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Why is Emily Dickinson important?
Emily Dickinson is considered one of the leading 19th-century American poets, known for her bold original verse, which stands out for its epigramma...
What was Emily Dickinson’s education?
Emily Dickinson attended Amherst Academy in her Massachusetts hometown. She showed prodigious talent in composition and excelled in Latin and the s...
What did Emily Dickinson write?
Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems. Though few were published in her lifetime, she sent hundreds to friends, relatives, and others—often with...
What college did Emily Dickinson attend?
Emily Dickinson attended Amherst Academy in her Massachusetts hometown. She showed prodigious talent in composition and excelled in Latin and the sciences. A botany class inspired her to assemble an herbarium containing many pressed plants identified in Latin.
What religion did Emily Dickinson follow?
At home as well as at school and church, the religious faith that ruled the poet’s early years was evangelical Calvinism, a faith centred on the belief that humans are born totally depraved and can be saved only if they undergo a life-altering conversion in which they accept the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Questioning this tradition soon after leaving Mount Holyoke, Dickinson was to be the only member of her family who did not experience conversion or join Amherst’s First Congregational Church. Yet she seems to have retained a belief in the soul’s immortality or at least to have transmuted it into a Romantic quest for the transcendent and absolute. One reason her mature religious views elude specification is that she took no interest in creedal or doctrinal definition. In this she was influenced by both the Transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the mid-century tendencies of liberal Protestant orthodoxy. These influences pushed her toward a more symbolic understanding of religious truth and helped shape her vocation as poet.
How many poems did Emily Dickinson write?
Only 10 of Emily Dickinson’s nearly 1,800 poems are known to have been published in her lifetime. Devoted to private pursuits, she sent hundreds of poems to friends and correspondents while apparently keeping the greater number to herself.
What are some of Emily Dickinson's early poems?
Although Dickinson had begun composing verse by her late teens, few of her early poems are extant. Among them are two of the burlesque “Valentines” —the exuberantly inventive expressions of affection and esteem she sent to friends of her youth. Two other poems dating from the first half of the 1850s draw a contrast between the world as it is and a more peaceful alternative, variously eternity or a serene imaginative order. All her known juvenilia were sent to friends and engage in a striking play of visionary fancies, a direction in which she was encouraged by the popular, sentimental book of essays Reveries of a Bachelor: Or a Book of the Heart by Ik. Marvel (the pseudonym of Donald Grant Mitchell ). Dickinson’s acts of fancy and reverie, however, were more intricately social than those of Marvel’s bachelor, uniting the pleasures of solitary mental play, performance for an audience, and intimate communion with another. It may be because her writing began with a strong social impetus that her later solitude did not lead to a meaningless hermeticism.
Where did Emily Dickinson live?
Childhood portrait of Emily Dickinson (left) and her siblings, Austin (centre) and Lavinia. The home of Emily Dickinson in Amherst, Massachusetts ; it was built for her grandparents about 1813.
When did Wadsworth visit Amherst?
Yet it is true that a correspondence arose between the two and that Wadsworth visited her in Amherst about 1860 and again in 1880. After his death in 1882, Dickinson remembered him as “my Philadelphia,” “my dearest earthly friend,” and “my Shepherd from ‘Little Girl’hood.”.
What is Barrett Browning's vision of poetry about?
Two of Barrett Browning’s works, “ A Vision of Poets,” describing the pantheon of poets, and Aurora Leigh, on the development of a female poet, seem to have played a formative role for Dickinson, validating the idea of female greatness and stimulating her ambition.
What did Emily Dickinson do at the seminary?
Dickinson took examinations during her first week at the seminary and scores placed her in the first of three academic levels. By midterm, she was promoted to the middle class. Dickinson remarked that Mary Lyon, the seminary’s founder and principal, was “raising her standard of scholarship a good deal…& on account of that she makes the examinations more severe than usual” (L18).
Where did Emily Dickinson go to school?
Emily Dickinson’s Schooling: Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. “ [O]n the whole, there is an ease & grace a desire to make one another happy, which delights & at the same time, surprises me very much.”. A fter completing her schooling at Amherst Academy, Emily Dickinson attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1847-1848.
What classes did Emily Dickinson take at Mount Holyoke?
Other courses included English grammar, Latin, history, music, algebra, philosophy and logic. Mount Holyoke’s curriculum was innovative with its emphasis on individual discovery through laboratory ...
How old was Emily Dickinson when she entered the seminary?
Dickinson was sixteen when she entered the seminary, younger than most of the other 234 students.
What was Dickinson's job?
Dickinson’s job was to carry, wash and dry knives at every meal table “morning & noon & night” (L18) . Like most other educational institutions at the time, Mount Holyoke also believed that students’ moral and religious lives were part of its responsibility and conducted revivals that encouraged students to profess their faith.
Who was Emily Norcross' cousin?
Students who attended came primarily from New England but also from Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and the Cherokee Indian Nation. The poet shared a room with her cousin, Emily Norcross, who graduated at the close of the 1848 year. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary ca. 1845. Print by Currier and Ives, based on a drawing by Persis Thurston, ...
What was Emily Dickinson's troubled life?
Dickinson was troubled from a young age by the "deepening menace" of death, especially the deaths of those who were close to her. When Sophia Holland, her second cousin and a close friend, grew ill from typhus and died in April 1844, Dickinson was traumatized. Recalling the incident two years later, she wrote that "it seemed to me I should die too if I could not be permitted to watch over her or even look at her face." She became so melancholic that her parents sent her to stay with family in Boston to recover. With her health and spirits restored, she soon returned to Amherst Academy to continue her studies. During this period, she met people who were to become lifelong friends and correspondents, such as Abiah Root, Abby Wood, Jane Humphrey, and Susan Huntington Gilbert (who later married Dickinson's brother Austin).
What books did Emily Dickinson read?
Dickinson was familiar with not only the Bible but also contemporary popular literature. She was probably influenced by Lydia Maria Child 's Letters from New York, another gift from Newton (after reading it, she gushed "This then is a book! And there are more of them!" ). Her brother smuggled a copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's Kavanagh into the house for her (because her father might disapprove) and a friend lent her Charlotte Brontë 's Jane Eyre in late 1849. Jane Eyre ' s influence cannot be measured, but when Dickinson acquired her first and only dog, a Newfoundland, she named him "Carlo" after the character St. John Rivers' dog. William Shakespeare was also a potent influence in her life. Referring to his plays, she wrote to one friend, "Why clasp any hand but this?" and to another, "Why is any other book needed?"
How many letters did Emily Dickinson send to Susan?
Emily eventually sent her over three hundred letters, more than to any other correspondent, over the course of their relationship. Susan was supportive of the poet, playing the role of "most beloved friend, influence, muse, and adviser" whose editorial suggestions Dickinson sometimes followed.
How many poems did Emily Dickinson write?
After her younger sister Lavinia discovered the collection of nearly 1800 poems, Dickinson's first volume was published four years after her death. Until Thomas H. Johnson published Dickinson's Complete Poems in 1955, Dickinson's poems were considerably edited and altered from their manuscript versions. Since 1890 Dickinson has remained continuously in print.
Where were Emily Dickinson's children born?
1840. From the Dickinson Room at Houghton Library, Harvard University. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born at the family's homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, into a prominent, but not wealthy, family.
When was Emily Dickinson's daguerreotype taken?
Jump to navigation Jump to search. American poet (1830–1886) Emily Dickinson. Daguerreotype taken at Mount Holyoke, December 1846 or early 1847; the only authenticated portrait of Dickinson after childhood. Born.
How many periods are there in Dickinson's poems?
Dickinson's poems generally fall into three distinct periods, the works in each period having certain general characters in common.
What was the influence of Amherst College on Dickinson's life?
The intellectual life of the College had a profound influence on life in the Dickinson home. Beyond the personal papers of Dickinson herself, the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections provides extensive documentation about the faculty, students and other members of the College community who played some role in Dickinson's social ...
What college is Emily Dickinson's home?
Amherst College is home to the largest and most varied holdings related to poet Emily Dickinson anywhere in the world. The manuscript holdings include several fascicles and hundreds of letters, but the great strength of the collections at Amherst is the numerous rough drafts and fragments of Dickinson's poetry.
What is the Emily Dickinson Museum?
The Emily Dickinson Museum website is a rich resource for information about Dickinson's life. The Museum also runs programs about Dickinson and her work throughout the year.
What is Emily Dickinson's writing material?
Her writing materials range from slit open envelopes, such as "The way hope builds his house" (AC 450) shown here, to scraps of wallpaper and a chocolate wrapper. It is impossible for any transcription of these fragments to capture the important details of how Dickinson originally laid out her poetry on the page.
When did Amherst College buy Dickinson Homestead?
Amherst College purchased the Dickinson Homestead in 1965 and took ownership of the Evergreens in 2003. The merger of the houses and the three acres on which they stand restored the parts of the property to the estate Dickinson herself had known and furthers the College's long-standing and complex associations with the Dickinson family ...
Who edited Dickinson's poetry?
In addition to manuscripts in Dickinson's own hand, Amherst holds a significant collection of material that documents the editorial work of Mabel Loomis Todd and Millicent Todd Bingham on their editions of Dickinson's poetry.
Who donated Dickinson's poems to Amherst College?
In 1956 David and Mabel Todd's daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham, gave to Amherst College the Dickinson poems and Dickinson family papers she inherited from her mother. The donation included 850 poems and fragments and 350 letters--the largest collection of Dickinson manuscripts in the world. In addition to manuscripts in Dickinson's own hand, ...
What is Emily Dickinson's online archive?
The Online Archive is a free-access resource, allowing online visitors to view digitized images of Dickinson manuscripts held in multiple libraries and archives across the country.
How long did Margaret Maher stay with the Dickinson family?
The Dickinson family hires Margaret Maher as their primary domestic help. She would remain with the Dickinsons for thirty years.
How long did Emily and Lavinia care for their mother?
The next summer she falls and breaks her hip, becoming permanently bedridden, and requiring further care. For the next seven years , until her death in 1874, Emily and Lavinia cared for their mother in her convalescence.
What is Emily Dickinson's first poem?
The earliest record of Emily Dickinson’s poetry in publication. “Magnum bonum, harem scarem” is published in the Amherst College Indicator as a valentine letter.
Where did Emily Dickinson and Lavinia Dickinson visit?
Emily and Lavinia Dickinson visit Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
Where did Emily Dickinson live?
From late April to November, 1864, Emily Dickinson spends many months in Cambridge, Massachusetts for treatment of a severe, disabling eye condition. During these two months with Boston’s leading ophthalmologist, Dr. Henry Willard Williams, Dickinson lives with her cousins Louisa and Frances Norcross in Cambridge.
What is Emily Dickinson's withdrawal from society?
Emily Dickinson’s reclusiveness increases. While the origin of this departure from social life is specifically unknown, Dickinson’s withdrawal from society also marks the beginning of one of her most productive times, artistically.
How many times did Emily Dickinson leave Amherst?
From 1847 until her death, Dickinson did not leave the town of Amherst more than three times, and rarely left even her father’s house, writing in 1868, “I do not cross my father’s ground for any house or town.”.
When did Emily Dickinson start writing poetry?
Quite content with her isolation--to her the home and its grounds were the world in microcosm--Dickinson began writing poetry in the late 1850s, using her imagination to describe “the panoply of human experience.”.
Is Emily Dickinson a reclusive poet?
As additional volumes appeared over the years, critical appreciation of the reclusive Amherst poet grew steadily, and Emily Dickinson is now generally considered to be one of America’s most important writers.
Where is Emily Dickinson's house?
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts. Significance: Birthplace of American poet, Emily Dickinson. Designation: National Historic Landmark. OPEN TO PUBLIC: No. Emily Dickinson, noted American poet, was born and lived out the majority of her life in this 2 ½ story brick house.
Who sent Emily Dickinson poems?
Although her family knew that she wrote for hours at a small desk in her bedroom, no one realized the scope of Dickinson’s work until Emily herself sent writing critic Thomas Higginson four carefully chosen samples of her poetry.
What did Emily Dickinson mean by "we don't deserve dogs"?
Emily Dickinson understood the fundamental truth of life: We simply don't deserve dogs. As professor of American literature Colleen Glenney Boggs writes, Dickinson was given a puppy by her father in 1849 and named the dog Carlo after a dog mentioned in the novel Jane Eyre. (Boggs also notes that "Carlo" was a very common name for a pet dog in the 19th century.)
How many books did Emily Dickinson write?
She sent many poems to friends, for example, and even tried her hand at self-publishing with hand-bound collections. She produced 40 such books during her life. The tragedy is that Dickinson died without recognition for her work.
How long did Dickinson and Carlo stay friends?
Dickinson and Carlo became best friends for the next 16 years. The Academy of American Poets reports that beginning in 1850, you can find references to Carlo in many of Dickinson's letters and even her poems. In her letters, Dickinson described Carlo as being almost as large as she was, and in her poetry, she refers to Carlo with obvious affection and loyalty. As anyone who has ever enjoyed a dog's faithful companionship knows, losing such a friend can be a terrible emotional blow, and it's likely no coincidence that when Carlo passed away in 1866, Dickinson withdrew even further from outside life.
What is the meaning of Dickinson's poetry?
In Dickinson's poetry, you get a sense of who she was as a person: intelligent, curious — and sad. If all you know about Dickinson is that she existed and that you can sing all of her poems to the tune ...
How long was Emily's mother bedridden?
This strained relationship was made even more difficult for Emily when her mother suffered a stroke and broken hip and was bedridden for the last seven years of her life, depending on Emily and her sister Lavinia to care for her until the end.
What was Dickinson's illness?
Gordon notes the near-constant reference to illness and the brain in her poetry, and the prescriptions written for her by her family physician are in line with 19th-century treatments of what was then called the Falling Disease. This would also explain Dickinson's frequent absences from school as a child — and her reclusive nature. At the time, epilepsy was still widely misunderstood, and epileptics were often considered to be evil, violent, or otherwise impaired. If a member of a prominent family suffered from the ailment, they would be very likely to try their best to conceal it — which might require that they stay inside, hiding.
When did Emily Dickinson leave her home?
After the death of her beloved nephew, Gib, in 1883, Dickinson went beyond her usual isolation and retreated into her home, never to emerge again, for any reason. She spent the final year of her life almost totally and voluntarily cut off from the rest of the world, seeing almost no one.
Overview
Life
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born at the family's homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, into a prominent, but not wealthy, family. Her father, Edward Dickinson was a lawyer in Amherst and a trustee of Amherst College. Two hundred years earlier, her patrilineal ancestors had arrived in the New World—in the Puritan Great Migration—where they prospered…
Publication
Despite Dickinson's prolific writing, only ten poems and a letter were published during her lifetime. After her younger sister Lavinia discovered the collection of nearly 1800 poems, Dickinson's first volume was published four years after her death. Until Thomas H. Johnson published Dickinson's Complete Poems in 1955, Dickinson's poems were considerably edited and altered from their man…
Poetry
Dickinson's poems generally fall into three distinct periods, the works in each period having certain general characters in common.
• Pre-1861: In the period before 1858, the poems are most often conventional and sentimental in nature. Thomas H. Johnson, who later published The Poems of Emily Dickinson, was able to date only five of Dickinson's poems as written before 1858. Two of these are mock valentines done i…
Modern influence and inspiration
Emily Dickinson's life and works have been the source of inspiration to artists, particularly to feminist-oriented artists, of a variety of mediums. A few notable examples are as follows:
• The feminist artwork The Dinner Party, by Judy Chicago, first exhibited in 1979, features a place setting for Dickinson.
Translation
Emily Dickinson's poetry has been translated into languages including French, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Georgian, Swedish, and Russian. A few examples of these translations are the following:
• The Queen of Bashful Violets, a Kurdish translation by Madeh Piryonesi published in 2016.
• French translation by Charlotte Melançon which includes 40 poems.
See also
• List of Emily Dickinson poems
Further reading
• Emily Dickinson Papers, 1844–1891 (3 microfilm reels) are housed at the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University.
• Sánchez-Eppler, Karen; Miller, Cristanne, eds. (2022). The Oxford Handbook of Emily Dickinson. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198833932.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-187227-3.