Emily Dickinson Research Paper

In my research of Emily Dickinson, I have decided to construct my essay in four parts.The beginning of my essay is a bibliography of the life of Romantic Period poet, Emily Dickinson. After that, I explain the Romantic Period and how my poet was involved. Next, I explicate a poem by Emily Dickinson, and include the poem for reference. To finish, I include a works cited page to give credit to multiple authors.
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts to the parents of Edward and Emily Dickinson (Habegger, 1). Her father was a lawyer who served as treasure of Amherst College and was elected one year in Congress, and her mother was a housekeeper (1). Emily is the second child of three (1). She has an older brother,

Emily was a prestigious student at Amherst Academy (2). She excelled in composition along with Latin and sciences (2). In 1847, Emily left home to attend Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley (2). She left after her first year because she did not like the school’s rules, religious practices, and she was homesick (2). Emily lived the rest of her life on her family’s homestead in Amherst (Emily Dickinson, 1) “There, she secretly created bundles of poetry and wrote hundreds of letters (1).” “Throughout her life, she seldom left her home and visitors were few. The people with whom she did come in contact, however, had an enormous impact on her poetry” (Poet Emily Dickinson, 1). In 1855, Emily met Reverend Charles Wadsworth on a trip to Philadelphia (1). He initially stirred Emily’s writing

In my opinion, this is a powerful poem describing how “The Soul” only focuses on one, and “shuts the door” to everything else. In the first stanza it says, “The Soul selects her own Society - Then - shuts the Door - To her divine Majority - Present no more (Poems by Emily Dickinson, 1).” This stanza is explaining that “The Soul” will select one person and then shut off her attention for everyone else. The second stanza says, “Unmoved - she notes the Chariots - pausing - At her low Gate - Unmoved - an Emperor be kneeling Upon her Mat - (1).” The soul being unmoved shows that she does not care who is trying for her attention, she is only focused on one. Even if an Emperor is kneeling at her feet with a chariot waiting, she will give him none of her time. The last stanza states, “I’ve known her - from an ample nation - Choose One - Then - close the Valves of her attention - Like Stone - (1).” This stanza reiterates the meaning of the poem. She chooses one, then shuts out her attention to anything else. Emily Dickinson uses a simile is line three and four of the last stanza when she writes, “close the Valves of her attention - Like Stone -.” The use of the words, “Like Stone,” creates a dramatic effect. Like Stone, meaning it is solid, set in place, and unchangeable. This shows how focused and certain she is about the soul she has