Emily Dickinson's “Apparently Unsurprising” presents the trials and tribulations a flower must overcome to survive. Dickinson creates a microcosm of the real world and an in-depth ecological study of humankind. His choice of words betrays a hidden contempt for the selfish goals of human beings. Dickinson hides a series of morose words in every line except the fourth line. We must first examine the choice of the first word and the first line. The use of the word “Apparently” creates a standard of irony and sardonicism that is found throughout the poem. The constructed scenario leads the audience to presuppose that an entity such as the flower must necessarily face such perils. When in fact the connotative effect is exactly the opposite. If we continue the poem to the next line, she projects human emotions onto the flower when she seems to exclaim that it is a “happy” flower. This provides a further example of inherent irony in that the factory is fraught with danger and yet it is happy. The projection also represents the ability of the followers of the human species ...