Emily Dickinson is a poet who has proved herself to be a great artist through her deep and thought-provoking works. She produced more than 2000 poems in her 55 years of life, and each is emotional and thought provoking. She tied life experiences and her feelings into poems and still receives praise for her work, even though she wasn’t recognized during her life. Emily Dickinson broadened the minds of people in her generation, broke the ground of literary work for women, and made a profound impact on the world of poetry.
Life
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10th, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She came from a wealthy family, and attended Amherst Academy for seven years and then continued on to The Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, but only stayed for one year because her parents asked her home and she didn’t like how religious the school was. She suffered from depression, social anxiety, and several other mental illness’, and became a social recluse soon after she left he Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. She spent the majority of her time writing, and had limited social interaction with anyone other than her family or a few close friends. She anonymously submitted 10 of her works to various newspapers, but didn’t want to be publically recognized. Her poems were her emotional outlet, and are often lyrical and can be identified as first person perspective. She incorporated nature and animals into many of her works, and spent more time on choice of words than the structure and form.
Dickinson was never married, but was rumored to be in a relationship with one of her closest friends. She was also very close to her older brother, William Austin, and her younger sister, Lavinia. She died of Bright’s Disease, a kidney disease, on May 15th, 1886 in the house she grew up in. Before dying, she asked her sister to burn all of her works, but after reading through them, her sister decided to only burn her journals but save the poems. With the help of Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mrs Mabel Todd, the poems were edited and published. Since Emily died before she was well known, she did not receive any awards, but there is an award, The Emily Dickinson First Book Award, named after her to honor her memory and work.
Influences
Emily Dickinson was influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Blake, and her own life. By looking at Emerson and Browning, it’s clear that the style of writing they used inspired Emily, and Blakes style is very similar to her own. All four wrote about things like nature, God, animals, and used simple things to describe complex ideas and thoughts. She took experiences from her own life and used them to write deep and thoughtful poems about being set free and love.
Works and Legacy
Dickinson broke the ground of literary work for women as well as broadening the minds of the people in her generation. She crafted 2000 poems throughout her life, but since they were not published until after her death, it is hard to say which were written when. Her poems made people think, and it was not very common for a women to publish such amazing works. To this day she is a powerful figure in American culture and one of the most widely read, impactful, and well known poets.
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“There is Another Sky”
There is another sky
Ever serene and fair
And there is another sunshine
Though it be darkness there
Nevermind faded forests, Austin;
Nevermind silent fields
Here is a little forest
Whose leaf is ever green
Here is a brighter garden
Where not a frost had been
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!
Works Cited:
http://www.egs.edu/library/emily-dickinson/biography/
This poem was sent in conjunction with a letter Emily wrote to her brother, Austin, trying to convince him to come home from Boston. She describes Amherst as a place with "unfading flowers" and leaves that are "ever green." She is saying that their home is beautiful and unearthly; a utopia. She also says “nevermind faded forests, Austin; nevermind silent fields” meaning that he should forget about the bad times and memories because everything else is so beautiful. Amherst was a special place to Emily because it was the only place she ever knew. Since she never left the house or gone anywhere else, Amherst would always be her home and hold a special place in her heart. The poem has tones of hope, nostalgia, and optimism. The first half of the poem points out things using “there is” while the second half uses “here is” This implies the giving gifts and immediacy.
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