Emily Dickinson And Her Poet

Emily Dickinson, an introverted American poet with epilepsy, wrote her way into the world of literature in a distinctive and intriguing manner. Her words, while often unrhymed, have left a perpetual ringing in the minds of her readers. Her poems will forever provide them with wonder, however, one may find themselves speculating about what influenced Miss Dickinson to write her poetry the way that she did. Richard Wilbur, an American poet, described Emily Dickinson with the following quote; “I think that for her there are three major privations: she was deprived of an orthodox and steady religious faith; she was deprived of love; she was deprived of literary recognition.” (p.859) Wilbur’s interpretation of Miss Dickinson’s privations can be …show more content…
This allows readers to fully understand her fiery personality, and relate to what drove her to create and to pursue her dream of becoming famous through her poetry. One of the points that Mr. Wilbur made was that Miss Dickinson, “was deprived of literary recognition.” To further this statement he also explained, “The truth is, I think, that Emily Dickinson knew she was good, and began her career with a normal appetite for recognition.” We see this ambition in Dickinson’s poem, “Success is counted sweetest.” The beginning lines are as follows: “success is counted sweetest- By those who ne’er succeed.” This poem leaves its reader with the sting of bitter resentment toward the paradox of one’s own mind set. She describes the disappointing feeling of losing the drive to reach a goal that you have already achieved. Perhaps she is trying to reason with herself that if she had become a successful author, then she would not appreciate being successful. Mr. Wilbur also believed that, “she seems to have found her life, in great part, a history of loneliness, separation, and bereavement.” This means that while she was ambitious and driven, her illness prevented her from achieving many of her goals, and her poetry often covertly conveys this …show more content…
She had a thirst for knowledge and experience, but due to her illness, she had to fulfill those needs through the use of books and poetry. Furthermore, on the personality of Miss Dickinson, Mr. Higginson describes her as talkative despite her shy outward appearance, “But soon she began to talk, and thenceforth continued almost constantly.” She was a direct and ambitious author, yet her isolation rendered her with weakened social skills, and she often presented herself as small and shy, “Forgive me if I am frightened; I never see strangers, and hardly know what to say.” (p.856) Born on December 10, 1830, Emily Dickinson is a true Sagittarius, but her illness prevented her from becoming the person she truly could have been. The final misfortune that Miss Dickinson met in her lifetime was the deprivation of love. This statement is the most difficult to provide evidence to support. One can assume that if Miss Dickinson fulfilled her want of grace with poetry, and her want of experience with books, then perhaps she filled her want of love with literature as well. The concept of love is a scarcity in Dickinson’s poetry, even her poem, “You love me- you are sure,” is riddled with angst rather than the sweet caress of words found in most other love