Emily Dickenson

(1830-1886)
Themes

1. The individual’s struggle with God

- explorarea relatiei dintre om si divinitate, potrivit conceptiei iudeo-crestine.

- She God’s domination throughout her life.

2. The power of

3. as a haunted

4. The statement of the self

 Motifs

1. The unique poetic voice

ilustrat prin folosirea persoanei I singular

- In felul acesta cititorii pot sa isi compare experientele, emotiile, gandurile cu cele ale lui
Dickenson

2. The connection between sight and self

- For Dickenson, seeing is a form of

- Vederea reprezinta o expresie a sinelui

- Groaza pe care un vorbitor o experimenteaza in poezia “I heard a fly when I died” este
atribuita momentului cand scriitoare, Emily Dickenson isi pierde vederea, fapt care duce la
moartea ei.

Symbols
 1. - Act as a metrical unit in Dickenson’s poems.
- Are connection between her body and poetry.
 In poezia “ A narrow fellow in the grass” vorbind de “barefoot boy” eul liric
face aluzie la perioada cand nu putea sa faca poezie.

2. represents finality and

- Stones remain unchanged just like flowers

- In una dintre poezii, a character shuts her eyes like stone
 Stone = death

3. = MISTERY OF NATURE
= SYMBOL OF NATURE
= PERSONIFICATION OF HOPE
= SYMBOL OF THE POET
= sunetele pasarilor sunt comparate cu sunetele lirice ale poeziei
Literary period
 Most of her writing falls in-between defined literary movements,
Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism and Modernism, there has
been much confusion on which period Emily Dickinson fits into.
 It is difficult to tell which movement she fits into, because she has
qualities from both literary movements.
 Realists highlighted morality, as Dickinson did.  In fact, one of
her most popular themes was death.  Realists often focused on
things familiar to them, which was, for Dickinson, loneliness
and religion

Transcendentalism
 Printre doctrinele de bază ale transcendentaliștilor se afla credința
într-o stare spirituală ideală, care transcende domeniul fizicului și al
empiricului și care poate fi atinsă numai prin intuiția individului, nu
prin respectarea doctrinelor religiilor deja existente.
 Transcendentalism = Concepție filozofică elaborată de Kant
caracterizat prin religiozitate panteistă (potrivit careia divinitatea
si natura sunt identice) și prin spirit umanitar.
 Transcendentalismul a aparut in SUA in prima parte a sec. 19
cunoscut fiind sub denumirea de Transcendentalism American.
 Pune acentul pe faptul ca Dumnezeu se identifica cu intreaga natura.
 Transcendentalismul critică de pe poziții romantice capitalismul,
propunând rezolvarea problemelor sociale prin autoperfecționarea
morală.
Form and Style
 Dickinson’s poems are lyrics, generally defined as short poems with a
single speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses thought and
feeling.
 As in most lyric poetry, the speaker in Dickinson’s poems is often
identified in the first person,“I.”
 Dickinson reminded a reader that the “I” in her poetry does not
necessarily speak for the poet herself.
 While Dickinson was a prolific poet, only 10 of her nearly 1,800
poems were published during her lifetime.
 Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two
recurring topics in letters to her friends, and also explore aesthetics,
society, nature and spirituality.
 Although Dickinson's acquaintances were likely aware of her writing,
it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Dickinson's
younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of
her work became public. (dupa moartea autoarei, sora sa i-a
publicat poeziile)

I
TRANSCENDENTALISM – LA BAZA E KANT
-GOD = NATURE, NATURE = GOD
– PROBLEMELE SOCIETATII SE
REZOLVA PRIN AUTOPERFECTIUNE
MORALA