Name __________________________________
Block _______
English 11
Romanticism Literature
Emily Dickenson Poems (page 746)
Background Information/Author Study
From the information given in this article, choose 3 facts that you consider important to remember.
1.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Figurative Language consists of groups of words that express ideas beyond the literal meaning of the words. Dickenson’s poetry features many common figures of speech, such as similes, metaphors, extended metaphors, and personification. Use the chart below to find and record examples of these figures of speech in Dickenson’s poetry.
Figures of Speech
Simile Metaphor Personification Extended Metaphor
Death is personified as a kind gentleman in “Because I could not stop for Death.”
“Hope is the thing with feathers” compares hope to a bird
Follow Up: Dickenson used figures of speech to describe the abstract concepts of mourning, hope and death. Choose another abstract concept, such as truth or victory, and compose a definition by using figures of speech.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Thinking Critically
Answer the following questions in complete sentences and using examples from the text.
Make sure to support your opinions.
1.
In the third stanza of “Because I could not stop for Death”- the carriage passes the school, fields of grain, and the setting sun. What might these images symbolize?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
Re-read lines 17-20 of the same poem. What does the house in this stanza represent?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Based on the eight poems you have read, what are your impressions of Emily
Dickenson as a person? Consider the background information given about her and the poems she has written. Give reasons for your answer.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Read Dickenson’s quotation on the definition of poetry (page 746). In your opinion, do the poems in this author study meet the standards expressed by this definition?
Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5.
Out of the poems included in this author study, which poems did you like the best and least? Why?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________