem "flowers- well-if anybody" with special attention to the use of the color purple.

Many of Emily Dickinson's poems include a reference to the
color purple. A few of the poems are "There is a flower that bees prefer", "Wait Till
the Majesty of Death", and "We like March", "It will be Summer--Eventually" and "Me,
change! Me, alter!"

The use of the color purple is based
upon the meaning of the color. The color purple is known to represent good judgement,
spiritual fulfillment, and peace of mind.

In the poem
"Flowers-Well-if anybody" (Poem 137) is a poem in which a woman is contemplating the
power of a flower.

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Flowers — Well — if anybody
Can the
ecstasy define —
Half a transport — half a trouble —
With which
flowers humble
men:

Historically, and even
today, flowers are used as a peace offering. One typically associates the giving of
flowers to a woman, by a man, when the man has done something offensive. This notion is
supported with the line "with which flowers humble men". Men use flowers to admit when
they are wrong- a humbling experience.

As for the use of
the color purple in the poem, the following lines are where the reference
appear:

Butterflies from St.
Domingo
Cruising round the purple line —
Have a system of aesthetics
—
Far superior to mine.

The purple line
is the line of purple flowers (showing the butterflies good judgement and peace of mind)
which the butterflies fly over given their aesthetics (principles concerned with
elements of nature and the appreciation of beauty). Dickinson admits that their
appreciation of aesthetics are better than hers. This is simply saying that flowers do
not "do it" for her when it comes to offering
forgiveness.