Isolation In Emily Dickinson's Poems

Emily Dickinson was born December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. In her family of five Emily, the mother , Edward, the father, William, the brother, and Lavinia, the sister. Emily was the middle child in her family. As a child she was very intelligent, creative and enjoyed the company of others. She did not learn to write until she was a teenager. Emily went to Amherst Academy for seven years and graduated in 1847. She then went to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for only one year. Emily and her sister Lavinia cared for their mom when she was ill until she died. “We were never intimate Mother and Children while she was our Mother - but... when she became our Child, the Affection came.” (Dickinson)

In Emily’s adult life she went into almost complete isolation. The reason for this was that she had had a painful ailment in her eyes that was eventually cured. She then had minimum contact with her family and friends. Susan Huntington Gilbert married Emily’s brother, William, in 1856. Susan was one of Emily’s friends that she spent a lot of her time with. When she was not in contact with people she would write poems without anyone

Emily Dickinson’s poems were also influenced by Metaphysical poets in the 17th century. Most of her poems were written in the six years between 1858 and 1864. Emily’s poems were mostly about love and separation, death, nature, and God--but especially love. Her most famous poems include “A great Hope fell,” “A Clock stopped,” and “Alone I Cannot be.” After 1858, she convinced herself that she had a genuine talent, for now her poems were carefully put in a box for the possibility of inspection by future readers or publishers. Only seven poems were published in her lifetime. “I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I look at it until it begins to shine”