Comparing Emily Dickinson's Poetry And Life

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Emily Dickinson is a very well known poet who was not a well-known poet during her lifetime but was recognized after she passed. Emily had a very bizarre way of writing her poetry. She would use marks that would be various sizes, slanted, horizontal or even vertical. These dashes seemed to replace normal punctuation. Her poems were based around a variety of images some included death, immortality, and the ways of living. Two popular poems that are great examples of her style of writing are “Because I could not stop for Death” and “I measure every Grief I meet”. Throughout these poems, Dickinson introduces the themes of death, immortality and the ways of life. Although these poems are similar they both introduce different ways of viewing how life is seen through the eyes of others and through the reader's eyes.
In “Because I could not stop for Death” there is a common theme of death and eternity. Throughout this poem, Dickinson uses many words as alternate meanings for death and life. This poem has words that are capitalized and describe a deeper meaning of imagery:
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess - in the Ring -
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We passed the Setting Sun - (lines 9-12)
These words are used …show more content…

This shows Dickinson writes this poem as if it is close to her heart and that the griefs she talks about are ones she has been through. She talks about one reason for grieving is death, “Death - is but one - and comes but once -” (27). To me, this shows that she has gone through many deaths in her life causing her to grieve. Another, major point that Dickinson states are many wear crosses but some wear them differently. The crosses represent the griefs and she then states, “Still fascinated to presume / That Some - are like my own -” which is describing how she has realized she is not the only person going through these griefs