Preliminary Thesis: Emily Dickinson’s powerful and influential poetry was caused by her experience with death, her religious upbringing, and her choice of physical isolation.
Emily Dickinson wrote over 1100 poems during her period of isolation from 1858 to 1865, all of dealing with themes like sorrow, nature, and love. She bound about 800 of these pieces in fascicles, or self-crafted books, which she rarely showed anyone except family members and certain well-respected friends (Amherst College).
Dickinson suffered from a severe eye condition called Iritis, which most likely pushed her towards separation from society. She also enjoyed several benefits from saying in the Homestead, such as a large conservatory where Dickinson could cultivate various types of plants and fuel her love of nature. Furthermore, she lived in her own bedroom, away from the noise, in which she wrote the majority of her work (Amherst College). Although many thought Dickinson to be a recluse, she welcomed several guests into her home, such as Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a dear friend of hers, in 1870. …show more content…
Therefore, it appears as though Dickinson had the ability to live a social life but made the decision not to (Amherst College).
Dickinson’s father died in 1874, her mother suffered a stroke in 1875, her beloved nephew Gib passed away in 883, Otis Lord died in 1884, and Helen Hunt Jackson passed away in 1885. The stress of each death advanced Dickinson’s sick condition, until she finally died in 1886 (Amherst College).
Even at an early age, death served as an evident force within her life through the losses within her friend group and family. For instance, Sophia Holland, her cousin, had passed away while Dickinson was still young. She could not have escaped the nature of funerals and the process of death, as her house was conveniently located close to her town’s cemetery (Amherst College).
While most of Dickinson’s family entered the Calvinist church, including her sister, brother, father, mother, and friends, she never affiliated herself with any specific church, regardless of the religious revivals occurring all around her (Amherst College). Dickinson’s apparent fascination with death should be expected regarding the religions she faced and time period she grew up in. Death seemed like an ever-present force with the lack of medicine and sanitation, so most religions taught that each person should be ready to welcome death (Amherst College). Dickinson initially was a part of a Congregational Church with her family and visited many services related to Calvinism and Congregationalism. She also experienced Methodists, Baptists, Unitarians, and Catholics throughout her existence (Amherst College). Her family influenced her deep understanding of the Bible and various religious concepts, as they celebrated daily religious ceremonies and often encouraged her to read scripture in her youth (Amherst College). Dickinson did not reject her family’s faith out of spite or disobedience but because she needed to find her own believes independent of anyone else. Religion still remained an essential topic of discussion in her poetry, especially when dealing with faith, salvation, and death (Amherst College). A few of the reasons Dickinson refused to practice the strict Calvinist religion included the concept of “original sin” and the belief that humans are innately evil so only a select few who dedicated
Emily Dickinson wrote over 1100 poems during her period of isolation from 1858 to 1865, all of dealing with themes like sorrow, nature, and love. She bound about 800 of these pieces in fascicles, or self-crafted books, which she rarely showed anyone except family members and certain well-respected friends (Amherst College).
Dickinson suffered from a severe eye condition called Iritis, which most likely pushed her towards separation from society. She also enjoyed several benefits from saying in the Homestead, such as a large conservatory where Dickinson could cultivate various types of plants and fuel her love of nature. Furthermore, she lived in her own bedroom, away from the noise, in which she wrote the majority of her work (Amherst College). Although many thought Dickinson to be a recluse, she welcomed several guests into her home, such as Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a dear friend of hers, in 1870. …show more content…
Therefore, it appears as though Dickinson had the ability to live a social life but made the decision not to (Amherst College).
Dickinson’s father died in 1874, her mother suffered a stroke in 1875, her beloved nephew Gib passed away in 883, Otis Lord died in 1884, and Helen Hunt Jackson passed away in 1885. The stress of each death advanced Dickinson’s sick condition, until she finally died in 1886 (Amherst College).
Even at an early age, death served as an evident force within her life through the losses within her friend group and family. For instance, Sophia Holland, her cousin, had passed away while Dickinson was still young. She could not have escaped the nature of funerals and the process of death, as her house was conveniently located close to her town’s cemetery (Amherst College).
While most of Dickinson’s family entered the Calvinist church, including her sister, brother, father, mother, and friends, she never affiliated herself with any specific church, regardless of the religious revivals occurring all around her (Amherst College). Dickinson’s apparent fascination with death should be expected regarding the religions she faced and time period she grew up in. Death seemed like an ever-present force with the lack of medicine and sanitation, so most religions taught that each person should be ready to welcome death (Amherst College). Dickinson initially was a part of a Congregational Church with her family and visited many services related to Calvinism and Congregationalism. She also experienced Methodists, Baptists, Unitarians, and Catholics throughout her existence (Amherst College). Her family influenced her deep understanding of the Bible and various religious concepts, as they celebrated daily religious ceremonies and often encouraged her to read scripture in her youth (Amherst College). Dickinson did not reject her family’s faith out of spite or disobedience but because she needed to find her own believes independent of anyone else. Religion still remained an essential topic of discussion in her poetry, especially when dealing with faith, salvation, and death (Amherst College). A few of the reasons Dickinson refused to practice the strict Calvinist religion included the concept of “original sin” and the belief that humans are innately evil so only a select few who dedicated