Mr. Dilworth
C Block Introduction to Literature
4/2/15
Biography
Emily Dickinson is considered to be one of the most influential and talented poets in American literature. Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts to Edward and Emily Dickinson. Edward was a successful, young lawyer in Amherst. Edward was also an active member of the Whig party, and he was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature (1837-1839) and the Massachusetts State Senate (1842-1843). Also, between 1852 and 1855, Edward served a single term as a representative from Massachusetts to the U.S. Congress. Emily had an older brother, Austin, who was one and a half years her senior. Austin became a successful lawyer who was a part of Edward's practice. Emily also had a younger sister, Lavinia, who lived at home with Dickinson and therefore was her close companion. The Dickinson's lived on their homestead, which had been built by Emily's grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, in 1813.
Found at https://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/5420153921_5a3b8f3dc3_z.jpg
Above is a photograph of the Dickinson's home- where Emily spent the majority of her life.
Emily attended Amherst Academy for seven years before she went on to college. She loved all aspects of school and she studied great range of material at Amherst, including college lectures in all the principal subjects— astronomy, botany, chemistry, geology, mathematics, natural history, natural philosophy, and zoology. Yet, Dickinson quickly developed a passion for poetry.
Found at https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/ed/files/about_emily/ed_indepth/AmherstAcademy.jpg
Above you can see a photo of Amherst Academy (now Amherst College), which greatly contributed to Emily's love for learning and poetry.
At age 15, Dickinson left for Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, in order to complete additional years of formal education, as was traditional at the time.
Found at https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/ed/files/about_emily/ed_indepth/mtholyoke.jpg
Above is an image of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, at which Emily only spent a mere one year.
However, Emily stayed at Mount Holyoke for only one year. The exact reason as to why she suddenly dropped out of school is unknown. Yet, historians believe it was due to her fragile emotional state. Emily suffered from conditions such as agoraphobia, depression, and/or anxiety. Dickinson was also prone to contracting physical illness which was most likely another major factor as to why she decided to stop attending her formal education. Dickinson instead opted to live a tranquil lifestyle on her homestead, which rarely hosted visitors. Throughout this time, Emily filled entire notebooks with poetry and wrote hundreds of letters.
Found at http://www.downtownmagazinenyc.com/poets-house-exhibits-rare-collection-of-emily-dickinson-manuscripts/
Above is a photograph of two of Emily's Manuscripts.
Despite the lack of visitors, Emily Dickinson's poetry was highly influenced by numerous external forces. Leonard Humphrey, the principal of Amherst Academy, inspired some of her works as he was her first "Master". Benjamin Franklin Newton, a family friend of the Dickinson's, introduced Emily to the poetry of William Wordsworth. Dickinson also loved Shakespeare's work. Emily thoroughly enjoyed both reading and writing poetry which further displays her keen passion for poetry.
Dickinson's poetic talent was not recognized until after her death on May 15, 1886 in Amherst, Massachusetts, when her work was published. Her family found 1,800 poems that were conserved into forty hand-bound volumes (otherwise referred to as fascicles). Her original poems displayed various dash-like markings that varied in length and direction (some were vertical while others were horizontal).
Found at https://poetseye.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/emilydickinsonhandwriting.jpg
Above is a sample of Emily Dickinson's handwriting, in which you can see her excessive use of dashes.
Primarily, only a small portion of Dickinson's work was published. This portion had been heavily altered and edited, using traditional punctuation instead of Emily's unique use of dashes, and therefore it depleted her individual poetic style. However, currently, the standard form of her poems replace her dash-like markings with en-dashes which are a far better representation of Dickinson's original intentions. However, her dash-like markings are not the only piece that set her apart from other poets of her time. Dickinson utilized a unique form of syntax as well. Dickinson's bold techniques and her way of seamlessly breaking down previously set poetic limitations make her one of the most influential poets of all time.
Images in the above collage made by Phoebe Christos were found at the following links:
https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/ed/files/homepage_photos/emily-dickinson.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Emily_Dickinson_daguerreotype.jpg
http://alphabetroadtrip.typepad.com/.a/6a011570334453970b01761761c1a5970c-pi
http://www.quoteslo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/emily-dickinson-quote.jpg
Some Interesting Videos from External Sources to watch for further information about Emily Dickinson:
"Emily Dickinson: The Poet in her Bedroom."
"The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson"
one last video...
"Entitled Opinions - A Conversation on Emily Dickinson" (conversation becomes relevant around 6:10)
My Prezi:
The Poem I Have Chosen to Analyze:
After great pain, a formal feeling comes
"After great pain, a formal feeling comes –
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –
The stiff Heart questions ‘was it He, that bore,’
And ‘Yesterday, or Centuries before’?
The Feet, mechanical, go round –
A Wooden way
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought –
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone –
This is the Hour of Lead –
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow –
First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –"
*See comments section for analysis*
Reading of "After great pain, a formal feeling comes"
Works Cited
Dickinson, Emily. “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. .
“Emily Dickinson.” Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. .
“Emily Dickinson.” Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. .
“Emily Dickinson.” Poets.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. .
PASSAGE ANALYSIS of "After great pain, a formal feeling comes" (Sorry- it is split into three separate comments because it was too many words when they were all together.)
ReplyDelete“After great pain, a formal feeling comes” by Emily Dickinson is a meaningful poem that describes traditional human behavior that pursues great suffering and pain. It is written in the form of a quatrain, except that the second stanza has five lines instead of just four. The first stanza explains the overall significance of the poem. It reads as follows: “After great pain, a formal feeling comes – / The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs – / The stiff Heart questions 'was it He, that bore,' / And 'Yesterday, or Centuries before'?” (1-4). The first line simply repeats the title of the poem which means that after a traumatic event in one’s life, a “formal feeling” follows. This “formal feeling” refers to two entirely different reactions. First, Dickinson is describing the lack of feeling, or numbness that accompanies tragedy and pain. Second, Emily is also talking about a funeral, which is further suggested in the second line of the poem. “The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs – “ (2) explains that people suppress their true emotions at formal ceremonies, like funerals. The idea of a funeral is portrayed through Dickinson’s well-planned diction such as formal, ceremonious and Tombs. The second line uses personification of the Nerves as Dickinson provides the human-like quality of sitting to a non-human being. This personification is then preceded by a simile, “like Tombs”, which is used to describe the ceremonious seating of the Nerves. One can imagine that everything being described in the second line is still which refers back to the theme of numbness. The third line, “The stiff Heart questions 'was it He, that bore,'” (3), uses personification of another body part, this time the Heart. Dickinson’s diction being used to describe the heart as “stiff” is key as it also refers back to the theme of numbness. “He” could be referring to Jesus who, in this poem, could be an example of suffering. The fourth line, “And 'Yesterday, or Centuries before'?”, explains that people have been dealing with this pain and suffering for all of time.
The second stanza, which states “The Feet, mechanical, go round – / A Wooden way / Of Ground, or Air, or Ought – / Regardless grown, / A Quartz contentment, like a stone –“ (4-9) suggest that after trauma, people walk around in a zombie-like manner. In the first line of the second stanza, which states “The Feet, mechanical, go round” (5), Dickinson uses great diction to describe yet another body part. So far in the poem, the audience can see that the Nerves are numb, the Heart is confused, and now the Feet are mechanical. The feet continue on as though nothing is wrong, as though they have no feeling. The second line in the second stanza solely says, “A Wooden way (6)”. Emily’s word choice of “Wooden” is pristine as it gives the audience the sensation of weight. Weight infers that whatever the trauma is is weighing down the subject of the poem. The next line continues to provide the audience with the sensation of weight as the subject seems to trudge along the earth. The fourth line in the second stanza is equally important as Dickinson’s diction is once again very important. It solely states: “Regardless grown, (8)” which suggests that following great pain, people are likely to ignore their surroundings due to the word “Regardless”. The final line in the second stanza, “A Quartz contentment, like a stone –“(9), once again relates to the theme of numbness. “Quartz contentment” suggests a tomb, which signifies that the source of the pain and suffering is a death. “Stone” could also be referring to a headstone which further proves that the source of the pain of suffering is a death. Dickinson uses a simile “like a stone” to compare human emotion to that of a stone. This comparison signifies that, like zombies, the humans lack feelings and emotions after great pain and suffering. This lack of feeling once again relates to the theme of numbness found in the poem.
ReplyDeleteThe final stanza sums up the poem and provides a glimpse into the future of those who undergo “great pain and suffering”. It reads as follows: “This is the Hour of Lead – / Remembered, if outlived, / As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow – / First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –” (10-13). The first line of the final stanza refers to the time that one is undergoing pain and suffering. Similar to her previous usage of the word “Wooden” to describe the feet, “Lead” suggests weight once again. Also, lead has no feeling so Dickinson is basically stating that it is a heavy, hard, numb time in one’s life when they are undergoing pain and suffering. This time (“Hour”) after great pain and suffering is heavy and dull which also suggests that it progresses slowly. The final three lines of the poem, “Remembered, if outlived, / As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow – / First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –” (11-13), grant a glance of one’s future who is undergoing pain and suffering to the readers of the poem. The “if” in line eleven indicates that some people never truly outlive this hard period of time in their life. Instead, they stay numb, heavy and dull in their zombie-like trance until they die. Line 12, "As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow –" (12), proposes that humans reflect on this period of time in the same way that those who freeze to death remember snow. This line displays verbal irony since it is contradictory. (This is because if one dies, then they can not look back at the snow because they are dead.) Dickinson uses tactile imagery to describe the time in their life when she mentions snow because the snow is cold and heavy, just like the time following great pain and suffering. Also, ironically, freezing literally causes numbness so the situations are very similar to one another. The final line, "First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –" (13), provides a step by step process concerning pain and suffering. Dickinson states that at first people are “Chill” or cold and numb. They then move into a coma-like trance (zombie-like). Next, people let go of their numbness and move on with their life as they did before this period of pain and suffering. However, unfortunately, as mentioned by Dickinson earlier in the poem, some people never make it to this stage, and instead they stay in their numb trance until they die.
ReplyDelete