1. Emily Dickinson
By: Lauren Duran

2. Introduction
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts
She left school as a teenager to live a reclusive life on the family homestead
While there, she filled notebooks with poetry and wrote hundreds of letters
Her extraordinary work wasn’t published until after her death on May 15, 1886, in Amherst
Now, Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most towering figures of American literature

3. Family Life
Dickinson’s family had deep roots regarding religion in New England, although they weren’t particularly religious themselves
Her grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was well known as the founder of Amherst College, and her father, Edward, worked at this college and served as a state legislator
Edward had married Emily Norcross in 1828, and together they had 3 children: William Austin, Lavinia, and Emily
Emily’s home was the center of much community and academic activity
Her father would entertain the writers and politicians who visited the college, allowing Emily to meet some of the finest minds in nineteenth-century America
In her twenties, Dickinson started her gradual retreat into the confines of her family’s Homestead, the house where she was born
For the last 15 years of her life, she did not leave its grounds and saw no one but her brother and sister

4. Education
After studying 7 years at Amherst Academy (now Amherst College), Emily went on to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts, at the age of 17
She was an excellent student, even though she missed long stretches of the school year because of homesickness, ill health, and depression
Her fragile emotional state or her defiance toward the church probably played a part in her final departure from the academy in 1848
She returned home without ever finishing her studies

5. Writing & Influences Emily Dickinson began writing as a teenager
Some of her early influences included Leonard Humphrey, the principal of Amherst Academy, and a family friend named Benjamin Franklin Newton
Newton introduced Emily to the poetry of William Wordsworth (who also became one of the young writer’s inspirations)
1855: Dickinson went outside of Amherst, as far as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she met and befriended a minister named Charles Wadsworth, who later became a cherished correspondent of the writer

6. Poetic Movements
Emily Dickinson fits into both the Realism Movement and the Modernism Movement as well as several others
She has qualities from both of these literary movements:
Modernism:
Her unconventional methods could place her with the Modernists, since Modernism was basically a rebellion against traditional writing
Her unpredictable style of writing was also a characteristic of the Modernists
Realism:
Emily has even more features of Realism in her writing
She uses imagery in many of her poems, as well as personification
Her use of death as a popular theme in her poetry also showed the Realist side of her writing

7. Poetic Movements (continued)
Realists mostly focus on things familiar to them, which for Dickinson, was loneliness and religion
Also like Realists, she develops her characters fully, even if they are a thing or object (like the sun or death)
Emily Dickinson could be a Realist because of her development of characters and themes, but could also be a Modernist for her nontraditional style

8. Famous Works & Publications
Hope is the Thing with Feathers: “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.
Some of the most well-known poems by Emily Dickinson include:
“Hope is the Thing with Feathers”
“Because I Could Not Stop For Death”
“T’is So Much Joy”
“Behind me dips Eternity”
“The Only News I know”
“If I Can Stop”
“Much Madness”

9. Famous Works & Publications (Continued)
Behind me dips Eternity:
Behind Me — dips Eternity –
Before Me — Immortality –
Myself — the Term between –
Death but the Drift of Eastern Gray,
Dissolving into Dawn away,
Before the West begin –
‘Tis Kingdoms — afterward — they say –
In perfect — pauseless Monarchy –
Whose Prince — is Son of None –
Himself — His Dateless Dynasty –
Himself — Himself diversify –
In Duplicate divine –
‘Tis Miracle before Me — then –
‘Tis Miracle behind — between –
A Crescent in the Sea –
With Midnight to the North of Her –
And Midnight to the South of Her –
And Maelstrom — in the Sky –
The Only News I know: The only news I know Is bulletins all day From immortality: The only shows I see Tomorrow and today. Perchance eternity. The only one I meet Is God, the only street Existence; this traversed. If other news there be Or admirabler show, I’ll tell it you.

10. Famous Works & Publications (Continued)
In her lifetime, Emily Dickinson published only seven poems – her talent was unknown
The closest she came to recognition was through her friendship with literary critic Thomas Wentworth Higginson
He began corresponding with her in 1862 and continued throughout her life
He saw her intellect and ability but could never completely understand the importance of her poetry
Higginson received the poems she sent him, but he discouraged her from publishing them

11. After Her Death…
Emily Dickinson died on May 15, 1886, due to an illness
Through the help of her sister, Lavinia, Mabel Todd launched Emily’s poems into publication
It wasn’t until 1955 that Thomas H. Johnson compiled, cataloged, and edited all of her poems, creating the standard edition of Dickinson’s poetry
Several drafts of her poems are still surrounded by controversy because she left no indication that there were final versions
Despite Thomas Higginson’s reluctance at allowing Dickinson to publish her poetry when she was alive, he eventually realized the worth of her poems and joined with Mabel Todd in her journey to find a publisher for them
Today, Emily Dickinson is one of the most well-known and famous poets of American literature

12. Trivia/Facts
Emily’s father, Edward Dickinson, went out in his underwear one night and woke up the entire town of Amherst with the church bells so that residents could see the northern lights
The epitaph on Emily Dickinson’s grave simply reads, “Called Back”
Being their unmarried daughter, Emily’s parents expected her to handle chores around their house; Emily had no problem doing the baking and gardening, but didn’t quite like dusting and paying social visits
Dickinson was very close to her brother, Austin, when he and his wife moved into the house next to hers
Emily Dickinson chose to stay home by herself most of the time to write; although she never shared her poems or writings with anyone until her death

13. Pictures & Quotes

14. Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. "Biography of Emily Dickinson." Emily Dickinson. Haights Cross Communications, Print. "Emily Dickinson Biography." Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 6 Sept < #related-video-gallery>. "Emily Dickinson Trivia." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University. Web. 6 Sept < "Literary Period - Emily Dickinson." Google.com. Google Sites. Web. 6 Sept < ry-period>. "Popular Poems of Emily Dickinson." Biographyonline.net. Biography Online. Web. 6 Sept < tml>.