Sense Of Belonging In Emily Dickinson's Poems I Died For Beauty '

Due to the complexity of the concept of belonging, a true sense of connection can be found in different circumstances for different people. Many individuals’ sense of belonging is strongly determined by other individual’s attitude. However, some go completely against society’s beliefs and alienate themselves from society. Emily Dickinson’s poems I died for beauty but was scarce, I have been hungry all these years and the blues poem, Refugee Blues convey the effect of society’s attitude on a person’s sense of belonging and provide opposing views towards the effects of others’ attitudes.

An individual’s sense of connection to themselves and society cannot be determined by a particular group of individuals. Dickinson’s I died for beauty,

The persona in the poem is attempting to satisfy her need to belong in society by changing her social group. This is emphasized through the extended metaphor of ‘hunger’, which compares hunger to desire to belong in society. The metaphor expresses the persona 's attempt to blend into the social class system by going for the "ample bread" in contrast to the ‘crumb’ she had previously experienced. The uncertainty of where the character belongs is conveyed through the alliteration in the extract, "I, trembling, drew the table near, and touched the curious wine." the alliteration of the letter 't ' describes the uncertainty of whether the society will accept the character into the desired social group. Dickinson personifies wine in the phrase 'curious wine ' to express the curiosity of the persona towards the higher social class and experience a different view of society. The extract "the plenty hurt me” represents the increased disconnection faced by the persona after experiencing the assumed pathway into a stronger connection to society. This idea is continued through the metaphor of the ‘berry of a mountain bush’ being separated from its natural environment. The contrast between the soft, juicy berry with the hard, dry road accentuates how harmful lack of belonging can be. Therefore, Dickinson has demonstrated the unsatisfaction towards an individual 's sense of belonging due to