Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for He (-'d, -'ll, -'s)
he (-'d, -'ll, -'s), pron. [OE he- < Germanic; third person singular masculine nominative pronoun; see also him, himself, his.] (webplay: God, human, human race, man, mankind, person, pronoun, spirit).
- [Anaphoric reference to a man who is named in the text; a specific male individual; gentleman having a proper name; famous or unknown man.]
- [Exophoric reference to a man who is not named in the text; one of many possible male individuals; specific or general member of a group of male persons characterized by a vocation, such as soldier.]
- [Cataphoric reference to a man who is named in the text; in 85/87 “he” refers forward to “Jesus”.]
- [Anaphoric reference to a Deity who is named in the text; refers to God the Father, Jesus Christ, or the Holy Ghost; often capitalized.]
- [Anaphoric reference to inanimate objects of nature; personification of naturally existing elements] it.
- [Anaphoric reference to animate objects of nature; personification of naturally existing entities, such as animals or plants] it.
- [Anaphoric reference to heavenly bodies; personification of the sun, its phases, etc.] it.
- [Anaphoric reference to humankind in general; one or more members of the human race.]
- [Anaphoric generic pronoun reference to one's soul, self, being, person] it.
- [Anaphoric reference to personified abstract qualities, emotions, ideas, concepts, states of being] it.
- [Exophoric reference to a man who is not named in the text; one of many possible male individuals; antecedent of the pronoun is unknown.]
- [Anaphoric reference to a bird or a species of bird; personification of a flying creature] it.
Return to page 9 of the letter “h”.