The Poems of Emily Dickinson - Essay Example

The poems of Emily Dickinson The poems of Emily Dickinson were unconventional in that they did not ascribe to conventional rhyming styles. Latent within the originality is the theme of spirituality that was the driving spirit behind Dickinson’s poetry, manifesting itself in a variety of forms. Her search for God in the midst of her continual anguish are a recurring theme in her poetry. She compares herself to a little girl who beseeches a stern God again and again and her work appears to demonstrate atheism. Yet, such rebellion may have only been the external expression of Dickinson’s inner rebellion and quest for freedom from the chauvinistic mores of her day. Her deep inner spirituality is revealed in her quest for and staunch adherence to truth, which is constantly reiterated throughout her poetic range. Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 at Amherst in Massachusetts, the daughter of Edward Dickinson, a prominent and influential lawyer in Amherst. (Myerson, 34) Her siblings were her brother Austin and her sister, Lavinia. She was a demure, self effacing woman who never found fulfillment in any love affair but lived a solitary life that set her on the path to a close relationship with God and a concern with spirituality and death. She unsuccessfully endeavored to her get poems published all her life, but their unconventional nature was often the hindering factor. It was only after her death that the efforts of her sister Lavinia and her brother’s lover, Mabel Todd coupled with the editor Higginson, resulted in her works being published slowly, although they were toned down from the unconventional original. It was only many years after her death that the original versions of her poems have been published, with many new ones coming to light after having been hidden away for years due to the Dickinson family feuds. Eberwein states: “God was the most important person in Emily Dickinson’s life. Her relationship with him excelled all others in endurance and intensity…….she was drawn to the power and safety God manifested.” (Eberwein 244-245) The suffering of her lonely life and the doubts she entertained about salvation are clearly revealed as below: “Through the strait pass of suffering The Martyrs – even – trod Their feet – upon temptation Their faces – upon God……… Their faith – the everlasting troth Their expectation – fair The needle - to the north degree Wades – s- - thro’ polar air! The poem appears to express the harshness and sacrifice that is required of a pilgrim on his path to the divine and several of Dickinson’s poems appear to reflect the negative elements of Dickinson’s spirituality. Bloom, in highlighting a verse from one of her poems, calls it a “work of un-naming, a profound and shockingly original cognitive act of negation” (Bloom 5) “The moments of dominion/ That happen on the soul And leave it with a discontent/ Too exquisite – to tell! (Dickinson 627) She presents God as adamant and a non responsive Father, while the poet is a supplicant who is rejected time and time again, fostering despair and the pain of rejection. She views God as a stern divine entity, who is uncaring of the pleas of the poet: “And did God care? He cared as much as on the air A Bird - had stamped her foot And cried “Give me” (Dickinson 376) The use of the symbol of the bird is characteristic of many of Dickinson’s poems where the poet/supplicant is presented in the role of a young daughter confronted with a stern, unyielding father. This non-responsiveness of the divinity is a permanent feature and the poet finds this pattern repeated again and again, so that all pleas appear to fall upon deaf ears and not once is there any sign of a bending, or a conciliation: “Would not a God of flint Be conscious of a sigh As down His heaven dropt remote “Just once” sweet deity? (Dickinson 1076) She expresses her lack of faith in the divine power and her certainty that she will not like Heaven, despite the glorious place it is purported to be. In expressing her views about heaven, Dickinson states: “And in the handsome skies I shall not feel at home – I know I don’t like Paradise” (Dickinson 413) She does not welcome the all encompassing nature of God – “Myself would run away From Him – and Holy Ghost – and all But there’s the Judgment day!” (Dickinson 413) Throughout these poems, Dickinson appears to be rebelling against the strictly circumscribed role assigned to women in her day and her rebellion against God appears to symbolize her rebellion against the supremacy of men that existed in her day, against which her poetry was her only outlet. In many ways, Dickinson’s poetry is an expression of the events and frustrations she faced in her own life in her confrontations with men and her inability to persuade them to her way of thinking - from her strict father to the refusal of publishers such as Samuel Bowles and Higginson to publish her poetry (Myerson 34-45). Dickinson’s rejection of the image of God as her father may be directly related to the cruel and repressive images of manhood that she was subjected to throughout her life. The poems of Dickinson are therefore the means by which she was able to express her independence and individuality as a woman, distinct from the docile image she was expected to conform to but which was repellant to her soul. Eberwin characterizes the poet’s struggle to retain her individuality and her ambivalence towards God as follows: “She finds him fascinating and cruel and knows that she must somehow evade his dominance that reduces her to a condition of feminine victimization even as she gathers to herself his power.” (Eberwein 123). However, as opposed to her antipathy towards God, since He represents the male repressive figures in her life, Dickinson’s attitude towards the Son Jesus is different, his suffering finding a responsive chord in the suffering poet’s life. However, despite the external rebellion Dickinson manifested in her poems, she had a deep and abiding faith, born of the love and compassion she witnessed in others and which she poured out on those she knew. Her faith deepened over the years, so that the end of her suffering in his life and her escape from it became synonymous with freedom. Mott discusses the evolution of Dickinson’s religious development, highlighting one poem of hers in particular titled “Escape is such a thankful word” where she states: “And that is why I lay my head/ Upon this trusty Word” – with the word representing the teachings of Christ. The nature of the soul is such that it must ultimately break free of its worldly constraints and Dickinson represents this as: “The soul has moments of escape/ when bursting all the doors/ She dances like a bomb abroad/ and swings upon the hours.” (Mott 103-128). The poet’s entire lifestyle and her years of loneliness appear to express this desire to burst free from the constraints placed upon her creativity and self expression. Despite all the rejection she faced in getting her poems published, she refused to conform to the image of the docile, submissive woman that was expected of the female generation in her time. Her refusal to subscribe to the accepted religious tenets of the day is a further expression of the inner rebellion of her soul that was striving for freedom. As pointed out by Myserson, her originality was not a troubling issue for her, she never once tried to tone down her poems to conform to the conventional notions of what constituted good poetry during her day. She only retired further into her isolation and solitude, remaining staunchly intent upon refining her unique brand of poetry. Through her verse, she sought to give expression to everything that she felt from deep within her inner soul as true and good. Her poetry was her medium for expressing truth, despite the fact that it may have provoked dissent in her audience. Dickinson’s deep spirituality, despite the apparent negation of God the Father, is inherent in her acknowledgement of the suffering of Christ and she honors Him in her poem where she states “One crucifixion is recorded – only…” Her eternal quest for truth is testament to her inner spirituality. Bibliography * Bloom, Harold, 1985. “Emily Dickinson” New York: Chelsea House * Dickinson, Emily, 1960. “The complete poems of Emily Dickinson” (Thomas Johnson edn) Boston: Little, Brown and Co. * Eberwein, Jane Donahue, 1985. “Dickinson: Strategies of Limitation.” Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. * Mott, Wesley T (edn), 2001. “Emily Dickinson” IN “Dictionary of Literary Biography (Vol 243): The American renaissance in New England” The Gale Group, at pp 103-128 * Myerson, Joel (edn), 1978. “Emily Dickinson” IN “Dictionary of Literary Biography: (Vol 1) The American Renaissance in New England” The Gale Group at pp 34-45 Read More