Abstract This essay considers how philosopher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and poet Emily Dickinson, each reveal important revelations on the values of solitude. Emerson sees the person in isolation as a person who is nearer to his own soul, and so nearer to God; Dickinson reveals her isolation as a site for inspiration with the natural realities of life and death. While Emerson states clearly his ideas of the value of solitude for reflection, Dickinson poetically portrays her life of isolation in verse that reveals her inspirations of divinity.
Abstract This essay analyzes three of Emily Dickinson's poems. The poems reveal contradictory struggles with ideals of heaven, eternity, and Dickinson's own struggles for proof, and how to trust in faith. The poems are also compared to Psalms 63 and 139, to locate a biblical reference for the struggle to not be deceived in true faith.
Abstract This paper examines the techniques employed by Emily Dickinson in the poems "I Dwell in Possibility" and "They Shut me up in Prose." The paper examines the author's background as an orthodox Calvinist and examines the effect that her childhood religious influences had on her poetry. The essay makes the point that Dickinson's poetry was often a vehicle for her criticisms about organized religion and the role of the church. Both poems are cited within the essay.
From the Paper "The limitlessness of the imagination is symbolized in both poems by metaphors that represent the power of creativity and how it can be spiritually enlightening. By relating the ordinary to the extraordinary, Dickinson shows the power of the mind to see beyond the mundane and find deeper meaning within it. The house in "I dwell in Possibility-" is portrayed as ethereal and divine. The roof is "Everlasting" and it has "Gambrels of the Sky" (7 - 8). The roof is described as being impossibly tall, reaching up towards the sky, symbolic of the imagination's ability to find spirituality within everyday existence. In the poem, she also is figuratively able to hold Heaven in her hands: "The spreading wide my narrow Hands/ to gather Paradise - "(11 - 12)."
Abstract This paper analyzes how the author T.S. Eliot evaluated the highly private life of the poet Emily Dickinson. It looks at how T. S. Eliot evaluated Dickinson as a private individual that refused to be tainted by society and literary norms within 19th century poetry.
From the Paper "This study will analyze how the author T.S. Eliot evaluated the highly private life of the poet Emily Dickinson. In her poetic career, Dickinson was a private individual who refused social contact with her neighbors. By isolating herself from the community, her inward 'eye' of the soul could focus to a greater degree on her poetry. In this manner, T. S. Eliot evaluated Dickinson as a private individual that refused to be tainted by society and literary norms within 19th century poetry. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 and resided in Amherst, Massachusetts for all of her life. She was considered talented in her studies at Amherst Academy and Holyoke Female Seminary, forging an education that gave her the writing skills that would eventually become poetic masterpieces in American literature. "
Abstract This paper examines Elizabeth Dickinson's poem"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and John Donne's poem "Death Be Not Proud," evaluating the technical style of each poem in terms of rhyme scheme, meter, syllables per line, etc., and comparing and contrasting them with regard to theme, appeal and interpretation.
From the Paper " Emily Dickinson's Because I could not stop for death and John Donne's Death be not proud are both poems that reflect upon the poets' personal concept of death. Both poets speak of death as if it were a person Dickinson speaking of it in the third.."
Tags: John Donne, Elizabeth Dickinson, Because I could not stop for death, Death be not proud, poetry
Abstract In this article the writer discusses Emily Dickinson's poems and letters and explores the issue of desire and sexuality. The writer contends that the images and metaphors in the letters suggests a writer vulnerable to strong emotions and sexuality.
Abstract This paper analyzes the personal lifestyle of the reclusive soul in the poetic works of Emily Dickinson. The author points out that, her various poems reflect her definition of the soul, through which the reader can understand her Puritanical upbringing that refused to be tainted by society at large. The paper relates that her privatization of poetry remains her identifying mark within her verse because she felt pre-destined to realize the purity in her ideology of the reclusive life.
From the Paper "This literature analysis presents the "reclusive soul" that was part of the life and poetry of Emily Dickinson. By analyzing her life in a biographical perspective, one can understand the deeply private and reclusive nature of Dickinson's life. Through a refusal to interact with society at large Dickinson felt that the soul should not be tarnished by external society, especially in preserving the poetic sanctuary of the individual. In this study, there will be an analysis that reflects the reclusive soul in Dickinson's life through biographical means, as well as through her poetry. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 and resided in Amherst, Massachusetts for all of her life."
Abstract The paper discusses how the various stages of Emily Dickinson's life tell a story about her ability to write great poetry. The paper explains that by being a young girl with a good religious education, she was able to take that learning into her early adult writings. Although she was not published a lot, she was able to gather a collection of poems that reflected her idea of the Puritan soul. The paper relates that by her old age, she was able to realize her best poetry by taking her life experiences and writing them down.
From the Paper "Her life in Massachusetts will help give an idea to how she suffered depression and isolation, but also how she was able to realize her soul through her writings. In this paper, the biography of Emily Dickinson will help the reader understand how important her story is to American poetry and to our national identity. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 and resided in Amherst, Massachusetts for all of her life. She was considered talented in her studies at Amherst Academy and Holyoke Female Seminary, forging an education that gave her the writing skills that would eventually become poetry masterpieces in American literature."
Abstract The paper starts with a brief outline of who Dickinson was and talks about his pre-Independence writings to the colonial population. It then analyzes and examines Dickinson's beliefs and ideas regarding the economic, political, and social considerations involved in central government, regulation of trade, slavery, tariffs and taxation, and the right to vote.
From the paper;
"John Dickinson, the leading opponent of John Adams in the debate upon the Declaration of Independence, has correctly been dubbed the "Penman of the Revolution" by later historians. Besides writing the original Articles of Confederation, Dickinson served as a Pennsylvania legislator and represented that colony at the Stamp Act Congress and later, in the Continental Congress. Dickinson's first elaborate publication against the new policy of the British cabinet was printed in 1765 and was entitled The Late Regulations Respecting the British Colonies on the Continent of America Considered. In his celebrated Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies, Dickinson had a great influence in enlightening the American people on the subject of their rights, and preparing them for resistance."
Tags: politics, colonial, rule, congress, central, government, liberty
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that Emily Dickinson employs humour thematically in her poetry, but she also constructs the form of some of her poems in such a way as to mirror the rhythm and meter of jokes. The writer also points out that in some of Dickinson's poetry, form becomes an oblique way of articulating an often subversive truth. Dickinson also employs humour or the theme of joking and jest in her poetry thematically, going so far as to use the idea of joking as the central theme of several poems. The writer maintains that humour seems to be for Dickinson a way of articulating a subversive truth that often stems from relationships of power. The writer concludes that Dickinson's use of form and theme tie together humour theory and feminist scholarship to create a poetics of subversion through slantness that has perhaps not been attended to with the depth it warrants. The writer further suggests that brevity, as we know, is the soul of Dickinson, but wit is her weapon.
From the Paper "That "I know that He exists" contains throughout the poem the language of finance is, as we will see later in "Surgeons must be very careful" a way of further contextualizing power relations in terms of gender. The language of finance is decidedly male. As close as Dickinson was to her father and brother and their affairs, however, Dickinson would have been well-versed in such terminology. Economic terms appear throughout the poem. In the last two lines of the first stanza, "He has hid his rare life / From our gross eyes." "Gross" can have several connotations, all of which work in "I know that He exists." At first without reading through the entire poem "gross" seems to refer to size. "Our gross eyes" paints a picture of childlike, wide-eyed wonder that accompanies meeting the awesome. "Gross" could also function as an indication of number; "our gross eyes" could be not just "our" eyes in the sense of each of us as the singular reader, but instead all of us as a mass noun. In the context of the other financial terminology used in the poem, however, it seems as if "gross" functions in the sense of what Webster's defines as "before any deductions" as in "gross income." The "gross eyes" of the living in the poem have not yet met the point at which the deduction has taken place. The metaphorical deduction takes place at the point of death."
Abstract The paper outlines the status and life of women in the 19th century and highlights how Emily Dickinson failed to fall into the traditional female role that dominated this period. The paper focuses on Dickinson's "The Rose Did Caper on Her Cheek" that reveals Dickinson's view on the role of women conforming to society.
Outline:
Dickinson's Views on a Woman's Role
Life of Women in the 19th Century
Dickinson's Poetry and the Times
Conclusion
From the Paper "Emily Dickinson was a famous female poet of mid-1800s America. As a woman in this time period, Dickinson failed to fit into the expected female role. Her life was one that was devoid of marriage, taken to expressing imagery within her poems that could be construed as homosexual, and questioning of a vengeful God. However, despite Dickinson's failure to fit in with societal expectations, her work has not only enjoyed great popularity, but has endured to become hailed as classic in scope."
Abstract The paper shows that one type of image that American poetess Emily Dickinson uses again and again is that of the insect or other tiny creature, with different insects being used as metaphors for love and sexual relations. The paper explains that the insect or other tiny creatures, such as the worm, seem to represent nature for Dickinson and particularly procreation and regeneration, perhaps because of a perceived role by insects in spreading seeds of plants and trees. Focusing on her poem "In Winter in My Room", a work which also reflects Dickinson's self-discovery and use of her immediate surroundings and experiences, the paper shows that Dickinson uses these images in different ways in her poetry.
From the Paper "Much of the myth of Emily Dickinson centers on the fact that she lived most of her life in one house, and the concept of home is central in her work and is also embodied with her ideas of love; love for family, love for nature, and love for life. Dickinson's image of home is turned into an image of herself--her home is her world, and she has a perception of the architecture of the home that is akin to her perception of the architecture of the body. The home and the elements that make up the home, including its garrets, chambers, rooms, corridors, doorways, and windows, project the form of the poet's mind and bring the reader closer to Dickinson's evolving sense of "place," as person and poet. Other images objectify her inner life, including all of her major concerns--self, family, love, loneliness, madness, renunciation, nature, God, death, immortality, eternity, and poetry itself. Here again, the "home" is invaded by, and even improved by, the role of the insect, representing the regenerative element in nature."
Abstract Emily Dickinson's approach to the concept of death is haunting, for it provides us with a unique point of view. Her poetry is extremely personal and allows us to discern much from a psychoanalytic perspective. The paper shows that Dickinson's attempts to come to terms with her own death illustrate her courage and curiosity. Although she never "solves" the mystery of death, her observations are astute, and her attempts to grasp such a solemn subject demonstrate her seriousness as a thinker and a poet. The paper shows that Dickinson's obsession with death led her to write powerful poetry that not only attempts to solve life's greatest mysteries, but also gives us insight into her character. The paper uses several of Dickinson's poems as references.
From the Paper "In the poem, ?I Felt a Funeral in My Brain,? Dickinson also explores the possibility of an afterlife. The analogy is the obvious funeral in her brain and the funeral service itself. This is quite an unusual poem because it is written after her death has occurred and her body is placed in the coffin. This is an excellent example of Dickinson delving into the world of possibility. She is able to confront the anxiety she has toward death by imagining herself dead, yet conscious. This mood of this poem is macabre in that it represents a type of desperation that cannot be avoided. That consciousness is a possibility after death, is quite a unique approach that obviously helps Dickinson face her fears about death, though not so pleasantly. Indeed, Dickinson may bring herself face to face with the solitary nothingness of life after death, but the act in and of itself is no reward."
Tags: Because, I, Could, Not, Stop, for, Death, macabre
Abstract This paper explains that, even though people often think of Emily Dickinson in such terms as reclusive, despondent and unrequited love; parody, sarcasm and humor are very evident in Dickinson's works. The author points out that Dickinson often uses devices such as irony and satire for comic relief as well as for getting quickly across a point in her short, but significant pieces. The paper relates that Dickinson's topics run the gambit from politics and religion to making fun of the day-to-day inconsequential problems of life as seen in her poem "I'm Nobody, Who Are You?".
From the Paper ""I'm Nobody" clearly demonstrates Dickinson's satire. It has been said that this poem is most likely about her inability to achieve recognition as a poet. However, especially because she kept to herself--actually enjoyed isolation--she probably would have been unhappy if fame had come her way. How horrible it would be, she relates, if you are famous and have to continually be ogled and followed by admirers. This is a problem, in fact, that most celebrities and other known individuals such as politicians have today. They cannot do anything without the press knowing it."
Abstract The following paper concentrates on the variety of ways Emily Dickinson's expresses her thoughts and feelings about death in her poetry. One central focus of the analysis is to point out Dickinson's originality and creativity emerging from a gloomy topic. It looks at how Dickinson does not only reflect on death, she presents the intrepid self experimenting with the idea of its own cessation. The paper also provides short comments on some stylistic devices in order to clarify the interdependence between Dickinson's ideas and her use of language.
Outline:
Introduction
Death Understood as Eternal Sleep
Between Life and Death: Death from the Perspective of the Dying
Death as Emphasis on Love
Conclusion
Bibliography
From the Paper "Emily Dickinson is recognized today as one of America's greatest poets. Her reputation rests partly on a body of poems that forcefully portray death. Dickinson's death-poetry is marked by both the poet's enthusiasm and her willpower to face, grasp, and describe the circumstances of dying instead of evading the dreadful theme that often eludes language. Moreover, exploring the theme of death from various viewpoints, Dickinson appears to transcend a boundary that is impossible to penetrate in reality. Notwithstanding, she managed to remain the observer and recorder of her considerations and emotions."
Tags: Descartes, catharsis, purification, philosophy, metaphors, life, love
