The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants Summary & Analysis
by Emily Dickinson

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"The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants," by the American poet Emily Dickinson, is a celebration of one of nature's most fascinating life forms as well as the tricksters, rebels, and nonconformists whom the mushroom represents. Calling the mushroom an "Elf," a "Juggler," and an "Apostate," the poem suggests that the mushroom is incredible for all the ways it seems to defy nature's ordinary (and, perhaps, boring) rules. Likewise, the poem admires those people who disrupt society's norms and expectations. Dickinson wrote the first draft of this poem in 1874, though, like the vast majority of her work, it wasn't published until after her death.

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