 Emily
Dickinson
19th Century Poet
By Anne Adams
It is rare to find published
poetry today, but in the 1800s poetry was
everywhere, not just in books and magazines but
even the daily newspaper. The poetic style of
the period was flowery, emotional and effusively
dramatic, but there was one poet whose short,
succinct and innovative verses were very much a
contrast to the accepted style.
However, the poetry of Emily
Dickinson, like much about the woman herself,
would remain hidden and mysterious until after
her death. Only then would be published the
poetry of a woman who spent many of her years as
a recluse confined to her home. And only then
would the woman who wrote “I’m nobody/Who are
you? /Are you nobody, too?” attract the fame and
admiration she probably never sought and
definitely avoided during her lifetime.
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was
born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst,
Massachusetts, a town where she lived all her
life. Her family was active in local community
affairs, politics and with nearby Amherst
College, founded by her grandfather. Her father
Edward, a prominent local attorney who served in
the Massachusetts legislature as well as
Congress, was a firm, deeply religious and
controlling father. In contrast Emily’s mother
Emily Norcross was a subdued, unassuming and
non-intellectual woman. Though Emily wrote that
her mother “trembled, obeyed and was silent”
when her husband spoke, Mrs. Dickinson was a
devoted homemaker, winning honors in cooking and
gardening.
Emily’s early life was not much
different than that of any other young woman of
her class and position, and certainly gave no
clue as to her later becoming a home-bound
recluse. Because of her father’s prominence and
position Emily received an extensive education
as she attended Amherst Academy from 1840 to
1847 then later spent one term at age 17 in 1847
at South Hadley Female Seminary (now Mt. Holyoke
College).
Until age 23 Emily enjoyed an
active social life, participating in school,
church and community events, as well as out of
town journeys such as when she and her sister
visited their father in Washington when he was
in Congress. However, it was about this time
that Emily began to wear white, as she would all
her life and to begin her self-imposed home
confinement. Until her death at age 56 in 1886
she remained in her Amherst home or on the
grounds, accessible to very few friends and
neighbors. Though it was not unusual for adult
unmarried women to remain at home, Emily’s
seclusion was unusual since she would not leave
her home, and declined most adult visitors.
However, that did not include the neighborhood
children. She shared their games as well as
sharing baked treats with them by lowering them
in a basket from her window.
Still, within the confines of
her home Emily was not lonely as she kept
occupied with a voluminous correspondence, the
few visitors and of course her poetry. Scholars
have detected from her letters and her poetry a
genius that was enhanced with her wide reading
and deep contemplation Also, her poetry reveals
a humorous and lively personality that she hid
behind a shyness except with very close friends
or family.
Perhaps her closest friend was
Susan Dickinson, wife of her brother Austin.
Susan and Austin lived in a house adjacent to
Emily’s. However, even though Susan was “only a
lawn away” as Emily put it the two rarely
visited. Instead, they conducted a lifelong
correspondence. This may seem unusual, but there
was one ultimate advantage because along with
her letters Emily shared her poems with Susan,
and eventually a daughter of Susan’s would edit
and publish them some years later.
Though Emily remained an
unmarried recluse for the rest of her life, she
may indeed have felt a romantic love for one or
more men. Because so much of her feelings are
unknown and scholars have only her poetry and
letters as resources there is really no way to
know for sure but several of her associates have
been considered.
Emily met Rev. Charles
Wordsworth in 1855 in Philadelphia on a rare out
of town visit, and though he would only come to
Amherst twice, in 1860 and 1880, they maintained
a steady correspondence. The man Emily called
her “dearest earthly friend” was happily married
and a father, but some scholars believed some of
poetical love lyrics were inspired by their
friendship. He died in 1882, two years before
she did.
Samuel Bowles was the editor of
a Massachusetts newspaper and a friend of
Emily’s brother. Bowles was married and from the
few of her letters to him that have survived
some have speculated that any feelings between
them may have been on Emily’s side only. Though
he apparently did not return her affection and
may have even seemed indifferent there are
indications that she not only loved Bowles but
continued to do so even until her death.
However, he did publish several of her poems
during her lifetime, though without her
permission.
If Emily’s feelings for
Wordsworth and Bowles are uncertain scholars are
more confident about her feelings for Judge Otis
Phillips Lord. There is some implication from
her letters that he proposed marriage after the
death of his wife and that she seriously
considered accepting. Lord was a prominent
attorney and judge as well as serving on the
Massachusetts Supreme Court. He and his wife had
been regular visitors to the Dickinson
household, then after Mrs. Lord died in 1877
Emily’s feelings may have intensified. Their
1878 correspondence revealed a mutual affection,
and in fact that summer she clearly stated “I
confess that I love him – I rejoice that I love
him.” Their relationship continued but through
letters. Emily remained unmarried and a recluse,
but while her reasons for not marrying remain
mysterious as much of her life what is known is
that she constantly wore a ring engraved with
his name. He died in 1884.
Another male friend who may have
had a more literary than personal association
was Thomas Wentworth Higginson who was a
clergyman and editor of the influential
publication “The Atlantic Monthly.” In the early
1860s Emily had responded to his request for
material from unknown poets. While he did not
publish her work he did offer advice on possible
improvements and apparently suggested she drop
her own individual style and follow the popular
poetic fashion. While Emily did not follow his
advice they did continue their correspondence
and he even traveled to Amherst to visit several
times. It was Higginson who would help publish
her poetry after her death.
In June 1884 Emily suffered her
first attack of Bright ’s disease, a kidney
ailment that would prove terminal. She was
confined to her bed and nursed by her sister
Lavinia until her death in May, 1886 at age 56.
Following her instructions, her family did not
conduct a traditional church funeral but
substituted a gathering for those close to her.
When Lavinia Dickinson went
through Emily’s room after her death she found
nearly 1800 poems tied up in small packets in a
dresser drawer. There were many uncompleted and
many written on just scraps of paper. While her
family knew she wrote poetry they were
apparently unaware of how devoted she was to her
creative craft. When Lavinia sought help in
publishing them she first asked Susan Dickinson,
but when there was no response she turned to her
brother’s associate Mabel Loomis Todd and
Emily’s friend Higginson. They prepared the
poems for publication but instead of merely
making minor corrections they edited the works
to more carefully fit the poetic standards of
the day. The first book of poetry was issued in
1890, with other volumes to follow in 1891, 1894
and 1896.
Then in the 1920s and 1930s
Martha Dickinson Bianchi, daughter of Susan
Dickinson, collected, edited and published the
300 poems Emily had left to her mother. Finally
Harvard University acquired as many manuscripts
as possible, and in 1955 issued a new
compilation, edited by Thomas H. Johnson and
restoring many of the poems to their original
format.
While we cannot be sure if Emily
declined publication during her life because she
knew her work was unconventional for the time or
because of her desire for seclusion, she
remained a unique creative artist. And from her
confined reclusively emerged poems that would
intrigue and speak to readers around the world.
~*~
A native of Kansas City ,
Missouri , Anne grew up in northwestern Ohio ,
and holds degrees in history: a BA from
Wilmington College , Wilmington , Ohio (1967),
and a MA from Central Missouri State University
, Warrensburg , Missouri (1968).
A freelance writer since the
early 1970s, she has published in Christian and
secular publications, has taught history on the
junior college level, and has spoken at national
and local writers' conferences. Her book
"Brittany, Child of Joy", an account of her
severely retarded daughter, was issued by
Broadman Press in 1987. She also publishes an
encouragement newsletter "Rainbows Along the
Way."
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