BIOGRAPHY
born in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA, December 10, 1830. Her quiet
life was infused with a creative energy that produced almost 1800
poems and a profusion of vibrant letters.
Amherst, a strict Calvinist community, 50 miles from Boston, well
known as a center for Education, based around Amherst College.
Her family were pillars of the local community; their house known as
“The Homestead” or “Mansion” was often used as a meeting place for
distinguished visitors.
Emily’s father was strict and keen to bring up his children in the
proper way. Emily said of her father. “his heart was pure and terrible”.
At a young age, she said she wished to be the “best little girl”.
However despite her attempts to please and be well thought of, she
was also at the same time independently minded, and quite willing to
refuse the prevailing orthodoxy’s on certain issues.
EMILY AS A YOUNG
WOMAN
Her lively Childhood and Youth were filled with schooling, reading,
explorations of nature, religious activities, significant friendships, and
several key encounters with poetry.
Her most intense writing years consumed the decade of her late 20s and
early 30s; during that time she composed almost 1100 poems. She made
few attempts to publish her work, choosing instead to share them
privately with family and friends.
Among her peers, Dickinson's closest friend and adviser was a woman
named Susan Gilbert. In 1856, Gilbert married Dickinson's brother, William
Austin Dickinson. All of the Dickinson siblings, as well as Gilbert, lived on
the large Dickinson Homestead in Amherst.
EMILY AND HER
SECLUSION
In her later Years Dickinson increasingly withdrew from public life. Her
garden, her family (especially her brother’s family at The Evergreens),
close friends, and health concerns occupied her.
Dickinson's seclusion from 1885 onwards was probably partly due to
her responsibilities as guardian of her sick mother. Scholars have also
speculated that she suffered from conditions such as agoraphobia,
depression and/or anxiety. It was also during this time that Dickinson
was most productive as a poet, filling notebooks with verse without
any awareness on the part of her family members.
In her spare time, Dickinson studied botany and compiled a vast
herbarium. She also maintained correspondence with a variety of
contacts. One of her friendships, with Judge Otis Phillips Lord, seems
to have developed into a romance before Lord's death in 1884.
EMILY’S DEATH
Dickinson died of kidney disease in Amherst, Massachusetts, on
May 15, 1886. She is buried on the family Homestead, which is
now a museum.
She left precise instructions for her funeral such as the route to
be taken from her house to the churchyard and the white dress
she was to be laid out in.
After her sister's death, Lavinia Dickinson discovered hundreds
of her poems in notebooks that Emily had filled over the years.
The first volume of these poems was published in 1890, with
additional volumes following. A full compilation, The Poems of
Emily Dickinson, wasn't published until 1955.
HOWEVER…
Dickinson was very eccentric in her use of punctuation and capital
letters. Generally her odd use has the purpose of emphasis. After her
death, Thomas Wentworth Higginson an editor, whom did not fully
understand the nature of Dickinson’s talent when she was alive, had
edited her poems and made some “corrections”. As a result much of
her power in this unusual style was lost in the alteration.
Emily Dickinson's stature as a writer soared from the first publication
of her poems in their intended form. She is known for her poignant
and compressed verse, which profoundly influenced the direction of
20th century poetry. The strength of her literary voice, as well as her
reclusive and eccentric life, contributes to the sense of Dickinson as
an indelible American character.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL
ABOUT DICKINSON?
1. Explores death, morality and immortality.
2. Endings of her poems are often left open
3. Sets herself a task of definition (hope, despair, pain, joy)
4. Mixes abstract concepts and concrete details.
5. Words and issues given attention by unconventional use
of capital letters and the dash.
I FELT A FUNERAL IN
MY BRAIN
An account of the progress of a funeral from the perspective
of the person in the coffin
Probably written in 1861- difficult period for Dickinson as she
had both religious and artistic doubts.
Had a complicated and disappointed feelings for Samuel
Boules (Editor of Springfield Republican Newspaper).
Suggests physical and intense
experience
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Abolishes barrier between
sickness of the mind and the
body.
Repetition- impacts her
physically
Kept treading - treading - till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through -
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum Kept beating - beating - till I thought
My mind was going numb From Brain (1) to mind (8)- physical intensity
lessened, becomes more psychological. However, it
is thought Dickinson found no clear distinction
between mind and body
Repetition of “And”
suggests sense of forward
motion, powerless to stop
The “I” becomes disorientated, boundary between
internal and external collapses. The last two stanzas
maybe seen as if the speaker is entering death.
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space - began to toll,
Marks time- decisive moment
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
Reduced to just hearing as
sound fills the room
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here -
Sense of Isolation- shipwrecked from life. Cut-off alon
with silence and left “here”. Startling immediacy to thi
moment
Poem is moving
And
then a Plank in Reason, broke,
again
And I dropped down, and down And hit a World, at every plunge,
“Plank” (image of grave) in “Reason”
did not hold up- cannot make sense
And Finished knowing - then -
“I”, a new experience- new levels, new worlds, to
finish “knowing”. What does Dickinson “know”?
“KNOWING”
oPoets knowledge is beyond finished
oSpeaker has finished imagined funeral with the knowledge
of something she cannot express
oKnowledge itself is finished
oDickinson's desire to experience death- beyond the
imaginations capacity to do so
oOr…. Is this poem just a narrative of a nightmarish,
terrifying experience?
I HEARD A FLY BUZZWHEN I DIEDThis poem can be compared to “I felt a funeral in my brain”
as it also explores the transition between life and death.
Written in the past tense, in the voice of the dying person,
and describes the moment of death.
It is important to note that in the Calvinist’s tradition, the
moment of death is the moment when the soul faces God’s
judgment.
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 The Eyes around - had wrung them dry And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset - when the King
Be witnessed - in the Room I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable - and then it was
There interposed a Fly With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz Between the light - and me And then the Windows failed - and then
I could not see to see -
The startling perspective is announced- the
speaker is the person dying. The moment is dominated by the buzzing
of a fly in the death-room.
I heard a Fly buzz - when I died Use of dashes and run on lines take away
from the sing-song effect of the hymn form.
Instead they get the reader to slow down,
providing emphasis.
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air Between the Heaves of Storm -
The Eyes around - had wrung them dry And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset - when the King
Be witnessed - in the Room -
As death approaches, the mourners
gather and wait for the moment when
their “King” or God gives judgment. “Be
witness”- they are filled with
expectancy.
Speaker has tidied up her legal affairs
and waits for the moment of death
I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable - and then it was
There interposed a Fly Arrival of a fly might suggest human decay
and corruption- is Dickinson trying to tell us
that death cannot be managed, arranged
or ordered.
With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz Between the light - and me And then the Windows failed - and then
I could not see to see -
The stumbling, buzzing fly comes between the
dying person’s sight and source of light. The
buzzing fly suggest life is a comedy rather than
a tragedy. The buzzing is unexpected, like a
drunkard disturbing the solemnity of an
important occasion.
Images of light and
darkness- speaker is
plunged into the darkness of
death and the moment has
passed
I HEARD A FLY BUZZWHEN I DIEDThe ending of the poem, and the anti-climax it describes,
suggests that humans have no way of knowing if the
immortal life with God, that their faith actually professes,
actually exists.
“I could not see to see-”: is this the message of the poem
that after dying all is darkness and emptiness? Is that the
significance of the dash that ends the poem?
This may offer evidence of Dickinson’s lack of faith in the
afterlife with God.
"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—
And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—
I've heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.
Written in 1861 ( same as “I Felt…” and “I heard…”) after a difficult
period in her life, Dickinson becomes optimistic and reveals a
cheerful, resilient mood.
Use of physical features to DEFINE an abstract experience. (One
of her definition poems)
Although the poem consists of a series of comparisons,
Dickinson does not use the word “like”. Hope is not “like” a thing
with feathers, it IS the thing with feathers.
Her direct and confident statements make her definition vivid and
immediate.
Like religious symbolism, Hope is imagined as having some of the
characteristics of a bird.
Use of metaphors, does not
DEFINITION POEM: PHYSICAL use “like”- a sense of
Hope- some
DETAILS DEFINING THE
comparisons
characteristics of a
ABSTRACT
bird. It can fly and lift
First line is a confident and
direct statement- vivid and
immediate
the spirit. Feathers are
warm and comforting
Hope resides in the soul
"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—
And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—
The song Hope sings is
beyond logic, reason
and our own
limitations. It is
resilient and unceasing
In times of distress
and uncertainty, Hope
may seam but a “little
bird” i.e. it may seem
slight but it is powerful
and can comfort many
LAST STANZA OUTLINES
DICKINSON’S PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE OF HOPE IN TIMES OF
HER OWN ANGUISH
I've heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.
Hope has offered comfort
and has asked nothing in
return. Hope is generous and
others-seeking.
The last stanza is a solemn
note as it gives Hope the
dignified celebration it
deserves.
Form: Sing song nature is
achieved with half rhymes,
enjambment (run-on-lines),
repetition and alliteration
THERE’S A CERTAIN
SLANT OF LIGHT
This poem explores a state of mind in which the comfort of hope is
absent.
In its place there is despair which she associates with a certain kind
of winter light falling on the landscape.
The poem was probably written 1861 (like the other three poems we
have studied) during which she suffered a major personal crisis.
The speaker sees the light as an affliction, affecting the inner
landscape of the soul.
There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference,
Where the Meanings, are –
None may teach it – Any –
'Tis the Seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –
When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –
THERE'S A CERTAIN SLANT OF
LIGHT
Striking simile: Winter and
There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference,
Where the Meanings, are –
church music depicts the
heaviness of the soul. The
light is oppressive on the
speaker.
The image becomes
music- Dickinson blurs
the senses (synesthesia)
which creates a feeling of
disturbance.
No physical wounds but
affects her inner life/ soul
and brings despair.
One could say she is
suggesting a relationship
between Heaven and
humanity. Heaven seems to
be cruel to humanity.
THERE'S A CERTAIN SLANT OF
LIGHT
Seal: Royal stamp/ Closed
communication,
Authoritative style.
“Tis”- the slant of light is a
sign of despair- both a
psychological and a
spiritual condition
The Hurt in stanza 2 cannot be
explained, it is without remedy.
None may teach it – Any –
'Tis the Seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –
Movement from inner
landscape to external one
“Seal” and “Imperial”: message is
sent by a higher authority.
Message: Human mortality beyond
contradiction?
When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –
Dash= The unknown into which we
all face.
Light causes the world to
be still and hushed.
Passing of the light does
not lift the feeling of
despair but in fact leaves
a chill- Distance is seen
between present and
death.
First published anonymously in 1861 where two lines were
altered by the editor to achieve an exact rhyme and another
was changed to make the meaning clearer.
Central metaphor of the poem is intoxication. This is ironic
because Dickinson grew up in a puritan household and her
father was a supporter of abstinence from alcohol.
It is also ironic that Dickinson chose to write this poem in the
common rhythm of hymns.
The poem is about nature and how experiencing it is so
wonderful and intoxicating that it's like being drunk.
I taste a liquor never brewed –
From Tankards scooped in Pearl –
Not all the Frankfort Berries
Yield such an Alcohol!
Inebriate of air – am I –
And Debauchee of Dew –
Reeling – thro' endless summer days –
From inns of molten Blue –
When "Landlords" turn the drunken Bee
Out of the Foxglove's door –
When Butterflies – renounce their "drams" –
I shall but drink the more!
Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats –
And Saints – to windows run –
To see the little Tippler
Leaning against the – Sun!
I taste a liquor never brewed –
From Tankards scooped in Pearl –
Not all the Frankfort Berries
An exaggerated playful
tone is established from
the first line. Liquor tastes
of something never
existed before- of nature
Yield such an Alcohol!
Inebriate of air – am I –
Celebrates the joy of
excess, a reckless,
indulgent joy
And Debauchee of Dew –
Reeling – thro' endless summer days –
From inns of molten Blue –
Central metaphor:
intoxication brought
on by a joyous
appreciation of life.
The poem describes
the speaker’s sense
of delight in the
beauty of the world
around her.
The extravagant
imagery captures the
mood of dizzy
happiness that
infuses the poem.
Images of flowers as inns or taverns and bees as
drunkards gives the poem a sense of cartoon
humour.
When "Landlords" turn the drunken Bee
Last stanza: does not
Out of the Foxglove's door –
show the world’s
beauty as a sign of
When Butterflies – renounce their "drams"
–
God’s creativity.
The
inhabitants of heaven
I shall but drink the more!
are presented as
faintly ridiculous,
enclosed and maybe
envious of freedom
Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats – and of the “little
Tippler”.
And Saints – to windows run“leans
– against the- Sun-”- Comic
rebelliousness? Applauded by the
To see the little Tippler
angels as they swing their hats to
honour her?
Leaning against the – Sun! OR some Christian’s believe the
“Sun” is a symbol of Christ. The
speaker maybe announcing their
intention to enjoy the beauty of the
world until they come into the
AFTER GREAT PAIN A
FORMAL FEELING COMES•
Written in 1862, some critics believe she was on the edge of
madness at the time.
•
There is an absence of personal statement which gives the poem a
universal quality, as if the poet is speaking for all who have suffered
great pain. The experience is one that all of us will undoubtedly
endure at some time or other and may be one you have already
endured.
•
Dickinson brilliantly recreates the suffering we undergo after some
terrible, excruciating event in our lives. The specific cause of the
torment in this poem does not matter; whatever the cause, the
response is the same, and, in this poem, the response is what
matters.
•
She traces the numbness experienced after some terrible blow. Is
numbness one way we protect ourselves against the onrush of pain
and against being overwhelmed by suffering? She is discussing
emotional pain, but don't we respond similarly to a physical blow
with numbness before pain sets in?
After great pain a formal feeling comesThe nerves sit ceremonious like TombsThe stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
And Yesterday-or Centuries before?
The Feet, mechanical, go roundOf Ground, or Air, or OughtA Wooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stoneThis is the Hour of LeadRemembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the SnowFirst- Chill- then Stupor- then the letting go-
Not properly described- Why not?
After great pain a formal feeling
comesThe nerves sit ceremonious like
TombsThe stiff Heart questions was it He,
that bore,
And Yesterday-or Centuries before?
The Feet, mechanical, go roundOf Ground, or Air, or OughtWooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone-
This pain does not lead
to a loss of control but
control of formality.
Long sentences in
stanza one are
pleasant
Contrasting with
stanza one, a
disjointed movement is
formed in stanza 2 with
unconnected
sensations and
thoughts. This reflects
the mind’s ability to
make sense of
experience and derive
meaning from it.
Pain results in hard, stone like insensitivity
which brings its own kind of contentment. The
word “contentment” seems ironic.
Nature of contentment is explainedheavy, deadening oppression when
all human sensations become
frozen.
This is the Hour of LeadThis is not forgotten even
if they survive it.
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the
SnowFirst- Chill- then Stupor- then the letting
goThe experience is likened to that
of a person freezing in snow. The
thoughts are again incomplete.
Has the freezing person survived
this ordeal or does the experience
continue?
I COULD BRING YOU JEWELHAD I A MIND TO• Although Dickinson was a recluse, she had a wide circle of
friends to whom she wrote many letters.
• Many of her letters took the form of poems, or were written to
accompany small gifts that she enclosed.
• These poems, many of them written as riddles, show the playful
and humorous sides of Dickinson’s personality.
• It is thought that this poem was intended as a token of her love
although she took considerable pains to disguise the identity of
her beloved.
• One of her most joyful poems.
I COULD BRING YOU
JEWELS--HAD I A MIND
TO-I could bring You Jewels--had I a mind to-But You have enough--of those-I could bring You Odors from St. Domingo-Colors--from Vera Cruz-Berries of Bahamas--have I-But this little Blaze
Flickering to itself--in the Meadow-Suits Me--more than those-Never a Fellow matched this Topaz-And his Emerald Swing-Dower itself--for Bobadilo-Better--Could I bring!
I could bring You Jewels--had I a mind to-But You have enough--of those-I could bring You Odors from St. Domingo-Colours--from Vera Cruz-Berries of Bahamas--have I-But this little Blaze
Flickering to itself--in the Meadow-Suits Me--more than those--
This gift gives the speaker a note of
confidence and self-ease . It is worth
noting the first stanza contains
luxurious, exotic gifts which is
reflected in the long lines. However,
Dickinson employs shorter lines
when she settles on her chosen gift
which reflects her tone becoming
more decisive.
The opening line of the poem
strikes a note of confidence and
playfulness, which is sustained to
the end of the poem.
There is a conversational feel to the
opening lines, achieved by the
length of the line and the phrase
“had I a mind to”. This is Dickinson
at her most relaxed.
THE FIRST TWO STANZAS THE
SPEAKER CONSIDERS THE GIFT SHE
WILL OFFER HER BELOVED, THE
“YOU” OF THE POEM. SHE SETTLES
ON A SMALL MEADOW FLOWER.
THE CHOSEN GIFT IS A MARK OF THE
SPEAKER’S FREEDOM AND
UNIQUENESS, AND A REFLECTION,
PERHAPS, OF HER UNSHOWY
PERSONALITY.
Never a Fellow matched this Topaz-And his Emerald Swing-Dower itself--for Bobadilo-Better--Could I bring!
THE CONCLUDING RHETORICAL
QUESTION SUGGESTS THAT
THE FLOWER IS THE BEST GIFT
SHE COULD OFFER.
In its playful, assured way, the
poem establishes that the true
value of gifts and the true nature
of riches cannot be measured in
material terms.
A jaunty confident tone is
evident in the use of the
word “fellow”.
Notice how, in this final stanza,
the assured, confident tone is
emphasized in the use of the
word “Never” and in rhyming
of “Swing” and “bring”, which
closes her argument with a
ring of authority.
FORM OF POEM
Dickinson employs a four line stanza with the rhyme
occurring between lines 2 and 4. Unlike other of her poems,
there is a conversational feel to the opening lines, achieved
by the length of the line and the phrase “had I a mind to”.
This is Dickinson at her most relaxed. As the poem proceeds,
the tone becomes less conversational and concludes with
the magisterial four word last line.