Symbol Analysis
On a simple level, we think "Windows" is probably just a fancy way of saying "eyes." But it comes at a pretty important moment, and if she picked this specific image, we’re willing to bet she wanted us to spend some time with it.
- Line 15: This is the only spot in this poem where Dickinson uses the word "Windows." This seems to be a metaphor for the speaker’s eyes. Once they fail, she can no longer "see to see" (line 16). Also, have you ever heard someone say that "the eyes are the windows of the soul?" That’s actually a really old expression, and versions of it go all the way back to the Bible. So the reference to windows makes us think of the spiritual aspects of this poem, and we’re willing to bet people in Dickinson’s time would have thought of the same thing.