Emily Dickinson is one of the foremost American poets of all time. She was born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts and her works remain intensely private and psychologically distant, just as she was in life. Dickinson’s works are dark and enigmatic, written largely in the form of short lyric poems that sometimes hint at an abyss of despair and alienation. Her use of language was highly original and sometimes seemingly playful yet consistently insightful.
Dickinson’s unique style and form have been the focus of much scholarly examination and debate for decades, as has her tendency to rely solely on her own idiosyncrasies and sensibilities. Generally speaking, Dickinson’s poetry often consists of three elements: a precise, sometimes heightened syntax; an imagery of nature or of everyday life; and a preoccupation with death or psychological distance. She rarely uses punctuation or color, relying instead upon the rhythmic interplay of dashes, commas, and capitalized words.
Her poems feature a striking use of fragmentation and are often direct in their approach, avoiding the flowery romanticism found in much contemporary poetry. Dickinson often writes in free verse, though she does make occasional use of traditional English and Italian poetic forms such as the ode, the sonnet and the ballad. She was also a prolific writer of prose and her letters, an insightful depiction of her life and times, offer a particularly candid and vivid view into both Emily Dickinson’s life and her unique writing style.
Emily Dickinson has remained a source of fascination and admiration for generations of readers and critics. As a poet, she was highly individualistic and innovative in her use of language and form. Her images are intensely evocative and her words often seem to be cut from the same raw material that make up the greater fabric of experience. From the dense psychological complexities present in her poems to her careful interweaving of poetic form and structure, Dickinson was as singular as she was enigmatic.
Throughout her long career, Dickinson’s works have had a lasting impact on countless readers. Her threads of immediacy, emotional intensity and metaphysical mystery continue to be a major influence on literature to this day. Her works largely lack a moralizing attitude, allowing each reader to interpret the poetry in their own way. In many ways, Emily Dickinson’s work gives testament to the power of poetry to transcend time and language, as if written out of a longing so deep that it was destined to survive in some form beyond her death.
Themes
Emily Dickinson explored many themes in her writing including death, loneliness, loss, and faith. As a woman writing during an era of gender inequality, she was uniquely attuned to life’s suffering, which often informed her poetry. While Dickinson often wrote about themes of pain and despair, her works also capture moments of joy and reverence. For example, many of her poems center around the beauty of nature, conveying a sense of awe and wonder at the world around her.
Philosophically speaking, Dickinson had an unconventional perspective that went against mainstream norms at the time. In her poetry, she often explored existential questions, particularly with regard to religion and death. Dickinson had a complex relationship with organized religion and her faith was often a source of inspiration and contemplation. By attempting to grapple with the bigger questions of life, Dickinson dedicated her work to uncovering hidden truths and understanding topics that were not widely discussed by society.
In addition to her contemplative pieces, Dickinson also published humorous works, which provide an alternate glimpse into her unique imagination. These poems often feature an unexpected twist and tackle topics ranging from absurdity to absurdity of human behavior, while reflecting a certain kind of dark humor that is often still relevant today.
Style
Dickinson’s style is often referred to as “spare” in that she often leaves out traditional or punctuation marks, employing irregular and often compelling line breaks instead. In terms of form, she often employs a six line stanza of iambic tetrameter in her poetry and her use of language is unique, favoring a combination of vivid imagery, abstract symbolism and sharply observed natural details. Dickinson’s voice is direct and sincere, regardless of the subject matter of a particular poem and she is often referred to as an “eloquent minimalist,” as she often conveys complex ideas in few words.
Dickinson also often takes on an optimistic tone in her works, despite her oft-desperate subject matter and she is known for her vivid description of the beauty and solace to be found in nature. She is also very conscious of the power of language, and her short lines often contain layers of meaning and suggest convoluted connections between themes and ideas.
Legacy
Despite publishing only a handful of her works during her lifetime, Emily Dickinson is now considered to be one of the most significant American poets of all time. Her work has been and continues to be an important influence on subsequent generations of writers, and she has been the subject of much critical study. Dickinson has become an icon for her exploration of death and her confrontation of established ideas and beliefs, and her work is now widely celebrated around the world.
In particular, Dickinson’s work speaks to contemporary readers in powerful and relevant ways. Her work largely focuses on the limits of the human condition and her words are often a source of comfort in a cold and indifferent world.
Influence
The impact of Emily Dickinson’s poetry is perhaps most evident in the works of subsequent American poets such as Robert Frost and e.e. cummings, who both drew inspiration from her unique style and approach. Indeed, Dickinson has arguably exerted a greater influence on American poetry than any single poet in the past two centuries.
In her own time, Dickinson was rarely appreciated for her work and struggled to gain recognition from the literary establishment. That said, it wasn’t long before her work became the stuff of legend and her sometimes enigmatic style beguiled and enthralled readers throughout the world. Despite her lack of fame during her lifetime, Dickinson’s works gradually gained acceptance and recognition over the following decades until she became one of the most beloved poets of her time.
Conclusion
Emily Dickinson’s work still resonates powerfully with readers today, offering as it does an enchanting exploration of the human experience. Prevalent themes of death, faith, love, loss and beauty are explored by Dickinson in a unique and often humorous way, and her works remain a source of fascination more than 150 years after her death. As a poet, she was bold and innovative and her contributions to literature have been immense.
