Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

About Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was during her teens that Dickinson started writing. A lot of her writing was done in the solitude of her bedroom. Much of her life was spent on the family's homestead, as Dickson was not one to go out a lot. While she remained reclusive, she did keep correspondence by sending letters to various people she met.

Some of her reclusive behavior was due to being a caretaker of her mother from the mid-1850s to 1882. It was during this time that Dickinson accomplished a lot of writing. Her most intense writing period lasted 7 years, from 1858-1865. By the end of this writing period she composed 1,100 poems.

The first volume of poetry was not published until 1890, four years after her death. Lavinia Dickinson, Emily's sister, was the one to find all the notebooks filled with poetry. A full compilation, Poems of Emily Dickinson, wasn't published until 1955.

As with many writers, Dickinson's own experiences played a key role in providing inspiration for her pieces. Her poems examine themes such as love, joy, pain, grief, nature, and art. She was also influenced by poets of seventeenth-century England, reading the Book of Revelation, and her upbringing in Amherst, which was a puritan town.

She passed away on May 15, 1886 from kidney disease.

Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most important and well known American poets. Many of her poems are studied in English classes across the country.

7 Interesting Facts about Emily Dickinson:

  1. Her grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was the founder of Amherst College.
  2. In her spare time, Dickinson studied botany and compiled a collection of preserved plants, which is called a herbarium.
  3. The homestead where she lived is now a museum.
  4. She was not publicly recognized during her lifetime.
  5. Less than a dozen of her poems were published during Dickinson's lifetime, and many of them were published without her consent.
  6. She wrote nearly 1,800 poems in her lifetime. Eight hundred of these poems filled forty booklets that she made. They are now referred to as "fascicles".
  7. Dickinson never married, but she had many close male friends.

References

    Poems by Emily Dickinson

  • I Measure Every Grief I Meet

    in Famous Sad Poems

    I measure every Grief I meet
    With narrow, probing, eyes –
    I wonder if It weighs like Mine –
    Or has an Easier size.

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    • Stories 4
    • Shares 1942
    • Favorited 25
    • Votes 343
    • Rating 4.39
    Featured Shared Story

    Penny, you are so right to be honest and tell it like it is for you because that's how I feel as well. It's ok not to be ok. My daughter died on May 23, 2019, of a drug overdose. She had...

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    Touched by the poem? Share your story! (4)

  • There Is Another Sky

    in Famous Nature Poems

    There is another sky,
    Ever serene and fair,
    And there is another sunshine,
    Though it be darkness there;

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    • Stories 2
    • Shares 3073
    • Favorited 32
    • Votes 287
    • Rating 4.32
    Featured Shared Story

    My mother, Joyce, loves her garden, which she made and made beautiful; and her other garden is the seeds of positivity, love, and joy that she has sown throughout her life. Joyce is 84 now...

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    Touched by the poem? Share your story! (2)

  • If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking


    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    If I can stop one heart from breaking,
    I shall not live in vain;
    If I can ease one life the aching,
    Or cool one pain,

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    • Stories 5
    • Shares 8359
    • Favorited 98
    • Votes 1041
    • Rating 4.34
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    The poem transmits the meaning of helping from the heart, reaching out to those in need and soothing the pain felt by others. It doesn't need a hero to work wonders, only need a heart to...

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    Touched by the poem? Share your story! (5)

  • Before The Ice Is In The Pools

    in Famous Holiday Poems

    Before the ice is in the pools—
    Before the skaters go,
    Or any check at nightfall
    Is tarnished by the snow—

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    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 0
    • Shares 433
    • Favorited 6
    • Votes 28
    • Rating 4.39
  • One Sister Have I In Our House

    in Famous Family Poems

    One Sister have I in our house,
    And one, a hedge away.
    There's only one recorded,
    But both belong to me.

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    • Stories 0
    • Shares 286
    • Favorited 9
    • Votes 60
    • Rating 4.12


  • View All Poems by Emily Dickinson

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