Industry

Question

"I had no time to hate, becauseThe grave would hinder me,And life was not so ample ICould finish enmity.Nor had I time to love; but sinceSome industry must be,The little toil of love, I thought,Was large enough for me."(By Emily Dickinson.)Does "industry" mean "dedication" in the poem above?

Blue Jay · Accepted Answer

I would interpret it as "Work".

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, BJ, for the reply.

Anonymous · Answer

This is an interesting little poem, the first time I've seen it. There's no word-for-word translation of "industry" here, as I see it - the word was selected more for its euphony and rhythm, not its literal meaning. I would interpret the poem as follows:

I have no time to hate in my life, because
life is not so long that I could finish all the hating I would have to do in this lifetime -
and thus, the grave would get me before I finished with my hating.

And similarly, I reasoned, I had no time for love in this lifetime - life not long enough for all
the loving I had to do, and thus the grave would get me before I finished with all my loving.
But surely my small loves are not too big for this lifetime.

Industry

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