15 Most Popular Poems by Emily Dickinson

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  • If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking

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    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    This poem is by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886). Like all the rest of her poems, the poem does not have a title and is called by the first line of the poem. Dickinson had the gift of saying a tremendous amount in a few perfectly succinct words. The poem's message is simple and self-explanatory. If I can ease the burden of a fellow living creature, "I shall not live in vain."

    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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    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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  • Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

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    in Famous Inspirational Poems

    Emily Dickinson, born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts, is the author of almost 2,000 poems. Only after she died in 1886 were her poems discovered. In this metaphorical poem the bird is a symbol for hope. Hope Is The Thing With Feathers is written in quatrains and uses an ABCB rhyme scheme

    "Hope" is the thing with feathers -
    That perches in the soul -
    And sings the tune without the words -
    And never stops - at all -

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    I recited this poem in grade six and it has been an inspiration for me ever since. Wonderful work!

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  • There Is Another Sky

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    in Famous Nature Poems

    This poem about finding a beautiful garden is one of Emily Dickinson's most well known poems. The precise meaning of the poem is a matter of opinion. One possibility is that she is pointing out that a person may be disappointed in his quest to experience beauty in the world. However, when we look inside ourselves and one another, we may find a flourishing beautiful garden of delights!

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

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    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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  • Because I Could Not Stop For Death

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    in Famous Death Poems

    A poem about death. Dickinson portrays death as her companion in the carriage. She passes her childhood - the school, to her grave. The poem makes heavy use of the literary device of personification, giving death human characteristics.

    Because I could not stop for Death,
    He kindly stopped for me;
    The carriage held but just ourselves
    And Immortality.

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    Featured Shared Story

    Yeah, I agree we don't stop to think that death will come and take us away even when the ones he has taken are staring right at us. My grandma passed away when I was little. I sobbed for hours.

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  • A Light Exists In Spring

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    in Famous Nature Poems

    Emily Dickinson was a famous American poet who lived during the 1800s. In addition to writing, she also studied botany, which could have been an influence in her poems about nature. This poem is about the light that illuminates all that's around it during spring. While this poem is about nature, it has a strong religious undertone, showing there are things science is unable to fully explain.

    A Light exists in Spring
    Not present on the Year
    At any other period --
    When March is scarcely here

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    The poem depicts supremacy of nature. Nature is beyond natural laws. It's the underlying truth that nature poets communicate to us through their writings.

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  • A Bird Came Down The Walk

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    in Famous Nature Poems

    A poem about birds from Emily Dickinson. Considered by many to be one of the best American Poets. What about this poem makes it a classic?

    A bird came down the walk:
    He did not know I saw;
    He bit an angle-worm in halves
    And ate the fellow, raw.

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    I take walks daily with my dog to visit and hang out with friends. Fall is the prettiest show-off with her colorful jewels! The birds and squirrels play hide and seek within and keep me...

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  • I Measure Every Grief I Meet

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    in Famous Sad Poems

    In this poem, the speaker compares her grief to the grief of those around her. She talks about the different types of grief and tries to make this emotion tangible. Emily Dickinson’s poems have consistent components, and this poem follows many of them: dashes, capitals in the middle of lines, and four-line stanzas.

    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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    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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  • After Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes

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    in Famous Death Poems

    A poem about emotional pain and grief, the body and minds reactions to terrible news. "After Great Pain, a Formal Feeling Comes" is a poem by Emily Dickinson about coping with intense emotional pain. The poet describes their numbed emotional state following a traumatic event. Dickinson uses metaphors and imagery to paint a vivid picture of the speaker's emotional detachment. The use of rhyme and a tight meter gives the poem a musical quality, emphasizing the speaker's numbness. It can be interpreted as Dickinson's own coping mechanism after experiencing a loss, but also applies to the reader's personal experiences and emotional numbness.

    After great pain a formal feeling comes--
    The nerves sit ceremonious like tombs;
    The stiff Heart questions--was it He that bore?
    And yesterday--or centuries before?

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  • One Sister Have I In Our House

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    in Famous Family Poems

    This poem is about Emily Dickinson's sister-in-law, Susan. Emily lived with her sister, Lavinia, ("One Sister have I in our house"), and she had a sister-in-law, Susan, her brother Austin's wife, who lived next door, ("one a hedge away"). "There's only one recorded" (Lavinia is her only biological sister). "But both belong to me" (she considers Susan to be a sister too, although they are actually sisters-in-law).

    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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  • Before The Ice Is In The Pools

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    in Famous Holiday Poems

    Emily Dickinson was an American poet who lived from 1830-1886. The first volume of her poetry was not published until four years after her death. In this poem, it’s not clear what the speaker was waiting for, but some believe it could be Sue, Emily’s sister-in-law. They spent many years corresponding with each other but had moments of estrangement. Some believe this poem also has religious and spiritual references to touching to cloak of Jesus and crossing over to death. Or it could simply be about waiting for winter to arrive. This poem is composed of quatrains (four-line stanzas) that follow the ABCB rhyme scheme.

    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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