Emily Dickinson December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson Born December 10, 1830; lived almost all of her life in her family's house in Amherst, MA 1840, Emily was educated at the nearby Amherst Academy She studied English and classical literature, and Latin; also was taught in other subjects including religion, history, mathematics, geology, and biology. In 1847, at 17, Dickinson began attending Mary Lyon's Mount Holyoke Female Seminary ( Mount Holyoke College) Returned home after less than a year at the Seminary, and she did not return to the school. Some speculate that she was homesick, however there is also speculation that she refused to sign an oath stating she would devote her life to Jesus Christ

As a child Emily Dickinson was a lively, well- behaved, and obedient child Dickinson viewed unfortunate events as Biblical prophecies Many scholars speculate that Dickinson’s trip to Washington D.C. and Philly was forced by her father in order to separate her from a married lawyer that she had become infatuated with

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson Recluse? After Holyoke, she left home only for short trips to visit nearby relatives. Always wore white. Ten poems published during life Relationships? Wrote “passionate” poetry “Master” Sister-in-law Susan Gilbert Most scholars believe that Emily Dickinson’s one true love was Charles Wadsworth. Charles was her pastor that was married, and it is believed that the feelings were felt by Wadsworth as well. He left and moved to California and Dickinson never heard from him again. Dickinson died on May 15, 1886 of a kidney disease After her death, her family found 40 hand-bound volumes containing more than 1,700 of her poems.

Dickinson used unconventional punctuation to emphasize what was being said She only published a handful of poems during her lifetime. She was not happy of how the editors attempted to change her works. Many of Dickinson’s poetry can by sung along to “Beverly Hillbillies”, “Gilligan’s Island”, and “Amazing Grace”

Dickinson & Transcendentalism [L]ike not a few Transcendentalists, she might have written on the lintels of her door-post, Whim. That was her guiding divinity, Whim in a high sense: not unruliness, for all her impishness, but complete subjection to the inner dictate. She obeyed it in her mode of life, in her friendships, in her letters, in her poems. It makes her poetry eminently spontaneous—as fresh and artless as experience itself…. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). VOLUME XVII. Later National Literature, Part II.

Dickinson & Puritanism The inwardness and moral ruggedness of Puritanism she inherited mainly through her father, Edward Dickinson, lawyer and treasurer of Amherst College, a Puritan of the old type, whose heart, according to his daughter, was “pure and terrible.” The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). VOLUME XVII. Later National Literature, Part II.

Dickinson & Puritanism There is no better example of the New England tendency to moral revery than this last pale Indian-summer flower of Puritanism. She is said literally to have spent years without passing the doorstep, and many more years without leaving her father’s grounds. After the death of her parents, not to mention her dog Carlo, she retired still further within herself… The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). VOLUME XVII. Later National Literature, Part II.

Dickinson & Puritanism There is no better example of the New England tendency to moral revery than this last pale Indian-summer flower of Puritanism. She is said literally to have spent years without passing the doorstep, and many more years without leaving her father’s grounds. After the death of her parents, not to mention her dog Carlo, she retired still further within herself… The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). VOLUME XVII. Later National Literature, Part II.

*IRONY- A discrepancy between appearances and reality (A thousand spoons but all you have are knives) * SLANT RHYME- Inexact rhyme/visual parallel (Majority/ Society) *METAPHOR- A figure of speech that compares 2 unlike items without using comparison words *FASCICLES- Tied booklets of poetry

Some Quotes… “Heaven is what I cannot reach!” “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant-- Success in Circuit lies.” “I dwell in Possibility.” “Water, is taught by thirst” “Success is counted sweetest By those who ne'er succeed,”