Isolation In Emily Dickinson's Poetry

The poetry of Emily Dickinson was created due to the fact that she was primarily isolated from society and she used the influence of friends and other poets. Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10, 1830. She had one brother and one sister, along with her two parents. Emily’s brother Austin eventually became a lawyer and her father, Edward, worked for one term in congress and he was very interested in the field of politics. Also, her mother and sister didn't have jobs due to the expectation that women only work in their household (Academy of American Poets). For the first part of her life, Dickinson was isolated from society in Amherst, Massachusetts (Authors and Artists for Young Adults). She was primarily left

During 1841-1847, she studied the languages of French and Latin, botany, geology, history and philosophy during her time at Amherst Academy. While at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Emily struggled with being away from her family and hometown for a long period of time. Fortunately, she was eventually able to adjust. Although education was a key reason that her final works of poetry were so successful, there were many people in Dickinson’s life who influenced her work. During 1850, the manner of her poetry shifted, following her reading of Emily Bronte and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poetry (Authors and Artists for Young Adults). These poets and many more became inspirations to Emily. One of her closest friends was Charles Wadsworth, and her poetry was eventually written in a tone that was sorrowful due to Charles moving out west during the year of 1860. Emily called Charles, “My closest earthly friend” (Academy of American Poets). Also, throughout Emily’s process of creating poetry, she was simply influenced by the support of her friend Leonard Humphrey, the principal of Amherst Academy. Leonard received a poetic valentine from Emily during 1850, which may have hinted at her confessing her love for him. There is no way to be sure, but if she was in love with Leonard, then her poetry could have included the concept of love (Authors and Artists for Young