Historical analysis of one of Emily Dickinson's works
Uploaded by Admin on Oct 25, 1999
Emily Dickinson was a reclusive person, with an emotional, passionate, intense life filled with her genius for writing poetry. Although criticized for her unconventional style of writing, including her rough rhythm and imperfect grammar and rhymes, she continued to write in her own unique way. Many aspects of her life, such as her relationships with various people, remain a mystery and are not well known.
Emily Dickinson almost always stayed near her home; in fact she hardly ever strayed from her birthplace of Amherst, Massachusetts. She enjoyed spending time at home in her garden. She was deeply affected by her relationships with certain people, specifically men.
One of her profound relationships was with poetry critic, Thomas Wentworth Higginson. She had contacted him by mail in 1862, enclosing a few poems. He responded with suggestions on her writing style, but Dickinson chose to ignore his suggestions. Dickinson and Higginson corresponded for the next twenty-two years.
Dickinson had other relationships with men that affected her life dramatically. Her family, specifically her father and brother, were an important influence. In addition, a very large influence and source of inspiration for her was the Reverend Charles Wadsworth. She met him in Philadelphia in the 1850's. The relationship between them was a very mysterious one. He was married and had a family. He left for California in 1862. In that very year, Emily Dickinson wrote an astounding three hundred and sixty six poems. Many of them shared the themes of love, death, nature, immortality, and beauty. She typically portrayed death as a monarch, leader, lord, or lover. Her moods changed and varied of utter despair to extreme ecstasy. These moods were shown in almost all her poems.
Mine-by the Right of the White Election!
Mine-by the Royal Seal!
Mine-by the Sign in the Scarlet prison-
Bars-cannot conceal!
Mine-here-in Vision-and in Veto!
Mine by the Grave's Repeal-
Titled-Confirmed-
Delirious Charter!
Mine-long as Ages steal!
~ Emily Dickinson, 1862
In this poem, Emily Dickinson is saying that everything tangible can be taken away from her, but her will to live, and her choice to die, are hers, and nobody can take that away from her. In that theme, she also expresses that she is also the only one who can control her thoughts, another thing that nobody can take away. She expresses these ideas when she says, "Mine" or "Bars-cannot conceal". As she usually did, Emily Dickinson is using a leader to portray death, and declaring that death...