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 Emily
Dickinson was an American poet. Today, she is praised
as one of the greatest American poets of the 19th Century. She wrote
hundreds of great poems including “Because I Could
Not Stop for Death,” “Heart, We Will Forget Him!,” “I’m Nobody! Who
Are You?,” and “Wild Nights! Wild Nights!”
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, western Massachusetts to
a rich family. Her father was a successful lawyer and a Congressman. Her grandfather
Samuel Fowler Dickinson (1775-1838) was one of the founders of Amherst College.
Emily lived most of her life in Amherst.
During a religious revival that swept Western Massachusetts
(1840-50), Dickinson started writing poems. She wrote about l ife’s
small moments and some larger issues in society. Emily Dickinson is
well-known for her creative use of metaphor and overall innovative
style. She was a very sensitive woman who explored her own spirituality
through poetry.
 Her
poetry is sometimes brooding, and sometimes joyous and celebratory. She avoided the fancy and romantic style of her time, creating
poems of pure and simple imagery. Her unique lyrical style influenced many other authors and poets into the
21st Century.
When her father died suddenly in 1874, Emily stopped
going out in public. She stayed in her room most of the time, writing
poems. Emily Dickinson died on May 15, 1886, at the age of 56.
 In total, Emily Dickinson wrote 1,775 poems in her
life. But it wasn’t until the 20th Century that she was appreciated
as a poet. By her death, only seven of her poems had been published.
Her poetry was collected after her death. A volume
of Dickinson’s Poems was published in 1890 and became very popular.
In the early 20th Century, Dickinson’s niece published a series of
further collections, including many unpublished poems. |
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