Emily Dickinson: An Everlasting American Poet

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“Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes.” was one of Emily Dickinson’s most famous quotes, showing much of her swaying from Romanticism to a more Realistic view, and changing the standards of writing along with it. Between 1858 and 1864 Emily Dickinson wrote over forty hand bound volumes of nearly 1800 poems, yet during her lifetime only a few were published. Perhaps this is why today we see Dickinson as a highly influential writer, unlike those during her time who did not see the potential. Emily Dickinson wrote most of her works towards the end of the romanticism era, but considered more of a realist, ahead of her time and one to shape the new movement. The main characteristic of Romanticism that Dickinson portrays in her writing emphases of the importance of nature to the Romantics, but she is known as a Realist because of her concern and fascination with death, and the harsh realities of life. Emily Dickinson’s upbringing and early education, along with living in reclusion with death all around her, greatly influenced on of the greatest female poets of all time. Dickinson’s life was fairly normal compared to most, except for a few key parts. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts with her family having had deep roots in New England. Her paternal grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was well known as the founder of Amherst College and father worked at Amherst and served as a state legislator. He married Emily Norcross in 1828 and the couple had three children: William Austin, Lavinia Norcross (Bio.com). Because of her family’s background, and despite being a woman of the time period, many of which were not permitted to receive and education, she went to both A... ... middle of paper ... ...ickinson-9274190>. "Emily Dickinson." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. . Johnson, Tamara, ed. Readings on Dickinson. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1997. Print. Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. . Shackford, Martha Hale. "The Poetry of Emily Dickinson." The Atlantic Monthly 3.1 (Jan. 1913): 93-97. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Janet Mullane and Robert Thomas Wilson. Vol. 21. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 May 2014. "Significant to American Literature - Emily Dickinson 101." Significant to American Literature - Emily Dickinson 101. Google Sites, n.d. Web. 22 May 2014. .

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