It Did Not Surprise Me By Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson is a famous author of poems, written when she isolated herself from the world and became a recluse in the 19th century. Dickinson’s puzzling, secluded life proved to generate ideas and emotions that she recorded for herself, but eventually became public pieces. These poems all follow similar themes of death, pain, success, grief, faith, and nature. Dickinson uses many literary devices to portray her unique and varied views of death especially in the poems “Because I could not stop for death” and “My life closed twice before its close.”

The tone seems reflective, as if the narrator is retelling the story over, having thought about it many times. There is one point when irony is used—the last stanza is full of confusing words that contradict each other and are certainly not what one would expect after reading the preceding line. I feel the rhetorical situation is the narrator telling a story, perhaps something that happened long ago, and reflecting on it. Dickinson’s use of dashes—though she uses them frequently in all poems—assists to the feeling of story-telling. There are a few occasions throughout the poem when the use of dashes gives the idea of the narrator pausing and adding in a little extra information, maybe something that helps the reader understand the situation more. I think the reader is having a one-on-one meeting with the narrator, though the reader is never formally or specifically addressed. I think it could be that the narrator has gone off on a bit of a tangent, and is perhaps talking almost to his or herself, and glances back to the reader every once in a while to make sure he or she is still paying attention.

One of Dickinson's favorite modes of conveying gothic ideals, the em dash, was a frequent form of punctuation within her early pieces of poetry (“Major”). Invariably taught at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, the em dash was one of the only forms of punctuation that could be completely translated between her original works, most likely being used to stress a pause at the end of sentences and bridge into the next potential thought (“Major”). But, it is known that this was not her complete intention (Poets.org). The true purpose of the em dash within Dickinson’s poetry can be portrayed as such, “In this intensely prolific period, Dickinson's excessive use of dashes has been interpreted variously as the result of great stress and intense emotion, as the indication of a mental breakdown, and as a mere idiosyncratic, female habit” (Denman). Through the inferences derived from Dickinson’s personal life, these dashes drastically change the poem as a whole. What was once presented as a common pause, may now attribute great emotional distress to the positive aspects of the poem. For example, the line “As do the Bee - delirious bourne -” (l.15) can be presently read with great exclamation. Nevertheless, one is not to mistake this burst of emotion with happiness, as but mere liberation from the chains the woman once bore. Through Dickinson’s

The poem “Because I Could Not Stop Death” by Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poems since high school. I chose this poem due to the fact that that Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poets, I personally love her dark, and mysterious poems. Indeed, people believed she was a little messed up in the head, but I believe she was just misunderstood. Additionally, this poem definitely brought back terrifying memories. When couple years ago, I got into a horrible car accident with a drunk driver, the accident was so traumatizing that I recall seeing my life flash before my eyes, it was like my soul was retracing my steps. In this poem, Emily is in a carriage riding around familiar places that she was been to since she was a young child, which to me it sounds like she was retracing her steps. It does represent a personal value due the fact that I believe life is short and one really never knows when it is there time to go.

In this poetic exploration Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson; the assumption of accepting death has been the ultimate interpretation of this poem. Clarification/evidence has given readers an idea that death is unavoidable and that eternal darkness is what awaits after death. Some might say death is a sinister man who only takes your life out of spite, but others would object and lure other pears to be optimistic to the true meaning of death. In a different perspective Dickinson’s poem could be understood as “rebirth”. Death being a blessing, as a result of an awakening to an afterlife, “new beginning”. Depicting this poem many interpretations can lead to many different ideas. The strategic poem Dickinson wrote allows you to appreciate her examination of death as a positive outlook.

Emily Dickinson was one of the greatest female poets to ever live. She left us with many poems that show us her secluded world and life. Like other major nineteenth-century authors, Dickinson used her hesitations between doubt and faith to make amazing works of literature that will remain popular for many years to come. The style of her first writings was mainly conventional, but after years and years of practice she began to leave some room for experiments. Often written the same way that hymns are, her poems dealt with not only issues of death, faith and immortality, but with nature, domesticity, and the strengths and limitations of language. Emily’s faith is clearly seen in her poems 155, 342, and 508.

“I am nobody” (Emily Dickinson). This American poet lived much of her life in reclusive isolation; however, her vividness style and integrity of vision made her one of America’s most important poets. She was born on December 10, 1830 and died on May 15, 1886 , in Amherst, Massachusetts. She came from a prominent New England family, her father, Edward Dickinson, a Yale University lawyer, was a judge in Amherst, a representative in the Chamber of Deputies of Massachusetts, a senator in the state capital and finally a representative of the state of Massachusetts in the Washington Congress. Emily Norcross her mother, William Austin Dickinson her brother and Lavinia Norcross Dickinson her sister and the responsible for having found Emily’s poems. Emily Dickinson attended for one year to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley. During her life, few times she left her home. There were few people with whom she had contact; however they had a huge impact in her poetry. Her only friend was the Reverend Charles Wadsworth, who she first met on a trip to Philadelphia. In the 1860’s, Dickinson lived in almost complete isolation, but actively maintained many correspondences and read widely. Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are connected by the distinguished of a uniquely American poetic voice. Emily Dickinson did not win any awards during her lifetime because her poems were published until after her death. Although she wrote almost 1,800 poems, less than 12 were published in her

Whether Emily Dickinson is writing about death or love or nature, her style is often highly philosophical. Dickinson’s poem, ‘I heard a Fly buzz’, consists of four quatrains, written in a simple four-line rhyme scheme (abcb), whose lines alternate between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. It highlights her famous usage of the dash, her ability to create imagery with little explanation, and her unique voice. Although it is not entirely difficult to comprehend, it is a piece filled with imagery and figurative language that conceal its meaning, especially in regards to the final stanza. This essay will argue that Dickinson’s use of dashes and enjambments to alter rhythm, a persona that is seemingly ready to die, near rhyme, and immense metonymy help create a parable for the preoccupations that typically surround death.

There was a time when poetry was not present in my life. When I was younger, there was no form of art that I really loved or had a connection with. It wasn’t until 8th grade, when we were assigned to read an assortment of Emily Dickinson poems, that I began to understand the influence poetry could have. At a time when I was feeling invisible and insecure, her poetry made me feel the exact opposite. I took great comfort in knowing that someone had also experienced feelings of loneliness and optimism at the same time. Dickinson revealed attributes about myself that I didn’t even know had existed until then.

From experiencing pain and knowing the world around her Emily Dickinson wrote an encouraging and engaging poem. If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking is an eight line, one stanza poem with a deep meaning. Portraying true pain and feeling in a positive light, thoughts and memories are shared through a small piece of writing. The defining theme of Emily Dickinson’s poem is, a good and selfless life is helping those in need because anyone can need

The first poem that I chose that deals with death is "Because I could not stop death" by Emily Dickinson. Reading the first line " Because I could not stop for Death-He kindly stopped for me" really sets the tone of the poem. Just reading that line I learn there's an unusual way that the poem characterizes death. It characterizes it in an understanding and calm way. The poet treats the poem as a journey to her "end". Because she was such a busy person and couldn’t stop death, Death kindly stopped her. "The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality," tells you that death itself is "the carriage". The riders in this poem are death and the person that is referred to as "I", but death ironically would be the driver. She gives specific

The opinions of the narrator regarding love can be easily identified throughout the entirety of 640 by Emily Dickinson, commonly referred to as “I cannot live with You”. However, these viewpoints differ greatly from those of the average person. The single speaker in the poem navigates their way through a complex perspective on love while using the pronoun “I.” Thus, although the speaker takes an opinionated stance on the topic at hand, these views do not necessarily represent the views of Dickinson as the poet. Rather than focusing on the positive attributes of love and relationships, the narrator instead chooses to dwell on the negative and relatively obscure aspects. However, the narrator does not strike down the idea of love entirely; rather, she views the despair of recognizing the gloomy characteristics of a relationship as what keeps people together.

In conclusion, in Dickinson’s poem, she writes about death from the perspective of a deceased person thinking about the day they died. Dickinson experienced the death of many people close to her, which is believed to be the cause of the topics of most her poems being about death. “The Chariot” focuses on the life that is left behind, and shows her view that death is not to be feared since it is just a part of life, shown in how she personifies death as a gentleman.

Emily Dickinson was born in the family Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10, 1830, the daughter of Edward Dickinson, a politician who was involved in state and national politics, and Emily Norcross Dickinson (“Emily Dickinson” Poetry Foundation, 2). In her youth, she lived a happy life in the Homestead with her family, including her older brother Austin and her younger sister Lavinia. After she graduated from Amherst Academy, she attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for a year (Crumbley and Donahue Eberwein, 3). She had been known as a great writer throughout her teen years, but her most creative period of writing lasted from 1858 to 1865 (“Emily Dickinson: The Writing Years”, 1) . By the time she was 35 years old, she had written about eleven hundred poems that assessed such topics as pain, grief and joy. Eight hundred of these were included in little booklets now called fascicles, which she was loath to share with anyone (5). Some of her poems that were published, however, were printed anonymously and seemingly without her consent (6). In the mid-1860’s, Dickinson settled into a period of reclusiveness, which lasted until the end of

“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson is a lyrical poem that contains six stanzas with each having four lines. This poem is about an individual that did not wait for Death, thus Death waited for her. Death, with Immortality as a chaperone, picks up the speaker and leads her through a journey of life. They slowly drive by schools, fields, and the setting sun, reminiscing the activities and trials of life. At the end, they stop at a grave. Here, the speaker realizes that centuries have passed since her death, yet it “Feels shorter than [a] Day” (Dickinson 21-22). Through various literary devices, such as tone, personification, imagery, and metaphor, the author depicts the uncertainty, the inevitability, and ultimately the acceptance with death.