Emily Dickinson Poem - Assignment Example

The Belle of Amherst and Emily Dickinson’s Poems Admittedly, The Belle of Amherst is an explicit portrayal of Emily’s secluded and eccentric life in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Belle of Amherst is centered on the life of Emily Dickinson, especially her consistent efforts to balance the agony of solitude, and the briefest moments she ever experienced outright joy in her life. In the film, Emily describes her childhood, especially her emotionless parenting; coupled with her deviance as a teenager in school.

According to Emily, her parents were emotionally unsupportive, and tyrannical. Apparently, the lack of emotional support from her parents blunted her emotionally (Dickinson and Smith 18). As she grew up, she became indifferent to members of her family. As the film’s act begins, Emily introduces herself to her audiences by acknowledging that her middle name was Elizabeth. However, she reiterated that she no longer uses her middle name because first, the name belonged to her father’s sister, and secondly because she was a poet.

In this context, the emotional trauma experienced by Emily during her childhood heightened her disinterest towards her immediate family. Primarily, The Belle of Amherst revolves around the element of anecdotally narrated trauma, coupled with observable arrested emotional development. In an effort to explain her peculiarity and the necessity for her social seclusion, the audiences could inevitably perceive the element of crippled emotional growth, especially in the childlike manner in which Emily narrates her heartbreaks and setbacks.

In fact, the entire play, illuminates the life of Emily Dickinson as one characterized by a disproportional blend of childish humor and grief. Apparently, Emily’s queer behavior and her love for seclusion can be attributed to her moody childhood. Technically, the lack of emotional support from her parents caused a severe impact on the poet. The dramatic portrayal of a depressed Emily indicates that emotional trauma in childhood can significantly cripple the social and psychological well-being of victims in their adulthood (Dickinson and Smith 23).

At this juncture, the sense of depression, childish humor and emotional turmoil narrated by Emily in The Belle of Amherst will be related to central themes of other poems written by Emily.One iconic poem by Emily is Hope is the Thing with Feathers. In her poem, Emily narrates about her struggles with her times in solitude. The main theme in the poem ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ is confusion with self identity. Emily questions God on numerous topics, particularly on her sufferings and pains of having to live alone.

The metaphorical title of the poem indicates that the persona had limited and unreliable levels of hope in her life (Dickinson and Smith 64). Apparently, Emily experienced scarce instances of true hope in her lonely life. As soon as she started to rely on those rare hopes, they would fade away like a restless bird that instantaneously flies off when troubled. In comparison to the film The Belle of Amherst, the poem indicates the fragile and delicate nature of hope in Emily’s life. Technically, the poem reinforces the element of emotional turmoil portrayed in The Belle of Amherst.

Another outstanding poem by Emily is After Great Pain, a Formal Feeling Comes. The poem is not only ambiguous but also though provoking. As the persona in the poem, Emily provides an anecdotal perception of death as the only formal feeling that inevitably comes after a life of suffering. In the first line of her poem, Emily asserts that life is full of ‘Great Pain’. In the poem’s second line, the persona mentions about ‘nerves’ and ‘tombs’ (Dickinson and Smith 29). Direct referral of biological nerves as sensors of pain, and tombs as the symbols of death imply that Emily perceived human life, especially her life as full of sufferings, and that death is the only formal feeling that is different from the painful sufferings in life.

In relation to The Belle of Amherst, the poem After Great Pain, a Formal Feeling Comes is decorated with senses of depression and feelings of grief, which were effectively portrayed in the film. Work CitedDickinson, Emily and Smith, Michael. Emily Dickinson: Selected Poems and Commentaries. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2010. Print.