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Loneliness in Works of Emily Dickinson Essay

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In the poems of Emily Dickinson, there are many instances in which she refers to her seclusion and loneliness, and how wonderful the two can be. In a book entitled, Emily Dickenson: Singular Poet, by Carl Dommermuth, she writes: "She (Dickinson) apparently enjoyed a normal social life as a school girl, but in later years would seldom leave her home. She was passionate yet distant." This distance Dommermuth speaks of is quite evident in Dickinson's works. Dickinson not only loves her loneliness but also feels as though she cannot live without it.

Emily Dickinson lived most of her time on this earth, from 1830-1886, in the small New England town of Amherst. New England was where the seeds of Puritanism took hold, and the Dickinson …show more content…

As feminist literary scholars Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar noted, "It was combining Transcendentalism with the Bible and her Puritan background which enabled Dickinson to contrive her own interpretation of theology which was expressed through her poetry" (843).

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.

Dickinson's bout with religious turmoil is quite evident in poem 1545; The Bible is an antique Volume-, in which she seems to be attacking the Puritan radicals such as Jonathan Edward. This poem gives almost a complete overview of the Bible, speaking of Eden, Satan, Judas, David, and also Sin. This poem lets us see why and also how this strict religious upbringing may have pushed her to become the `old spinster' as some may call her, or the woman with the disease of agoraphobia.

In poem number 405, It might be lonelier; Dickinson adds a twist to a traditional view on loneliness. Instead of speaking of being lonely as a negative feeling, she sees herself as `lucky for having it'. It's almost as though she is feeling sorry for those who aren't able to feel alone in the same way.

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