Dickinson Writing Style

The writing style of Emily Dickinson was very original and different from other poets of her time. She was definitely influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and she read a lot of his work (Wayne). He was a very strong influence on her poetry. Emily Dickinson had a lot of characteristics from the romanticism time period in her writing. She wrote about her appreciation for nature a lot and she wrote about the value of individualism (Wayne).

Emily Dickinson lived a large period of her life in solitude. She did not communicate with the outside world very much, so writing poetry was her way of still being a part of the outside world and her way of communicating with it as well. She said that she enjoyed living in solitude, probably because she liked being independent. She said that living her life the way that she did- in solitude, made her feel liberated instead of trapped like many people believe that she may have felt (Kort).

Emily Dickinson was praised for her writing style. Many of her poems were very short and at first glance seemed to be very simple. She was praised for her originality in her poetry and for her imagery and “stylistic complexity” (Kort). Her poems were very witty, even though they contained some very dark themes, such as death. She always had a way of keeping her poems witty and light. Her ideas came from very simple things. She was inspired by everyday items, such as a blade of grass or a birds song (Kort). When she would be doing her daily chores and inspiration would strike, she would jot down ideas very quickly, and finish writing and perfecting the poem late at night.

Many of Dickinson’s poems were short and light. One very popular poem by Emily Dickinson is called “I am Nobody! Who are You?”. Dickinson kept her poems upbeat sounding by using different punctuation. For example, in this poem, she uses exclamation marks to keep the poem having a happy sort of feel to it. This poem is also very short. The entire poem is composed of only two verses which are four lines each. This is like most of her poems which are very short. In this poem she talks about how she enjoys being a “nobody” she writes “How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!” (Dickinson). This poem shows that she appreciates her privacy and she values living in solitude. She would rather be an individual and live her life in peace and quiet alone, than to be a “somebody” and have people admiring her all day with no privacy in her life. This view is probably different than other poets of her time who value being famous and having their poetry read. They wanted to be recognized for their talent, but Emily Dickinson would rather write for her own enjoyment than to have everybody up in her grill.

Bibliography

Kort, Carol. "Dickinson, Emily Elizabeth." A to Z of American Women Writers, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= ffazwmwr0036&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 21, 2012).

Wayne, Tiffany K. "Dickinson, Emily." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= ETRA104&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 21, 2012).

Dickinson, Emily. "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" By Emily Dickinson. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.online-literature.com/dickinson/448/>.