Emily Dickinson Case

Emily Dickinson

The poetry of Emily Dickinson, who was influenced by the Romantic/Realist literary period, has greatly contributed to the American literary heritage. According to Jennifer Gage Edison, much of her writing could have been influenced by the way she behaved in everyday life. On http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ in "Emily Dickinson: Overview, it says that,"Emily can be seen by many as psychologically unbalanced or crazy. She became increasingly reclusive in her thirties until finally she almost never left the house. Her behavior at social gatherings in the Dickinson home, while she still attended them, was distinct. She asked whether a guest would rather have a glass of wine or a rose. One guest described her manner of appearing at such occasions: 'a moment when conversation lagged a little, she would sweep in, clad in immaculate white, pass through the rooms, silently curtseying and saluting right and left, and sweep out again.'

As a recluse, she occasionally stayed in her room rather than meet even close friends and rushed away when strangers visited; sometimes she talked with friends while hidden behind a partially open door. She stayed in her room and listened to her father's funeral service, which was held on the lawn of her home." As you can see, her daily life was definitely out of the ordinary. She was an outcast, and she didn't have many friends.

Emily was majorly influenced by the Realist literary period. You can see it reflecting in several of her poems. An example would be in her poem titled, "It Was Not Death For I Stood Up." In this poem Emily writes, "It was not death for I stood up, and all the dead lie down. It was

not night, for all the bells lay out their tongues for noon. It was not frost for on my flesh I felt Siroccos crawl. Not fire for just my marble feet could keep a chancel cool. And yet it tasted like them all."

According to the analysis on http://emilydickinsonandben.blogspot.com/ , "These illusions or delusions Emily goes through ultimately find her recognizing that, 'It was not' any of the things she initially thought, but that, "It tasted like them all." As well as the mixed imagery familiar to readers of Dickinson, of the bells of the churches, the natural elements coming through he frost and wind (siroccos) here, the poem becomes a sort of mixed sensory experience which the poet does not seem to be able to resolve." You can see how Realism effected her writing. She is writing about death and deception, which gave this poem a very real and scary tone.

Emily was also influenced by the Romantic literary period. An example of this would be her poem "A Charm Invests A Face." In this poem she has a completely different tone then "It Was Not Death For I Stood Up." In this poem she writes, "A Charm invests a face
Imperfectly beheld--The Lady date not lift her Veil, For fear it be dispelled. But peers beyond her mesh, And wishes and denies--Lest Interview, annul a want. That Image--satisfies."

According to the analysis on http://www.eliteskills.com/, "The first stanza says how she is wearing something that makes her look charming and so she doesn't want to take it off because she fears to not be pretty.