As the first female poet who was included into the regularly male canon of poetry, Emily Dickinson is one of the few popular American poets of the 19th century. Another equally influential contemporary American poet may only be Walt Whitman, whose
main work was the poetry collection Leaves of Grass of 1855.
Emily Dickinson's collection of poems contains nearly 1800 pieces. They cover a variety of different topics. The motifs of life, love, marriage, nature, faith and death run through her poems like a thread.
Dickinson has her very own view on the human ability to make sense of the world. Looking at the world theologically more liberal than other contemporary authors, because she is estranged from religious beliefs, she doubts the ideals of adjustment and perfection and thus tries to attain truth by holding the view that the world is in constant progression.
In order to describe this view appropriately, I will first of all give an overview of biographical, historical and cultural facts of Emily Dickinson. After providing this background information, I will introduce some of Emily Dickinson's poetic themes and
strategies and analyse selected poems of her. The analyses are intended to underline my findings and serve to give an overview of the stylistic elements Dickinson uses to illustrate her view on the human ability to make sense of the world. I will conclude my outcome by explicating to what extent Emily Dickinson's poetry has been a poetic contribution to American Literature until today.
Table of Contents
A. Introduction: Dickinson's approach to make sense of the world
B. Emily Dickinson: Influence and Strategies
I. Biographical, Historical and Cultural Facts
II. Poetic Themes and Strategies
1. Dickinson's Attitude towards Live, Love and Marriage Illustrated by Poem #199: “I'm “wife” - I've finished that”
2. The Relationship Between the Human and the Natural World Illustrated by Poem #328: “A Bird came down the Walk”
3. Dickinson's investigative Religious Poetry Illustrated by Poem #465: “I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -”
C. Conclusion: Dickinson's Poetic Contribution to American Literature
Research Objectives and Themes
This work aims to examine Emily Dickinson's unique approach to interpreting the world by analyzing her life, her poetic strategies, and specific selected poems. The study explores how her reclusive lifestyle, her defiance of 19th-century societal norms, and her personal view on death and divinity are reflected in her writing.
- Biographical and historical context of Emily Dickinson’s life.
- Exploration of 19th-century gender roles and societal expectations.
- Analysis of poetic devices such as common metre, enjambment, and dashes.
- Interpretation of themes including marriage, nature, and the religious experience.
- Examination of Dickinson’s rebellion against traditional Puritan and Romantic ideologies.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Dickinson's Attitude towards Live, Love and Marriage Illustrated by Poem #199: “I'm “wife” – I've finished that”
I'm “wife” – I've finished that – That other state – I'm Czar – I'm “Woman” now – It's safer so – How odd the Girl's life looks Behind this soft Eclipse – I think that Earth feels so To folks in Heaven – now – This being comfort – then That other kind – was pain – But why compare? I'm “Wife”! Stop there! (Johnson 94)
This poem obviously deals with a woman being married. At first sight, it seems like the speaker is very content with the fact of being a “wife”. But one can also read the poem like a subliminal message of doubting this institution. Glennis Byron also observes that Emily Dickinson is ambivalent concerning marriage (cf. 95).
In the first stanza, the nouns “Czar” and “Woman”, both capitalised, are comparisons for the non-capitalised noun “wife”. Dickinson seems to intend to underline that being a wife is a gift and leads to a fulfilled life. The quotation marks used with “wife” and “Woman” in combination with the different capitalisations serve to highlight those words and give the impression that only getting married makes a female human being a true, mature woman.
Summary of Chapters
A. Introduction: Dickinson's approach to make sense of the world: This chapter introduces Dickinson as a significant 19th-century poet and outlines the paper's aim to analyze her poetic strategies and worldview.
B. Emily Dickinson: Influence and Strategies: This section provides the biographical background and sets the stage for the thematic analysis of her work.
I. Biographical, Historical and Cultural Facts: This chapter details Dickinson’s life in Amherst, her isolation, and her rejection of 19th-century domestic and religious expectations.
II. Poetic Themes and Strategies: This chapter defines the stylistic devices Dickinson employed, such as dashes and non-standard capitalization, to convey her unique poetic voice.
1. Dickinson's Attitude towards Live, Love and Marriage Illustrated by Poem #199: “I'm “wife” - I've finished that”: This analysis explores the speaker's ambivalence toward the institution of marriage through the lens of gender roles.
2. The Relationship Between the Human and the Natural World Illustrated by Poem #328: “A Bird came down the Walk”: This chapter examines how Dickinson defies the Romantic and Transcendentalist views of nature as inherently mystical or harmonious.
3. Dickinson's investigative Religious Poetry Illustrated by Poem #465: “I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -”: This analysis investigates how Dickinson addresses the banality and uncertainty of the deathbed experience, challenging traditional Puritan afterlife beliefs.
C. Conclusion: Dickinson's Poetic Contribution to American Literature: The final chapter summarizes Dickinson's lasting legacy and her role as an unconventional, highly sophisticated poet who utilized intellectual freedom to challenge the status quo.
Keywords
Emily Dickinson, American Literature, 19th-century Poetry, Transcendentalism, Puritanism, Marriage, Death, Nature, Poetic Strategy, Common Metre, Reclusion, Gender Roles, Stylistic Devices, Ambivalence, Human Condition
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper examines how Emily Dickinson developed a unique perspective on the world, expressed through her poetry, while living a largely reclusive life.
What central themes are explored?
The study focuses on the themes of love, marriage, nature, and religion, and how these are addressed through Dickinson’s unique stylistic lens.
What is the main research objective?
The goal is to analyze selected poems to illustrate how Dickinson used specific poetic strategies to attain her own truth and challenge the societal expectations of her time.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The author uses textual analysis and historical-biographical contextualization to interpret the poems and their stylistic elements.
What does the main body of the work address?
The body analyzes three specific poems (#199, #328, and #465) to demonstrate Dickinson's approach to marriage, the natural world, and death.
What keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Emily Dickinson, poetic strategy, transcendence, 19th-century gender roles, and the nature of the human condition.
How did Dickinson’s isolation impact her poetry?
Her isolation allowed her to develop an independent worldview, free from the immediate pressures of 19th-century social and domestic obligations.
What is the significance of the poem “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –”?
It represents Dickinson’s realistic, almost skeptical take on death, moving away from idealized religious depictions to focus on the sensory confusion and banality of the final moment.
Why does the author argue that Dickinson was ambivalent about marriage?
Through the analysis of poem #199, the author notes the contrast between the superficial contentment of being a "wife" and the underlying anxieties regarding loss of autonomy.
- Citation du texte
- Nadine Rattey (Auteur), 2014, Emily Dickinson. Her poetry as a way to make sense of the world, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/294892
