Source(google.com.pk)
Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Though very few poems were published before her death in 1886, she is considered one of the great American poets. Though most of her poetry was written in the middle of the 19th century, she has come to be regarded as a predecessor of the Modernist movement in poetry. Her writing, of which critic Thomas Bailey Aldrich wrote, “…was deeply tinged by the mysticism of William Blake, and strongly influenced by the mannerism of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” did not conform to the poetical or grammatical rules of the period. With the advent of Modernist poetry, Emily Dickinson’s status in the poetic canon changed from an eccentric loner who did not understand style to a bold stylist who carved her own path in American poetry.Born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts where her paternal grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, had been integral in the founding of Amherst College. The family lived in Samuel Dickinson’s household, called “The Homestead.” At the age of nine, Emily moved, with her family, to a house on North Pleasant Street in Amherst. Growing up in an academic family, Emily Dickinson’s father saw that her education was well rounded. Despite his desire that his children receive an education, however, her father was also very strict about the types of literature allowed into the house, Walt Whitman, for example, was not allowed and was considered “inappropriate” by Emily Dickinson’s father. Emily Dickinson developed an independent streak, which evidenced itself in her writing for the rest of her life in response to the literary stifling of her father.
During her teenage years she discovered poetry through the works of William Wordsworth and Ralph Waldo Emerson, having been introduced to both by a lawyer named Benjamin Franklin Newton who had been in the employ of her father. Newton, who died of tuberculosis when Emily Dickinson was still young, encouraged her to continue writing poetry which had great effect on Emily Dickinson.
Calvinist revivals swept the nation during Emily Dickinson’s youth. While she was initially overjoyed to take part in these religious gatherings, she soon found that worshiping in her own home was more satisfying. In a poem written around this time she wrote, “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church – / I keep it, staying at Home.” Her privacy and relationship with God figured heavily into her writing from that point onward.
As a young woman, Emily Dickinson was vibrant and hopeful. She wrote that she hoped to be the, “Belle of Amherst,” at seventeen. As time progressed, however, Emily Dickinson became more and more melancholy, preferring to stay indoors at her family’s home in Amherst. She spent one year away from Amherst at the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary but left abruptly after sending a message to her brother, Austin, to retrieve her “at all events.” Biographers differ on the rationale behind Emily Dickinson's flight from Mount Holyoke. Whatever the reason, it marked the last instance of any prolonged absence from her home in Amherst.
By the age of 20, Emily Dickinson had begun the path to seclusion that would define the rest of her life. The deaths of several friends and mentors had begun weighing heavily on Emily’s mind. The death of Leonard Humphrey, the principal of the Amherst Academy, who had been both a friend and tutor to Emily Dickinson, furthered her depression. She wrote to a friend, “…the hour of evening is sad – it was once my study hour – my master has gone to rest, and the open leaf of the book, and the scholar at school alone, make the tears come, and I cannot brush them away; I would not if I could, for they are the only tribute I can pay the departed Humphrey.”
The year 1855 brought several upheavals into Dickinson’s life. First, she journeyed to visit her father who was a congressman in Washington D.C. and from there to Philadelphia where she met a Presbyterian minister named Charles Wadsworth with whom she would consult regarding her thoughts on life and religion until his death in 1882. That same year, Emily Dickinson's father moved the family back to his father’s home, “The Homestead,” where Emily would live for the rest of her life.
The following year, Emily Dickinson's brother, Austin, married Emily’s longtime friend Susan Huntington Gilbert and purchased the house next to “The Homestead” which he named, “The Evergreens.” Emily and Susan remained lifelong friends and, despite their proximity, Susan was Emily’s favorite correspondent, receiving some three hundred letters from Emily throughout their friendship. Susan, who was also a writer, would, from time to time, offer Emily Dickinson editorial advice and was the recipient of more than two hundred and fifty poems from Emily Dickinson. While initially involved with the social gatherings that took place at “The Evergreens,” Emily Dickinson continued to become more and more reclusive as the 1850s wore on.
As her mother’s health began to fail, Emily Dickinson spent more and more time in the family home. Emily Dickinson’s father, Edward, had a conservatory added to “The Homestead” to facilitate Emily Dickinson’s love of gardening year round. Emily Dickinson also had her own room in which she spent much of her time writing poetry and letters. The conservatory and a quiet place for writing enabled Emily Dickinson to stay busy while remaining close to her ailing mother as she was in constant need of attention.
Withdrawing even further into seclusion, Emily Dickinson began the most productive part of her writing career in 1858, reviewing and rewriting poems she had already written as well as beginning many new poems. From 1858 to 1861 Emily Dickinson also wrote what have come to be called “The Master Letters,” in which she addresses an unknown “Master” with whom scholars have theorized Emily Dickinson had a tumultuous romantic relationship.
In addition to her sister-in-law, Susan, Emily Dickinson also began sending many of her poems to literary critic Thomas Wentworth Higginson whose piece “Letter to a Young Contributor” in The Atlantic Monthly had done much to inspire Emily Dickinson to continue her writing. Higginson served as advisor and editor to Emily Dickinson as well as helping her through some of her darker moments. Emily Dickinson, in 1862, went so far as to tell Higginson that he had, “saved her life.”
Undergoing several painful surgeries in the middle of the 1860s, Emily Dickinson spent several months at a hospital in Boston. These were the last times she left Amherst. Upon her return she retreated further into the seclusion of “The Homestead,” rarely leaving and speaking with visitors through her closed door. She also became known as “the Woman in White,” due to her proclivity for wearing all white on the rare occasion she was seen outside “The Homestead.”
Despite her reclusive nature, Emily Dickinson had several suitors including Otis Phillips Lord, who had worked with her father. Lord and his wife had been frequent visitors to “The Homestead,” and the newly widowed Lord visited Emily Dickinson often. They shared a prolific correspondence, and some scholars speculate that there is evidence that Emily planned to marry Lord, although these plans never came to fruition.
Toward the end of her life, Emily Dickinson began to write less and less poetry. Still a fervent letter writer, she now focused on caring for her ailing mother, tending to her garden and performing household tasks. Several local poets encountered Emily Dickinson’s work at this time and attempted to convince her that she should publish. She declined, however, although several of her poems were published anonymously during this period.
Her garden became her primary focus. Dickinson biographer Judith Farr writes that Emily Dickinson, “was known more widely as a gardener, perhaps, than a poet,” until after her death. She enjoyed being able to travel the world simply by tending to the various strains of flowers and plants, which occupied the conservatory in her household. She also would frequently include a verse with a bunch of flowers sent to a friend, although she speculated that the flowers were enjoyed more highly than the poetry.
The final years of Emily Dickinson’s life were marred by many deaths. Her father passed away suddenly while on a trip to Boston in 1874. Though his funeral was held in “The Homestead,” Emily Dickinson did not attend, opting to remain in her room with the door ajar. Her mother suffered a paralyzing stroke in 1875, which rendered her immobile and in an impaired mental state. Her favorite pastor, Charles Wadsworth, died in 1882 only five months before her mother. Otis Taylor Lord died in 1884 after a prolonged illness, prompting Emily Dickinson to write that Taylor was, “our latest lost.”
The youngest son of her brother Austin took ill and died in 1883, at which point Emily Dickinson wrote, “The Dyings have been too deep for me.” Her health began to decline after the death of her nephew and never returned. Emily Dickinson died on May 15, 1886 of Bright’s disease. After her death her younger sister was tasked with organizing and destroying Emily’s letters. She carried out this task and in doing so discovered seventeen hundred of Emily’s poems, which were subsequently organized and published with the help of Emily’s longtime friend Thomas Wentworth Higginson.
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
Poems About Death Poems About Love For Kids About Life About Death About Friendship For Him About Family Tumblr For Her About Nature
No comments:
Post a Comment