Cornice

I believe that Cornice is the most interesting word in the poem numbered 712 by Emily Dickinson.
It is defined as " A horizontal molded projection that crowns or completes a building or wall", "any structure that branches out from a central support", " an overhanging ledge of snow formed by the wind on the edge of a mountain ridge, cliff, or corrie",and also "a mass of snow, ice, etc., projecting over a mountain ridge".
The multiple definitions of this one word make the word itself stick out even more. The sentence that the word is used in is The Cornice-- in the Ground--, which automatically made me think of a tomb stone.
However what is interesting is that the actual definition of the word joins the two opposing ideas of nature and man made structure. specifically It conjures ideas of the home life by referring to the mantle. Here we have the unbridled chaos of nature versus the security of home life.
The unpredictability and cruelty of nature relates to death and immortality, both concepts explored by Dickinson in this poem. The tidy image of a decorative mantle in a home offers a very interesting juxtaposition. The word links so many of the ideas explored in many of Dickinson's poems with the morbid imagery that is also very prevalent.