Emily Dickinson's Writing Style Reflection

Emily Dickinson was another great author. She was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She lived a very privileged life. She graduated from Amherst academy and eventually went on to South Hadley Seminary for nearly a year. Her world revolved around her family and because of her family's status, she would often be entertaining guests and visitors. she was also extremely knowledgeable, especially when it came to the Bible, the writings of Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, and also George Eliot (McChesney). The strange thing was that about in her early twenties, Emily Dickinson started to shy away from the outside world and community. she mostly stayed in her house and hardly ever socialized anymore except for with a few close friends (McChesney). However, looking back now, that is what makes her unique. she searched inside herself and sort of analyzed her feelings and lifestyle and often, that is expressed in her poetry (McChesney). It is very obvious in the way she writes that she was probably a little different than most people. for example, she wrote a this letter when she was fifteen years old and here is what it said, " "How swiftly summer has fled & what report has it borne to heaven of misspent time & wasted hours? The ceaseless flight of the seasons is to me a very solemn thought, & yet Why do we not strive to make a better improvement of them?" (Dickinson). At this age, most girls are interested in clothes and hair, but Emily Dickinson was already showing the early signs of becoming the great and memorable author that she is (McChesney). She has several different techniques that she uses when she writes. Like many of the authors during this time, she also loved nature. However, instead of talking about a landscape or a blue sky, or the woods, she would break it down in to a simple blade of grass or a single raindrop or insect. " The Bee is not afraid of me./I know the Butterfly./The pretty people in the Woods/Receive me cordially—." (Dickinson). Emily Dickinson was also different in the fact that she did not like to do the normal things that women were supposed to do back then. She would often bake desserts, but she did not like to cook very much. In a letter she wrote, "Father and Austin still clamor for food, and I, like a martyr am feeding them. Wouldn't you love to see me in these bonds of great despair?" (Dickinson). So, not only was she different in her writing style and personality, but she did not conform to society as women were supposed to do. That was about the time when she started to close herself in her room. I really enjoy reading her poetry knowing that she was different than a lot of authors in her writing style, but also in her personality and perspectives. It is a shame that she maybe didn't get out more and live "a normal life." However, if she hadn't lived this way or had not become that person then we may have not had all of her beautiful and mysterious poetry that we have today.




McChesney, Sandra. "A View from the Window: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson." In Harold Bloom, ed. Emily Dickinson, Bloom's BioCritiques. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BCED03&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 20, 2012).