thematic contrast of civilization and the leopard, of human structures and the natural wilderness beyond, a battle between law and freedom and, as they become more extreme, tyranny and anarchy. Yet the poem as a whole is far more riddling than that--and a range of stimulating, contradictory readings present themselves for our exploration.It may be that Dickinson is commenting on the slave-trade--turning our understanding of what constitutes civilization and savagery inside out.
from Christopher Nield: The Epoch Times: The Antidote--Classic Poetry for Modern Life: A Reading of "Civilization Spurns the Leopard" by Emily Dickinson
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