Emily Dickinson 1830-1886
480-490
In poem 303, Dickinson characterizes the writing as a third person. The Dialogue seems to be about
the"Soul" as a person, a female, and the writer is telling us all about her. It is almost as if it is being
told as gossip. It is almost as if Dickinson is writing about the thoughts others have of her. She was
regarded as strange, and was rumored to have only worn white gowns. It was said that never left her
father's house (480).The person being talked about in the poem is introduced as “The Soul selects
her own Society – then – shuts the Door - To her divine Majority – Present no more-“ (483). I find the
theme to the majority of her poetry is the need to express the deepest reaches of an individual soul.
If you think about the topic carefully, our souls are complex and amazing. We could spend a lifetime
alone with ourselves and still never understand our deepest thoughts and feelings, how and why they
change, or why we do the things we do. She was alive during a time of socializing and popular opinion
being key to social advancement. She was able to avoid this empty society with writing to individuals
she deemed worthy and contained her face to face encounters to her parents and brother and sister.
With next to no outside influence, without any extensive interaction, much like Ms.Dickinson,
what would your profound thoughts be? Her preference to isolation gave her a view within that many
struggle with in the world of mass connection we are all obsessed with.
We all know someone who can't be alone in the quiet with their thoughts. Why is that? Is it because
we will find something we fear because we do not understand it? With thousands of outside
influences, do we ever take stock of the thoughts and feelings we have alone? Dickinson did this.
And for her souls shut door in seclusion we now have amazing works that help those who read them and take
them in, and look within to compare and contrast the page with their own heart.
the"Soul" as a person, a female, and the writer is telling us all about her. It is almost as if it is being
told as gossip. It is almost as if Dickinson is writing about the thoughts others have of her. She was
regarded as strange, and was rumored to have only worn white gowns. It was said that never left her
father's house (480).The person being talked about in the poem is introduced as “The Soul selects
her own Society – then – shuts the Door - To her divine Majority – Present no more-“ (483). I find the
theme to the majority of her poetry is the need to express the deepest reaches of an individual soul.
If you think about the topic carefully, our souls are complex and amazing. We could spend a lifetime
alone with ourselves and still never understand our deepest thoughts and feelings, how and why they
change, or why we do the things we do. She was alive during a time of socializing and popular opinion
being key to social advancement. She was able to avoid this empty society with writing to individuals
she deemed worthy and contained her face to face encounters to her parents and brother and sister.
With next to no outside influence, without any extensive interaction, much like Ms.Dickinson,
what would your profound thoughts be? Her preference to isolation gave her a view within that many
struggle with in the world of mass connection we are all obsessed with.
We all know someone who can't be alone in the quiet with their thoughts. Why is that? Is it because
we will find something we fear because we do not understand it? With thousands of outside
influences, do we ever take stock of the thoughts and feelings we have alone? Dickinson did this.
And for her souls shut door in seclusion we now have amazing works that help those who read them and take
them in, and look within to compare and contrast the page with their own heart.
Hey Savannah,
ReplyDeleteYour post was really nice I like the structure you give in the post itself. I was able to go to the poem you were talking about in your post so fast because you listed the pages which get readers involved with your writing. It was a goof technique I can learn from and I like your selection of poem this poem caught my eyes also on the structure. And I was interested it was numbers instead of titles.
Hi Savannah,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your analysis this week. I liked you personal insight at the end of your analysis about the author. Mrs. Dickinson was brave for isolating herself to find her deepest thoughts.
-patrick
Hey Sab. I like you kept Emily Dickinson's background info in mind when writing this analysis. She was a very isolated individual and it's heavily reflected in her poems. She was full of so many different thoughts and opinions but naturally couldn't voice them because of her circumstances. Turning to writing was the best possible choice for her. It's as you said in your analysis, if we as people took more time to focus on our own inner thoughts we still most likely wouldn't fully understand certain things about ourselves. I can't help but wonder how much Emily Dickinson truly understood about herself.
ReplyDeleteHi Savannah! I really like the specific poem you chose, I think it's perfect for the wya you analyzed Dickonson's personality and how it shows in her work. She was a deeply contemplative person, and while that can be seen in many of the poems, one where she discusses the soul and her relationship to society is very well suited to make those comparisons. -Veronica Zesati
ReplyDelete