Introduction to Emily Dickinson by David Campbell
Emily Dickinson (1830-1866)
Emily Dickinson is most notably remembered and celebrated for her works of poetry and perhaps even her reclusive lifestyle. An often-misunderstood literary figure due to her eccentricity, Dickenson was a serious and intellectual writer, who poured her thoughts and soul into the poems she created. Although Emily Dickinson died before any of her great works were widely published, her spirit and memory lives on though her poetry. From her themes of life and death, the natural world, religion and love, Emily Dickinson’s work will continually have a place in American consciousness and the minds of readers everywhere.
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10th, 1830, at her family home of Amherst in Massachusetts. She was the middle child of two other siblings. In her early years, Dickinson attended Amherst College, a school which was founded by her own Grandfather. She later attended the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for only a year from 1847 to 1848. After leaving the seminary she returned to the family home of Amherst. This brief time away at Mount Holyoke was the longest recorded time in which Dickinson was away from her home in Amherst. From then on Dickinson lived a quaint life in Amherst and never married. It is important to note that Amherst was located near a cemetery and during this time several friends and family members of Dickenson died, seemingly leading to Dickenson’s preoccupation with life and death in her poetry. In 1855 Dickinson and her family moved in to their ancestral family home called “the homestead.” At this time Emily and her sister Lavinia worked together as the primary caregivers for their dying mother until her passing in 1882. In the prior years of 1858-1865, it is said that Dickinson produced her greatest literary output unbeknownst to any of her family members or friends. Some say this was fueled by a romance in her life, but due to the private nature of Emily Dickinson, we likely will never know her true source of inspiration for her great works of poetry. Later on in her life, Dickinson suffered from eye problems and later a kidney disease which took her life on May 15th, 1886, at the young age of 55. After her death, her sister Lavinia discovered a collection of nearly 1800 unpublished poems many of which never had seen the light of day. Lacking titles these poems were written on small scraps of paper. In an effort to have these poems published, Lavinia asked Mabel Loomis Todd to take on the task. Todd “fixed” these poems, leaving out Dickinson’s original “slant rhyme” in which dashes and lines served as punctuation. In 1890 these poems were published as a collection called The Poems of Emily Dickinson. Many years later a niece of Dickinson published 6 volumes of poetry from 1914 through 1945. It wasn’t until 1955 that Thomas Johnson discovers Dickinson’s original works and published them in the order he believed them to be written, and in a way he felt Dickinson would have wanted them to be, “slant rhyme” and all. Finally, in 1998 Ralph Franklin republished Dickinson’s work based on scientific findings which distinguished the true order of her poems.
During the time in which Emily Dickinson lived and wrote, it is said that she was greatly influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s work. As such, both Transcendentalist, and Dark Romantic ideals are seen in her poetry, likely as a response to this admiration and influence. Unlike other authors we have seen in this course, Dickinson is unique in that rather than historical events influencing her writing, it was perhaps exclusively personal events in her life which greatly influenced her artistic choices. Often referred to as a recluse or eccentric, Dickinson wrote poetry on topics close to her and about events that solely happened to her in her lifetime. As other poets of this time like Whitman reflected on the outside world, Dickinson instead used poetry to reflect on her own life.
Throughout Dickinson’s extensive works of poetry there are several prominent themes, from life and death, religion, the natural world, love, and family. The theme of life and death is perhaps best seen in her poem, 591[465] where she writes, “I heard a Fly buzz — when I died — The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air — Between the Heaves of Storm —.” Through these words, the reader is able to see Dickinson’s reoccurring themes of not just life and death, but also interpret for themselves if Dickinson regards the inevitability of death as a good or bad thing while reading this poem. One may read Dickinson’s words here and view them as an anticlimactic end to one’s life. Conversely, another may interpret the poems theme of death as natural and beautiful, with the fly’s buzz signifying an end to the buzz of life and a return to nature. Whatever interpretation, the overarching themes of life and death, religion, nature, love and family are seen in most if not all of Dickinson’s poetry. Another example being in 39[49] where Dickinson details the loss of a loved one writing, “I never lost as much but twice And that was in the sod. Twice have I stood a beggar Before the door of God!” Here much like the first poem, Dickinson uses poetry in order to fully grasp and understand death, while reflecting on it.
Whatever one may glean from her poetry, Dickinson’s work has influenced writers and artists alike in the years after her death and beyond. Though throughout her days she lived a quiet, reclusive and perhaps eccentric life, her poetry will continue to inspire many and have a definite place in America’s literary story.