Reference no: EM133373186
Research and develop an annotated bibliography of Emily Dickinson's poetry
The societal constraints Emily Dickinson faced as an unmarried woman in the 1800s and her restricted, lonely life had a significant impact on her poetry. When one considers the background of her life, one may more fully see how frequently her poems tackle themes of sadness, loneliness, despair, and death.
One of Dickinson's most famous poems, "Because I could not stop for Death," analyzes the subject of death and the afterlife. The speaker of this poem personifies death as a gentleman caller who drives her through several periods of existence. Dickinson says that death is a normal aspect of the human experience and that we should not dread it but rather accept it as a necessary passage to the afterlife through her use of imagery and metaphor.
Another poem by Dickinson, "I heard a fly buzz when I died," likewise addresses the subject of death but does it in a more melancholy manner. In this poem, the speaker, who is lying on their deathbed and is surrounded by loved ones, narrates their last moments on earth. The buzzing of a fly serves as a metaphor for the physical world's entry into the spiritual realm, as opposed to the speaker departing peacefully. Dickinson implies in this poem that the harsh facts of bodily degradation can sometimes accompany death, which is not necessarily a calm or tranquil event.
Dickinson's awareness of her societal constraints as an unmarried lady in the 1800s is apparent in both of these poems. She probably knew what it was like to feel alone and isolated as a lady who was mostly confined to her house and had few opportunities for social engagement. Her interest in death and the afterlife may have been affected by this since she may have considered them as means of escaping the limitations of her worldly existence. Readers can more fully appreciate Dickinson's poetry and her distinct worldview if they are aware of her societal constraints and her solitary lifestyle. Her poems are potent portrayals of the human condition, and readers are still drawn to them today.