Emily Dickinson's Obsession with Death Essay

Emily Dickinson was an American poet born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst Massachusetts. It was only upon her death on May 15, 1886 that her family discovered thousands of her poems. One of her most prolific piece of work is “Because I could not stop for death” published in 1860 the poem uses personification, symbols and metaphors to highlight her concern and point of view on death as well as life. In the poem, Dickinson speaks about death in a blithe way setting the overall tone in a calm manner. The poem uses imagery and her ironic tone to give the message that death should not be feared, but instead one should make the best out of life.

As Dickinson retreated from the public's view, she contemplated issues that dealt with subjects of nature, individuality, God, and death. None of Dickinson's poems were published in her lifetime, and it was only after her death in 1886 when her sister Lavivia discovered a collection of over 1,000 poems, that the world was blessed with the poems of Emily Dickinson.

Only five poems can be dated prior to 1858, the year in which she began gathering her work into hand- written copies bound loosely with thread to make small packets called ?????. She sent these fives early poems to friends in letters or as valentines. One of them was published anonymously without her permission in the Springfield Republican in 1852 ( ). This was the first time any of Emily’s writings were published. After 1858, she apparently convinced herself that she had a genuine talent, because now, the packets were carefully stored in an ebony box probably awaiting discovery by future readers or publishers. Perhaps Emily knew that her writing was too far advanced for her time and that her accomplishments would be recognized and given the recognition that they deserved in the future.

“Afraid! Of whom am I afraid? Not Death – for who is He?” (F345). Dickinson, on the other hand, was not shaken by the thought of death, but rather welcomed it. Dickinson’s poetry not only portrayed death as nothing to fear, but it also counterbalanced society’s disdain for death. In one of Dickinson’s most popular poems, she writes “Because I could not stop for death- he kindly stopped for me” (F479). Culture typically sees death as an unwelcome end that everyone must face, but her poetry depicts death as being kind enough to halt its progress to accommodate her. Why is Emily Dickinson’s poetry so in love with death? Death is the only reliable constant (Ottlinger, 42). “All but Death, Can be adjusted Dynasties repaired – Systems – settled in the Sockets – Citadels – dissolved – Wastes of Lives – resown with Colors By Succeeding Springs – Death – unto itself – Exception – is exempt from Change -” (F789). Perhaps the harshest aspect of her poetry’s death is that after it has taken another soul, life moves on simply

Emily Dickinson is well-known due to the fact that she uses an immense amount of death in her poetry; she is also known as being reclusive and death-obsessed. Although other poets don’t typically use large amounts of death in his or her own poetry, Dickinson decided to take her own path in order to get her point across; meanwhile, some found her obsession with death rather disturbing. On the other hand, death could be interpreted through various forms of symbolism. For example, death can symbolize things such as equality, religion, and journeys. Additionally, death can be used to express the loss of a loved one or even an internal loss of yourself, such as despair. Her poems about death

Emily Dickinson lived a large period of her life isolated from the outside world, surrounded by her close family and friends. It is apparent that with most of her spare time, she wrote poems and letters. Dickinson’s poems were heavily influenced by the gothic movement in the 19th century of America, and her fascination with nature that is exposed through her continuous theme of nature being the source of joy or pain in your life. Both Dickinson’s curiosity about nature, and the gothic movement, influenced the recurring theme in her poems, which is displayed in the analysis of “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”.

Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. The people that were part of her life were an enormous impact on her poetry. Her parents were Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross. Her mother suffered a long term illness and needed constant care from her daughters. Dickinson’s father attended Yale College until Junior year, which he went to Amherst College. Edward became Amherst’s chief citizen and a successful lawyer, this gave his children the opportunity to meet many prominent visitors. Dickinson’s older brother was William Austin and she also had a younger amicable sister named Lavinia Norcross, “she was her longtime companion and advocate of her work after her death,” (“Dickinson, Emily”). Leonard Humphrey, her principal at Amherst Academy, was a mentor and a friend to Dickinson. Humphrey influenced her poetry. When Humphrey died, Dickinson was twenty years old. Humphrey’s death furthered Dickinson’s depression; “...the hour of evening is sad - it was once my

The subject of death, including her own was a very prevalent theme in Emily Dickinson’s poems and letters. Some may find her preoccupation with death morbid, but this was not unusual for her time period. The mindset during Ms. Dickinson’s time was that of being prepared to die, in the 19th century people died of illness and accidents at an alarming rate, not to mention the Civil War had a high number of casualties, she also lived 15 years of her youth next to a cemetery. Dickinson’s view on death was never one of something to be feared she almost romanized death, in her poem “Because I Could not Stop for Death”, she actually personifies death while narrating from beyond the grave. In the first stanza she states “I could not stop for

Emily Dickinson did not live what seemed to be an adventurous or lively life. Many people thought of her as a recluse because she did not get out much. However, she wrote with so much knowledge of adventure and experience which not one person thought happened to her. She was able to come up with such vivid moments, ones where it were as if she dealt with them herself. This shows that either she had amazing and compelling ideas or that she did experience some of the things she wrote about, but was very quiet about it all. She did not write how other poets wrote. Many of her poems did not rhyme, but if they did, it was slant rhyme. She also had many reoccurring themes that she was very comfortable talking about. Knowing her background before reading the poems she wrote makes them

Two of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” and “Because I could not stop for Death” are both written about life’s stopping point, death. Although the poems are written by the same poet, both poems view death in a different manner. Between the two poems, one views death as having an everlasting life while the other anticipates everlasting life, only to realize it does not exist. While both poems are about death, both poems also illustrate that the outcome of death is a mysterious experience that can only be speculated upon with the anticipation of everlasting life.

Emily Dickinson once said, “Dying is a wild night and a new road.” Some people welcome death with open arms while others cower in fear when confronted in the arms of death. Through the use of ambiguity, metaphors, personification and paradoxes Emily Dickinson still gives readers a sense of vagueness on how she feels about dying. Emily Dickinson inventively expresses the nature of death in the poems, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (280)”, “I Heard a fly Buzz—When I Died—(465)“ and “Because I could not stop for Death—(712)”.

Emily Dickinson’s reclusive life was arguably a result of her proposed bi-polar disorder. This life and disorder unduly influenced the themes of her poetry. She chose not to associate herself with society and volumes of her poems, published posthumously, examine this idea as well as the themes of nature and death. The clearest examples of these themes are presented in the following analysis of just of few of her

She sent more poems and letters to Susan Gilbert than any other correspondent, over twice as many than were addressed to her next most frequent recipient, Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Smith, “Belle,” 25). The two shared a correspondence that spanned thirty-six years, beginning six years before Gilbert's marriage to the poet's brother, Austin, and continuing until Dickinson's death in 1886. What makes this correspondence so remarkable is the close proximity of their residences. Dickinson was Susan's next door neighbor for thirty years and still she felt the need to write volumes of letters to her. This, as well as offering plenty of innuendo to the sexuality gossips, stresses the importance of the written word shared between the two.

She than decided to print out some of her poems and send them to Higginson, “including three of her most famous works, “safe in there Alabaster Chambers,” “I’ll tell you how the Sun rose,” and “The nearest Dream recedes-unrealized.” (The Importance of Emily Dickinson) However, the poems were not the only thing Dickinson sent to Higginson with the poems she included a letter asking for an opinion on her poems. Moreover, he was willing to help her. Originally he gave her feedback that upset her due to her unique style of capitalizing non-proper nouns, and pauses in random places. Nevertheless the following time he said her pomes were in fact excellent

Emily Dickinson a modern romantic writer, whose poems considered imaginative and natural, but also dark as she uses death as the main theme many times in her writings. She made the death look natural and painless since she wanted the reader to look for what after death and not be stuck in that single moment. In her poems imagination play a big role as it sets the ground for everything to unfold in a magical way. The speakers in Dickinson’s poetry, are sharp-sighted observers who see the inescapable limitations of their societies as well as their imagined and imaginable escapes. To make the abstract tangible, to define meaning without confining it, to inhabit a house that never became a prison, Dickinson created in her writing a distinctively elliptical language for expressing what was possible but not yet realized. She turned increasingly to this style that came to define her writing. The poems are rich in aphorism and dense