I Dwell In Possibility Emily Dickinson Analysis

Transcendentalism Mini-Project

Person: Emily Dickinson

Poem: ”I dwell in Possibility” – (466)

”I dwell in Possibility” was actually a poem about Emily Dickinson, at the time she was alive, she didn’t really fit in. She didn’t have a husband or kids, and just wanted to live life her way, so she began poetry. The point is, Emily didn’t write ”I dwell in Possibility” for the sole purpose of writing poetry, she wanted to challenge the narrow-minded society around her. Emily wasn’t down to Earth with puritanical values, and society. So, she wrote a poem that embraces one's ability, and showed how her voice was distinctly American. Referring back to the Declaration of Independence, of course, to which all men are created equal, and have equal opportunities.

This poem was actually to describe Dickinson’s vocation as a poet, she saw poetry as open and limited. The visionary experience of houses and windows, with visitors all made sense to me. Poetry was not just for Emily Dickinson to write, it was for the growth of society as a whole. The house and garden in the poem are used as a metaphor in the poem, showing that it was the traditional setting of a woman’s vocation. Not only does the structure of the poem represent freedom in poetry, it also represents a life beyond the rules of society. However, I had a slightly different take personally to this poem, to which I think my classmates would appreciate.
I wake up every morning to the same routine.

I get ready, go to school, do whatever extracurricular activity I have for the day, homework, hit the hay, and repeat. I’m sure my classmates feel the same, and it’s almost like we are in a box. A box that doesn’t require an immense amount of strength to break, but we choose to stay in it for the sake of comfort. “I dwell in Possibility” showed me that any box could be broken, all you have to do is expand your mind, to be able to understand that there is life around the towns we normally live in. It was almost like a huge slap in the face when I stepped foot in New York for the first time ever alone, I thought to myself, “This really exists.” To which I learned that the only person that can make my life worthwhile, is myself. We all have a brain for a reason, and it’s up to us what we decide what to do with it. Emily Dickinson decided to challenge society with poetry, and change the way people think. We are who we are, because of comfort. We choose to stay in this comfort zone, because we are used to it. Unfortunately, the only way to know that there's a lot more to life than just school, is to get out of this comfort zone. Don’t live the same life everyday, there’s just too much in this world to do, even as teenagers. Everything you call life, was built by people no smarter than

you.