What thematic and stylistic devices are present in Dickinson's poem "Nature is what we see"?

The
dominant theme of s Nature is what we see is the indescribable or indefinable glory of the
natural world. The speaker endeavors to define nature according to what we can see of it,
whether that be The Hill, a Squirrel, or an Eclipse. The speaker also endeavors to define
nature as what we can hear of it, be that the Sea, Thunder or the Cricket. Being seemingly
dissatisfied with these efforts, the speaker finally tries to define nature as what we know,
and as Harmony, before concluding that the Simplicity of nature perhaps, after all, defies
definition.

In terms of stylistic devices, Dickinson perhaps most obviously
makes frequent use of the hyphen. Indeed, each of the first ten of the poems twelve lines is
interrupted by either one or two hyphens. The hyphens help to create a fragmented, indecisive
tone, full of pauses and hesitations, and this tone reflects the speakers inability to settle
upon a satisfactory definition of nature. It is notable that there are no hyphens in the final
two lines, and this is because in the final two lines the speaker settles upon a satisfactory
conclusion, namely the certainty that nature cannot be satisfactorily defined. This is a rather
ironic conclusion, implying as it does that the only certainty the speaker has is that there can
be no certainty when it comes to nature.

Another stylistic device used in the
poem is . In the final line of the poem, nature is personified as her. Nature is often
personified in the female form because women are perceived stereotypically as more graceful,
more elegant and perhaps also as more mysterious than men. Thus, personifying nature in the
female form implies that nature is likewise graceful, elegant and, perhaps,
mysterious.

A third stylistic device used throughout the poem is the use of
rhyme. At the beginning of the poem, the first and third lines rhyme, ending in the words see
and bee respectively. This rhyme is then repeated in line six, with the word Sea, and then
again in line eight, with the word Harmony, and finally in line twelve, with the word
Simplicity. This loose rhyme scheme perhaps reflects the speakers efforts to impose some sort
of order, through definition, upon nature. The rhyme scheme being loose, and not predictable,
perhaps suggests that the speakers efforts are successful, but only to a degree. The speaker,
after all, does come to a conclusion, albeit one which asserts the certainty of
uncertainty.