We know much of Dickinson´s life through her correspondences. She maintained a lifelong correspondence with Susan Dickinson, even though they were next-door neighbors. This correspondence, preserved by Susan, is the source for many of the poet´s manuscripts. But Emily Dickinson also corresponded with school friends, with her cousins Fanny and Loo Norcross, and with several people of letters, including Samuel Bowles, Dr. and Mrs. J.G. Holland, T.W. Higginson, and Helen Hunt Jackson. The central events, then, of Dickinson´s life are those that are central to the life of most writers: she wrote. She compiled a manuscript recorded of 1.775 poems, along with many letters. In or around 1858 she began to keep manuscript books of her poetry, the "fascicles", hand-produced and hand-bound. In the early 1860s she produced hundreds of poems each year. In 1864 and 1865, failing eyesight, which impelled her to make two extended visits to Cambridge, Massachusette for medical treatment, slowed her production of manuscipt books. But her production of manuscripts continued at a slower pace until her last illness in 1885-86. Though she wrote hundreds of poems, Dickinson never published a book of poetry. The few poems published during her lifetime were anonymous. The reasons why she never published are still unclear. A myth promoted by William Luce´s play The Belle of Amherst (1976) is that Higginson discouraged her writing. However, it is propably not the case that Dickinson met with rejection from the literary world. For one thing, Higginson was instrumental in getting her poetry published soon after her death, suggesting, that her reluctance and not his disapproval was the barrier to him doing this earlier. Also, both Bowles and Hunt Jackson arranged for anonymous publication of individual poems by Dickinson during the poet´s lifetime. At Hunt Jackson´s suggestion, Thomas Niles of Roberts Brothers publishing house tried to get the poet to submit a volume of poems for publication in 1883; she declined.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
SAMUEL DICKINSON AND „THE HOMESTEAD“
1800 - Samule Fowler Dickinson
1813 - The Homestead
1821 - The Founding of Amherst College
THE FAMILY
1828 - Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross
1829, 1830 and 1833 - The children
NORTH PLEASANT STREET RESIDENCE
1840 - The family lives on North Pleasant Street
1840 - Emily attends Amherst Academy
1847 - Emily attends Mt. Holyoke Seminary
RETURN TO THE “HOMESTEAD”
1855 - Family moves back to the “Homestead”
1856 - Austin marries Susan
1857 - “The Evergreens”
THE PRODUCTIVE YEARS
1861 - The Civil War
1862 - Important Men in Emily´s life: Charles Wadsworth, Thomas Higginson and Samuel Bowles
1865 - Emily travels to Boston
EMILY BECOMES A RECLUSE
1874 - Edward Dickinson dies
1882 - Emily Norcross Dickinson dies
“CALLED BACK”
1886 - “Called Back”
1890 - First edition of poems is published
THE “RENAISSANCE”
1955 - Emily´s original poems are published
1964 - The homestead is placed on the national historic register
1965 - Amherst College purchases the homestead
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Objectives and Topics
This work explores the biographical trajectory of the American poet Emily Dickinson, focusing on the interplay between her domestic environment in Amherst and the development of her singular poetic voice. It aims to demystify her reclusive life by examining the historical, cultural, and personal factors that shaped her artistic identity.
- The influence of the Dickinson family legacy and the importance of "The Homestead" residence.
- Educational experiences and their role in stimulating her observation of the natural world.
- Significant personal relationships with figures such as Charles Wadsworth, Thomas Higginson, and Samuel Bowles.
- The impact of 19th-century societal norms and religious structures on her private and professional life.
- Analysis of her poetic aesthetics, including the innovative use of irony, ambiguity, and elliptical style.
Excerpt from the Book
1862 – IMPORTANT MEN IN EMILY´S LIFE: CHARLES WADSWORTH, THOMAS HIGGINSON AND SAMUEL BOWLES
The Reverend Charles Wadsworth, age 41, had a powerful effect on Emily´s life and her poetry. On her trip to Philadelphia, Emily met Wadsworth, a clergyman, who was to become her “dearest earthly friend”. A romantic figure, Wadsworth was an outlet for Emily, because his orthodox Calvinism acted as a beneficial catalyst to her theoretical interferences. Wadsworth, like Dickinson, was asolitary, romantic person that Emily could confide in when writing her poetry. He had the same poise in the pulpit that Emily hadin her poetry. Wadsworth´s religious beliefs and presumptions also gave Emily a sharp and often welcome, contrast to the transcendentalist writings and easy assumptions of Emerson. Most importantly, it is widely beliefed that Emily had a great love for this Reverend from Philadelphia even though he was married. Many of Dickinson´s critics believe that Wadsworth was the focal point of Emily´s love poems.
Whem Emily had a sizeable backlog of poems, she sought out somebody for advice about anonymous publication, and on April 15, 1862 she found Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Higginson was then the poetry editor for The Atlantic Monthly, and published a request to unknown poets to sent him their work in an editorial titel “Letter to a Young Contibuter”. Emily sent four of her poems in a first attempt to become a publishing poet. Higginsons response was to prove significant. He acknowledged her raw talent but suggested that Emily regularized “her rough rhythms and imperfect rhymes” and to correct her spelling and grammer.Throughout the rest of their correspondence, Emily addressed him as her scholar and mentor, but did not alter her style. Instead she chose not to publish any her works.
Summary of Chapters
INTRODUCTION: Provides a biographical overview of Emily Dickinson's life, her family background, and the myth versus the reality of her reclusive lifestyle.
SAMUEL DICKINSON AND „THE HOMESTEAD“: Details the history of the poet's grandfather, his commitment to education, and the significance of the ancestral family home.
THE FAMILY: Examines the life of Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross, setting the stage for the family dynamics that influenced Emily's upbringing.
NORTH PLEASANT STREET RESIDENCE: Documents the family's transition to a new home and Emily’s formative years attending the Amherst Academy.
RETURN TO THE “HOMESTEAD”: Covers the family's return to their original home in 1855 and the subsequent marriage of Emily's brother, Austin, to Susan Gilbert.
THE PRODUCTIVE YEARS: Explores the most prolific period of Dickinson's writing career, shaped by the Civil War and her key relationships with significant male figures.
EMILY BECOMES A RECLUSE: Discusses the period of increased seclusion following the deaths of family members and friends, and her domestic life during these years.
“CALLED BACK”: Recounts the final months of Emily's life, her passing in 1886, and the posthumous journey of her poetry to publication.
THE “RENAISSANCE”: Analyzes the rediscovery and full publication of Dickinson's poems in the 20th century and their recognition as original literary contributions.
CONCLUSION: Summarizes how Dickinson’s solitude enabled her innovative poetic style and explains the thematic and aesthetic nature of her work.
Keywords
Emily Dickinson, Amherst, The Homestead, poetry, 19th-century literature, American Civil War, reclusiveness, poetic aesthetics, transcendentalism, Calvinism, manuscripts, fascicles, manuscript, literary criticism, biography.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work provides a comprehensive biographical account of Emily Dickinson, connecting her personal experiences, family history, and social environment to her development as a writer.
What are the central themes discussed in the book?
Key themes include the impact of domestic life, the role of education and religion, the evolution of a solitary lifestyle, and the influence of specific professional and personal relationships on her creative output.
What is the primary research goal?
The aim is to demystify the "reclusive spinster" myth of Dickinson by grounded analysis of her life in 19th-century Massachusetts, demonstrating how her work emerged from her specific cultural and personal context.
Which methodology does the author employ?
The book utilizes a biographical and historical approach, drawing on letters, family records, and existing scholarship to reconstruct the timeline and significance of major life events.
What does the main body cover?
It details the chronological progression from her ancestry and the significance of "The Homestead" through her school years, her mature years of intensive writing, and finally her seclusion and legacy.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include Emily Dickinson, Amherst, The Homestead, poetic aesthetics, 19th-century literature, and biography.
How did Thomas Wentworth Higginson influence Dickinson’s career?
Higginson acted as a mentor who recognized Dickinson's talent but encouraged her to regularize her rhythms and grammar, though she ultimately chose to maintain her original style.
What was the significance of the "Renaissance" chapter?
This chapter discusses the 1955 rediscovery of the original manuscripts by Thomas Johnson, which allowed her poetry to be read as she truly intended, sparking a new wave of scholarly interest and critical interpretation.
- Quote paper
- Kathrin Haubold (Author), 2001, Emily Dickinson's life and poetry, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/16532
