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The Influence Of Power In Emily Dickinson's Poetry

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Emily Dickinson is the creator of some of the most famous works in American poetry. Throughout the 1800s, the author dedicated her life to poetry. She used metaphors in an advanced way and displayed power through her unique use of diction. Emily’s immense power with words derived from her determination. Dickinson’s determination to achieve individuality and power is exemplified through her complex poetry and derived from the events that occurred in her life. Dickinson’s poetry was heavily influenced by the ongoings of her life. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10, 1830, as a younger sister and soon to be older sister. She was born as the middle child of three children. Her mother, Emily Norcross Dickinson, was a stay-at-home …show more content…

As said previously, women in this time period had very limited ways of doing this. However, Emily had something that not many people had the luxury of claiming; she could write. She became a fantastic writer the minute she could create structured sentences. The ability to attain the power she was looking for was already found. Emily had the special ability of being able to arrange words as if they are puzzle pieces whose only purpose is to create an overall picture or concept. An example of this is when she described hope in the form of a bird as it relates to human nature (“’Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers” 123). She also once used a carriage ride to metaphorize the circle of life, immortality, and death (“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” 26). As previously stated, Emily’s power is displayed through her use of diction. Power itself is commonly associated with money or fame. However, money and fame do not equal power. As a young child, Emily comes to this realization along with knowing that her ability to possess an astounding use of diction and metaphors could get her exactly what she desired-powerful authority. However, metaphors and use of diction were not the only two characteristics of writing Emily chose to focus on. She also seemed to choose her themes very carefully. Dickinson repeatedly put a spotlight on thematic things such as death, loss, solitude, authority, …show more content…

Comfort can be found in any place that it is desired. Dickinson’s desired comfort was found within the experience of seclusion. In 1852, Emily went through an unknown, traumatic event which caused her to sink into the depths of her emotions. She withdrew from society for 15 years and refused to interact with any one contacted with the outside world. She resided within the confines of Homestead from 1858 until her death, in 1862. All visitors of Homestead were hidden from and her only focus was poetry (Miller). Some say the cause of her withdrawal was the rejection of her mother, which lead to an immunity to loneliness. Others say she withdrew because none of her relationships seemed to work out which understandably could cause a strong feeling of misery. However, Emily quite frequently had trouble getting poems published, therefore she could have merely wanted to perfect her poetry. Dickinson’s period of seclusion inspired many of her astonishing, yet negative-toned poems still being read

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