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Rene Smith
Ms. Woodie
English 12 DE
10 May 2012
The Unconventional Poet
Living in the nineteenth century, Emily Dickinson used poetry to convey her feelings
towards events and emotions she saw and felt in everyday life. Her poems, though the majority
unpublished during her lifetime, are now collected into great works of literary merit. In her own
time, Dickinson was criticized by her use of rhetorical devices; ironically today’s critics admire
her use of figures of speech, themes, rhyme and much more. Her words illustrate her deepest
thoughts, feelings, and emotions giving readers a glimpse into the life of women in the 1800s.
Conforming to the styles of typical nineteenth century poets was not important to Dickinson.
Emily Dickinson’s unconventional use of poetic elements in “It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up”
and “There’s a Certain Slant of Light” differed greatly from the typical poetry of her time.
Dickinson’s variation from the normal poetic standards has made all the difference in her poems
and their worth over time.
Many of Emily Dickinson’s poems share familiar themes. According to literary critic
Frank N. Magill, the most common themes readers see in a collection of poems by Dickinson
involve nature, love, life, religion, and death (Magill 513). Death became a frequent topic in her
poems as she wrote about the qualities, means, and repercussions of the event. “It Was Not
Death, for I Stood Up” speaks of death and the despair that the narrator (assumed to be
Dickinson herself) feels. Throughout the poem, images of death and hurt are painted by
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Dickinson’s words, such as “All the Dead, lie down” in line two, “set orderly, for Burial” in line
eleven, and “Despair” in line twenty-four (Anderson 27). Nineteenth century living contributed
to the theme of Dickinson’s poems. She lived in a world full of death and was not afraid to write,
without reserve, about something that she saw every day. In contrast to the many women poets
of the 1800s, Dickinson’s poetry was real and uncensored. Her poems were the opposite of the
typical nineteenth century woman’s poem. Characteristically, poems written by women in the
time which Emily Dickinson lived were very traditional; common women poets conformed to
common styles of writing and conservative themes, such as love and happiness (Magill 514).
Instead of the classic theme, Dickinson was not afraid to tackle matters of great layer in her
poetry; death became a common theme in her work, even though it carries a very unconventional
message for its time.
Not only did Dickinson write about death, she also wrote about religion. The way in
which she wrote about this topic, however, was different than the classic take on religiously
themed poetry. In “There’s a Certain Slant of Light,” Dickinson’s famous poem on religious
oppression and despair, she speaks of a “Heavenly Hurt” that becomes “An imperial affliction
which “oppresses, like the Heft” (Anderson 30). Dickinson lived in a time where Puritans
believed in conversion. As she is living in a world where searching for a religious conversion
and identity was normal and a joyful experience, Emily Dickinson gives the experience a
negative connotation (Moss and Wilson 55). This poem became known, according to literary
critic Charles R. Anderson, as “her finest poem on despair” (Anderson 29). Even though
Dickinson was writing on a typically happy, positive experience, her theme was quite the
opposite. It was this contrast in characteristic nineteenth century poetry that allowed Dickinson
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to differentiate from the common standards and create a poem themed very different than readers
in the early nineteenth century would have expected.
Just as Dickinson’s themes varied from the typical nineteenth century poet, so did her
writing style. Instead of flowing easily, the words she wrote were full of breaks signaled by
hyphens. This use of caesura is typically seen in the middle or towards the end of a line of her
poetry (Magill 514). Caesura is seen specifically in “There’s a Certain Slant of Light” beginning
in the second line with “Winter Afternoons-“ and continuing several times in each stanza; lines
four and five “Of Cathedral Tunes-/ Heavenly Hurt, it gives us-“ and down even into the last line
“On the look of Death-“ (Anderson 29-30). Not only are there many pauses throughout this
poem, but enjambment is also present in several lines. In lines three to four, Dickinson writes
“That oppresses, like the Heft/ of Cathedral Tunes-“ and in lines fifteen and sixteen “An imperial
affliction/ sent us of the Air-“ (Anderson 30). This lack of punctuation carrying thoughts onto the
next line and then the pausing effect of caesura creates a stop-and-go motion in Dickinson’s
words. It also contributes to feel of her poems as “nursery rhymes or to the hymnal melodies
then sung in Trinitarian churches” (Magill 514). Characteristic poets of the nineteenth century
avoided anything different, such as caesura and enjambment. Their words were formal and
conservative; something that Emily Dickinson refused to allow in her poetry.
Written in the 1800s, most poetry was meant for others’ enjoyment. Writers wanted
people to read their poems, they were written for others to see. Joyce Moss and George Wilson,
two editors and literary critics, observe that Emily Dickinson varies again from these poets in
that “unlike most of the other female writers,” Dickinson “did not seem very much interested in
seeing” any of the poems she had written published (56). Her poetry was a way to communicate
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feelings. As she kept in contact with most of her family and friends by letter, she kept in contact
with her feelings by poetry. Writing in secret was out of the ordinary in the nineteenth century;
poets wanted to be heard. Dickinson had no intention of publication or letting anyone know the
full degree of her writing; she “neither titled nor dated her poems” (Magill 514). She wrote for
herself. Occasionally in letters, Dickinson would write poetry to her family. However, a English
Literature professor at Brooklyn College in New York states that “not even her sister Lavinia…
knew the extent of Emily’s writing, not until she came across over 1700 poems after Emily’s
death” (“Emily Dickinson: An Overview”). During Dickinson’s lifetime, only ten of her poems
became published against her own wishes according to the World Book Encyclopedia (“Emily
Dickinson” 190). During her lifetime, the few poems that people did read were often criticized
for not being the conventional poetry of that day. Dickinson was even urged by some to never
publish her writings (Magill 516). Whether it was her own intention or not, Dickinson’s death
led to the discovery, publication, and eventual praise and esteem of her poetry.
Deeper within the lines of Dickinson’s poetry, her use of literary techniques was
unconventional for her time. “There’s a Certain Slant of Light” holds several literary techniques
including personification. In the last stanza Dickinson writes of how “the landscape listens-/
shadows- hold their breath” (Holt). The use of simile is also seen in line three, “oppresses, like
the heft” (Holt). These literary techniques are also seen in Dickinson’s poem “It Was Not Death,
For I Stood Up.” Personification is written in lines three and four, “for all the bells/ put out their
tongues” (Anderson 27). Dickinson’s poetry is full of images that produce metaphors
representing life, death, and oppression. These metaphors, created with the use of her
personification and use of similes, were the most unconventional part of her writing in the
nineteenth century.
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Along with her unconventional literary techniques, Emily Dickinson wrote using rhymes
“that were not generally accepted till late in the nineteenth century” (“Emily Dickinson: An
Overview”). Dickinson’s poem “It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up” uses imperfect rhymes as
well as an instance of perfect rhyme (“Emily Dickinson: An Overview”). In line five the word
“Knees” and in line seven the word “feet” form an imperfect rhyme; the same type of rhyme is
seen in lines nine and eleven with the words “all” and “Burial” (Anderson 27). Once again, this
imperfect rhyme happens in lines twenty-two and twenty-four with the words “Spar” and
“Despair” (Anderson 27). A perfect rhyme is written in the lines eighteen and twenty with the
words “around” and “Ground” (Anderson 27). The rhyming that Dickinson used in this poem
were not accepted and contributed in part to the criticisms against her poetry. Yet again, Emily
Dickinson used her writing to portray a nonconforming attitude towards poets of the nineteenth
century.
Emily Dickinson, though unintentionally, became one of the greatest poets America has
known. Her unconventionality, though criticized during her lifetime, is what contributed to the
deep meaning and themes of her work. Varying from the typical themes, writing styles,
intentions, and literary techniques of women poets of the 1800s, Dickinson made a name for
herself through her words. “There’s a Certain Slant of Light” and “It Was Not Death, For I Stood
Up” are two poems that exemplify just how different Dickinson was from the archetypical poet
of her time. She wrote beyond her years and beyond the standard expectations. Dickinson created
a path for poets to differ from others’ expectations, to write true feelings, and to write without
fear of others’ opinions. Without Dickinson’s poems, poetry might not have evolved as it has
today. Emily Dickinson changed the stereotypical definition of poetry and made a name for
herself without ever knowing the impact that she would have.
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Works Cited
Anderson, Charles R. “Despair.” Modern Critical Views: Emily Dickinson. Ed. Harold Bloom.
New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. 27-30. Print.
“Emily Dickinson.” World Book Encyclopedia. 190. 2002. Print.
“Emily Dickinson: An Overview.” Academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu. Melani. Web. 18 May 2012.
Holt, Stephanie. “A Literary Analysis of Emily Dickinson’s Poem ‘There’s A Certain Slant of
Light.’” Legacy.hopkinsville.kctcs.edu. 18 May 2012. Web. 18 May 2012.
Magill, Frank N. Magill’s Survey Of American Literature. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Vol. 2. New
York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1991. 513-516. Print.
Moss, Joyce and George Wilson. Literature and Its Times. Ed. Jeff Hill and Lawrence J Trudeau.
Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 55-56. Print.