"Forever is composed of now's." Emily Dickinson wrote these famous words in the 19th century. She was born into the time of the Civil War and when women's rights were not equal to men's. Ms. Dickinson was one of the most influential American female poets of her time. She inspired many people with her works and her words continue to live on today.
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. When she was ten years old, she attended Amherst Academy. In 1847, she spent a year attending Mount Holyoke College. In 1861, the Civil War began, and the poet began collecting poems in small packets that are now called "fascicles". This continued until 1864, when some of her woks, such as The Drum Beat, appeared in the local newspaper. In 1875, Dickinson had a tragic stroke that left her partly paralyzed. A few years later in the late 1870's, she encountered a romance with a man called Otis Phillips Lord. Unfortunately, Lord died a few short years later, on March 13, 1884 in Salem. Dickinson never married and never had children. She later died due to Bright's disease, a common disease in the 1800's that effects the kidneys. Four years later, in 1890, several of her poems were discovered by
…show more content…
After her death, Dickinson's first volume of poems was published after her sister discovered them. Some of her most popular works were I'm Nobody! Who are you!? and Success is Counted Sweetest. Dickinson loved riddles, and this was projected through her works. She would also often use hyphens instead of commas in her writings. It is qualities such as these that make her writing unique. One could also describe her work as vivid, rebellious, and worldly. Two people who had a major influence on her writing were Leonard Humphry, the principle of Amherst Academy, and a family friend named Benjamin Franklin