Emily Dickinson is perhaps the most mysterious and most scrutinized author in the history of American Literature. Just as many of her poems are riddles to be solved, her lifestyle and personality remain an enigma even today. She has been described as a recluse, a hermit, an agoraphobic, and even said to be insane. Was she mentally ill in some way or simply so tainted by life, life experiences, and just culture that she consciously chose to shut herself away. Perhaps society may never know the truth. What remains above all else is deep, soulful writing that the world may never see the likes of again. Dickinson was born in 1830 to prominent citizens of Amherst, Massachusetts. Her father was Edward Dickinson. He was a well-known attorney …show more content…
Queen Victoria set an overwhelming example when she became a widow and refused to wear anything but her black mourning garments. As a result of this Victorian trend of reclusiveness many young ladies of the era joined nunneries or chose to live lives of seclusion. Even without the shroud of Queen Victoria’s behavior, early to mid nineteenth century women were encouraged to be seen and not heard. They were prodded by husbands and fathers to be good and delicate. Women were meant to be submissive, unquestioning, and fragile. A life in the shadows of men was an accepted norm in Emily Dickinson’s childhood and early adult …show more content…
This birth left her unable to care for her other two children for some time. She and the infant remained sickly for months. It was decided that during her mother’s recovery young Emily Dickinson would go to live with her maternal aunt in Monson. This aunt took excellent care of young Emily, but the experience as a whole was not happy for Dickinson. The house was struck by tuberculosis. Young Dickinson witnessed this disease and it’s destruction without her mother to lean on for comfort. Her aunt was spared but spent all of her time caring for those afflicted by the disease. Researchers believe this trauma to be a major contribution to Dickinson’s decision to remain alone and unmarried once she reached adulthood. The traumatic delivery that almost killed her mother and infant sister is thought to have left a lasting impression on
Emily’s Mental Deterioration After getting over the initial shock of finding out that the mysterious woman that everyone was talking about was going to sleep each night with a decaying body next to her, it makes sense for the reader to question her mental state. If the reader took a closer look at the town’s description of her, they will realize that as time went on, Emily’s will power began to deteriorate. When she was young, she was the topic of everybody’s conversation, however, she did not let that bother her and walked down the streets with her head held high. Emily took over the old house after her father’s death and kept a few servants around to keep the house tidy, nonetheless, the outside of the house was not kept in the best of conditions.
In Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes, by Billy Collins we are taken on a journey back to the nineteenth century, it is fascinating to contemplate Collins idea of the diminishing of Dickinson's clothes. Emily Dickinson took her liberty to compose such shrewd poetry that was revealed later after her death to the public. Dickinson’s poetry is found perplexing and dramatic, which is clear on why Collins would pick Emily Dickinson as his incentive for this poem. Throughout Collins poem, he uses extended metaphors to expose the reader to understand the profound thoughts of a poet. Collins also conveys figurative language in reference to Dickinson life that can persuade an effect on the reader when reading a
Miss Emily Grierson, the main character in William Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily”, is a very unusual character. She has an extremely unhealthy relationship with her father causing her to deny his death. Miss Emily constantly staying locked up in the house she grew up in alone, feeling forced to live in the limelight of her father and never attempting to get over his death causes her to mentally and physically withered away and become a sad, pitiful, and bizarre human being. Faulkner describes Emily’s desire to be alone by saying, “People hardly saw her at all” (Faulkner II). The only times she was seen was sitting in the window “with the torso of an idol”
Diagnosing Miss Emily In the short story, “A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner writes about Miss Emily Grierson’s entire life and focuses on her secretive lifestyle. Throughout the story, she is the talk of the town, being the ‘upper-class’ who definitely does not act as such. A major event in Miss Emily’s life that seemed to have a drastic impact on her behavior is her father’s death (Faulkner).
She wanted to become a published and an established poet. Due to her unique writing style and techniques, she was denied from being formally recognized as the author of her poems. Emily would take it so far as to lie about who she was and her education, just to get a man to mentor her and make her ability to write, better. The reclusive lifestyle of Emily Dickinson influenced the poems she spent her entire life writing. Her poetry was deemed peculiar and many refused to publish her because of it.
Nevertheless she maintained toward his morose man an attitude of teasing affection. “He buys me many books- but begs me not to read them- because he fears they joggle the mind.” Her father was regarded as a tyrannical Puritan who controlled his daughter’s life and lightened it (Benfey 27). Moreover, in her late twenties or early thirties, Dickinson had a very shattering and emotional experience as she faced many disappointments relating to love; because of this she spent a great deal of time alone in her Amherst home. Furthermore, in 1854, Dickinson met with Reverend Charles Wadsworth in Philadelphia, and he could have possibly been the “inspiration for some of her love poems” (Emily Dickinson Biography).
I believe this is due to her loneliness and solitude throughout her 20’s and 30’s (Emily Dickinson's Biography). It also was probably an effect of the losses in her life and the time period she was in being rather stagnate compared to society today ( Garcia, Emily Dickinson). Dickinson likely was depressed and found little satisfaction in anything outside of literature. She likely found that she could excel in writing and put fourth much energy towards it. Literature became Dickinson’s life.
She did not get the recognition she deserved or see the rest of her work become published. Dickinson is one of the most important people in literature. Her poems changed a lot of people by making them feel emotions. Some people think it was just a girl writing her feelings down and that is what she did to most to most of her poems but what
Dickinson uses her poem “My life Closed Twice Before its Close” to express her emotions and question toward the taking of her parents. She
Religion is undoubtedly something that is incredibly important for many people. It at times serves as a source of comfort, a sense of purpose, or even a sense of belonging. Because of this, it has been a common origin of inspiration for many poets regardless of origin and time. Anne Bradstreet and Emily Dickinson are no exception. Both reference religious beliefs and God numerous times throughout their works, but they do so in different ways.
She went to school, where she was an excellent student, until she was 18. She then dropped out and lived her life at home. Emily lived at home, with her sister, for many years and took care of her parents until their deaths. After both of her parents’ deaths Emily stayed home very often, and is thought by most scholars to have had depression and/or other mental illnesses. It was during this time she got most of her writing and poetry done.
“Saying nothing sometimes says the most.” This is one of my favorite quotes written by Emily Dickinson. It’s my favorite because a meaningful silence is always better than meaningless words. Emily Dickinson is a very influential poet, and she will be remembered in history for a long time. She was not like most poets during her time.
Dickinson and Whitman have revolutionized poetry eternally. Emily Dickinson’s writing shows her introverted side, she found comfort in being reclusive. Her writing clearly depicts that certain works of her will not be meant for everyone, rather
If we go deeper into the author’s lives and if we have to say some important facts about Emily Dickinson’s life, is
Emily Dickinson lived during a time when many would become very well acquainted with death. As such it would become a specter that was feared as it could make an appearance at any time. So looking at Dickinson 's work it seems rather interesting that taken as a collection there seems to be the tale of one character that comes to view death in a multitude of different ways throughout their life. First is the feared figure that leaves them restless, then death comes as something numbing but leaves the living to celebrate the life of the one that has passed, life as a story that is completed and finished upon death, and finally coming to see death as kind figure that takes one to a new home. this finally view is what paints death as something that is not to be feared but rather as something natural, it is the next