An American Poet – Emily Dickinson
There’s something about Emily Dickinson’s story as a woman and a writer that really hits deeply when people discover more about this enigmatic lady.
Let me introduce you to a deeper understanding of Emily Dickinson;
- She was born in 1830
- She lived to be 56 years old
- She never married and never had children
- She didn’t travel beyond 50 miles of the Massachusetts home she was raised in
- She gave us hundreds and hundreds of poems
- Many of her poems have been memorized, recited and studied by thousands of people in universities and for personal interest over the last 150 years.
- Her work still resonates with readers to this day
Here is a short passionate poem that speaks to someone who feels deeply…
“Wild nights – Wild nights!
Were I with thee
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!”
– From Fr269
Emily Dickinson never married. However, she wrote so many magnificent love poems, many have speculated about her love life.
Readers have been intrigued by this interesting author since her first publication in the 1890s.
She spent much of her time alone. Especially, in her later years. Although, there is much speculation about her possible romances. These sources include Emily’s own childhood relationships, her “Master Letters,” and her correspondence with Judge Otis Lord.
Emily Dickinson fell in love with a married man —>
The man in question was Judge Otis Lord who was a friend of her father’s and a married man.
Judge Lord and his wife Elizabeth, were frequent guests in the Dickinson household. So, the family knew them well.
Emily listened in and engaged in the inevitable political talk between powerful men. Dickinson and the judge’s relationship only developed after the death of his wife, Elizabeth Lord in 1877.
Below is a picture of Judge Otis Lord
Only fifteen manuscripts, written by Dickinson, survive from their correspondence. Most of these writings are in draft or fragmented form.
Some passages suggest that Dickinson and Lord contemplated marrying.
However, this would have meant that the reclusive writer would need to move to Lord’s home in Salem, Massachusetts. This question was eliminated when Judge Lord’s health declined dramatically.
He died in 1884, just two years before Emily Dickinson’s own death.
Below are a few of Emily Dickinson’s BEST poems…
‘Success is Counted Sweetest’ (1859)
Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed.
To comprehend a nectarRequires sorest need.
Not one of all the Purple Host
Can tell the definition
So clear of Victory
As he defeated – dying – On whose forbidden earThe distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear.
‘I’m nobody! Who are you?’ (1861)
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us!
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
‘“Hope” is The Thing With Feathers’ (1861)
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
Wishing you much imagination…
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