Emily Dickinson Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Emily Dickinson (December 10, 1830 - May 15, 1886), nineteenth century United States poet was born in Amherst, Massachusetts to a prominent family known for support of the local educational institutions. Emily's grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson, was one of the founders of Amherst College, and her father served as lawyer and treasurer for the institution. Emily's father also served in powerful positions on the General Court of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives.During a religious revival that swept Western Massachusetts during the decades of 1840-50, Dickinson found her vocation as a poet. One of her biographers has suggested that Dickinson thought of becoming a poet in the Biblical terms of Jacob wrestling with the angel.
Dickinson lived most of her life in the house in which she was born, made a few trips to visit relatives in Boston, Cambridge, and Connecticut. Most of her work is not only reflective of the small moments of what happens around her, but also of the larger battles and themes of what was happening in the larger society. For example, over half of her poems were written during the years of the American Civil War. In the words of one of her most memorable lines, Dickinson's poems tell all the truth but tell it slant:
- Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—
- Success in Circuit lies
- Too bright for our infirm Delight
- The Truth's superb surprise
- As Lightning to the Children eased
- With explanation kind
- The Truth must dazzle gradually
- Or everyman be blind—
Dickinson died of what would today be called nephritis. Her last words were: "I must go in, for the fog is rising."
She died, as she was born, in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Emily Dickinson's language was known for being simple and witty. She was not well-known during her lifetime, because people were more fond of flowery language, and her work did not conform to the tastes of the time.
Her love of nature could be seen in all of her poems. Numerous poems were also written about death; for example, Tie the Strings to my Life, My Lord:
- Tie the strings to my life, my Lord,
- Then I am ready to go!
- Just a look at the horses -
- Rapid! That will do!
- Goodbye to the life I used to live,
- And the world I used to know;
- And kiss the hills for me, just once;
- Now I am ready to go!
See also: Identification of Emily_Dickinson Poems
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