Emily Dickinson Lexicon

Blue Beard (-'s), proper n. [as genitive modifier; see blue, adj. and beard, n.] (webplay: ears, heaven, old).

Bluebeard; main character in a Charles Perrault story who killed several wives and kept their bodies in a closet; man executed for killing six of his seven wives after having their portraits painted; [fig.] legend; fable; fairy tale.