Abstract This essay analyzes three of EmilyDickinson'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 In this article the writer discusses EmilyDickinson'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 The paper discusses how the various stages of EmilyDickinson'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 This paper analyzes the personal lifestyle of the reclusive soul in the poetic works of EmilyDickinson. 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 This paper examines the techniques employed by EmilyDickinson 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 EmilyDickinson. 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 essay considers how philosopher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and poet EmilyDickinson, 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 The paper shows that EmilyDickinson's individualistic style of diction, as it relates to her poems, "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers" and "The Soul Selects Her Own Society," is indicative of her assimilation of her context, her time and the value of the idealistic nature of language and belief. The paper argues that Dickinson is clearly a reflection of her time and her works are a reflection of her diversity and genius.
From the Paper "Dickinson conveys meaning beyond her initial message by redefining words from her trusted lexicon, even to the point of bawdry, some would say. There is no message of choice or loss within her works that is not relished by her wordplay. To her the divine is associated not with a future promise but with the ability to keep learning and growing as an individual and a poet."
A look at how both EmilyDickinson's poem, "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church" and Langston Hughes' poem, "Mulatto" reflect the changes that were taking place in American society during the times the poems were written.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 2 sources, 2006, $ 26.95
Abstract This paper discusses how EmilyDickinson's poem, "Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church", and Langston Hughes' poem, "Mulatto", both reflect changes happening in each poet's generation even though the two poems are drastically different. The paper explains that Hughes' poem touches on the changes in the views and attitudes of African-Americans and whites in post-civil war America, while Dickinson poem touches on the theme of religion in her poem, showing how times have changed the way that faith and religious practice are viewed. In an analysis of Langston Hughes' poem, "Mulatto", the paper explains that the poem expresses the immense anger through images of rape, oppression, and mixed emotion. The very title and the indecision over being half white and half black represent many of the key issues in prejudice that were apparent in the early 1900s in America. That time was also complicated for people who were mulatto, like the author of this poem.
Abstract The paper shows that one type of image that American poetess EmilyDickinson 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 reflectsDickinson'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 The following paper concentrates on the variety of ways EmilyDickinson'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
Abstract This paper explores the individuality, style, and personal meaning of the work of poet EmilyDickinson. It includes an artistic analysis, as well as personal reflection.
From the Paper "Dickinson, born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830, lived a secluded life removed from the company of other writers. Composing much of her work on the backs of envelopes and other handy scraps of paper, she would often write while performing mundane tasks around her home. Secreted away from the outside world, I remember reading of her that only ten of over 1700 works she produced were published during her lifetime."
Abstract This paper looks at why it is difficult to place the writings of EmilyDickinson in a specific literary tradition and what factors make this placement difficult. The paper considers why Dickinson was so introverted, what in her life and writing should be used to connect her to a literary tradition, and to whom should the connection be drawn.
From the Paper "Dickinson's outright rejection of everything conventional rang with the same notes as the crescendo of feminism that was building among middle class women in the 1850s. She refused to subjugate herself to the institution of marriage, she battled pressure to join the church, and she corresponded openly with notable figures of academia. It is certain that the feminist movement would have greatly appreciated, and benefited from Dickinson's voice. Her education and natural boldness made her prime feminist material. The match, however, never grew any more potent than those conveniences. Thought she sought to achieve greatness, Dickinson's reclusive nature would have prevented her from being interested in participating in movements of that nature. In fact, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Dickinson had no particular loyalty to her sex."
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that EmilyDickinson 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."
