The life of the character
Dickinson's grandfather was the founder of Amherst State College. My father is the chief lawyer in the town and has a conservative mind. Dickinson received orthodox religious education from childhood, so her life as a teenager was calm and monotonous. She seldom goes out; she has only traveled once.
Dickinson had no higher education, and only studied in a girls' school near amherst for one year. She is a girl with quick response, humorous words and open mind. After leaving school and going home, Dickinson still lives in the house where she was born. Emily &; Middot Dickinson spent most of her life in the house where she was born. This brick house was built by her grandfather on Main Street. Because of financial difficulties, Dickinson's family sold their house in 1840 and moved to the house in North Happiness Street for fifteen years. Later, Edward &; Middot Dickinson bought another house at 1885. Emily's favorite place in this house is the greenhouse in the east, where she planted many plants that can bloom in winter. On the small book table by the window, she wrote many poems and lived a lonely and quiet life. She thinks the world is so noisy and uneasy that she wants to get away from it and return to Xiaotian, a land built with her own soul.
In Dickinson's youth, two people had an influence on her life. One is Nader &; Middot Humphrey, the other is a young lawyer Ben Ming Jie&; Middot Newton They gave her great help in her study, especially Newton often instructed her what books to read and how to read them, which inspired her to know the beauty contained in a harmonious and complete nature. Newton often preached Calvinist religious thoughts to her, which made her accept Calvinist introspective thoughts and ideas about natural beauty and cold world. These ideas became the creed of her life, and later they were vividly reflected in all her poems. [ 1]
Creation period
There are more than 65,438+0,700 poems by Dickinson, but it is difficult to determine the actual number, because Dickinson's letters began to become "poetic" in the 65,438+0,860s, and it is sometimes difficult to define whether she wrote prose or poetry (Susan called it "epistolary poetry"). Dickinson is not a published poet, so most of her poems can only be regarded as manuscripts, and few of them have been completed, most of which are without sentences.
Dickinson's poems are divided into three distinct periods, and the works of each period have some similarities:
The first issue was 186 1 years ago. During this period, Dickinson's works were traditional in style, and her feelings naturally flowed in. After Dickinson's death, Thomas H &；; Only five works written by middot Johnson and Dickinson before 1858 can be identified.
The second period is 186 1 year ~ 1865, which is the most creative period for Dickinson, and her poems are more energetic and * * *. According to Johnson's estimation, Dickinson wrote 86 poems in 186 1, 1862 366, 1863 1,174. At the same time, he believes that during this period, Dickinson fully expressed the theme of immortality and death.
The third period was after 1866. It is estimated that two thirds of all Dickinson's poems were written before that year. [2]
Emotional experience
Emily once had an ambiguous romantic relationship with several men. Richard Dickinson, the most authoritative biographer; Middotsville recorded the more important love experiences in her life: First, with Samuel &; Middot Bowles' love has no end; The second is the relationship with Judge Lord, who is 18 years older than her.
Emily middot Dickinson's love affair with her father's friend and colleague Judge Lord has been mentioned in some literatures. After the death of Judge Lord's wife, his intimate relationship with Emily two of a kind began at the beginning of 1878, when she was 47 and he was 65. Judge Lord had hoped to marry Emily, but she was rejected. At that time, Emily was no longer young. She knows that marriage means that women have to give up their independence, and she doesn't want to assume the role of a good wife and mother set by society for women. Since she was a child, she has watched her weak and opinionated mother obey her husband absolutely without any pity and tenderness, which probably gradually suppressed her idea of getting married, but it can't hide her desire for marriage. 1884, Emily wrote an unusual poem "The Reverence of Circumference", in which she called herself the bride, involving "possession" and "being possessed". This is written for God. She expressed her desire to be your bride, have you and love you in the form of ancient poems.
Classic center
resume
1830 65438+February 10 Emily &; Middot Dickinson was born.
1833 On February 28th, Emily Dickinson's sister Lavia was born.
Dickinson started primary school in September. 1835.
1840 In April, Dickinson's family moved to North West Street.
June 65438+September 0840 Dickinson attended graduate school courses.
1847 September, Dickinson entered St. John's Women's College.
Dickinson began to write poems between 65438 and 0850.
On March 24th 1852, lawyer Benjamin &; Middot Franklin &; Middot Newton died. He was a close friend of Dickinson's literary tutor.
1855 In February and March, Dickinson and Winnie visited Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and other places.
1855165438+10 In October, the Dickinson family bought back the land and moved back to their home on the main street.
1858 Dickinson began her most outstanding and imaginative creation.
1860 Spring Charles &; Middot Weitzworth visited Dickinson in Anheuser.
Dickinson's spirit changed dramatically in the early period of 1860, and the reason is unknown.
Dickinson wrote to Thomas &; Middot Wenwo middot Higginson.
From February to April, 1864, Dickinson's poems were published in Springfield and the national newspaper.
From April 1864 to June 165438+ 10, Dickinson visited Boston ophthalmologists in Cambridge.
1870 On August 6th, Dickinson visited Emily in Anheuser.
1873 65438+On February 3rd, Dickinson visited Emily again.
Edward & #183; Dickinson's father middot Dickinson died in Boston.
Dickinson's mother had a stroke.
1878165438+1On October 20th, Dickinson's poem Success was published.
Dickinson and Judge Lord fell in love at the end of 1878.
/kloc-in the summer of 0/880, Weitzworth visited Dickinson again.
Charles middot Weitzworth is dead.
1882165438+1October14 Edward & middot; Mrs Dickinson passed away.
1884 March 13 Judge Lord passed away.
1886 may 15 Dickinson died of kidney disease.
Dickinson's funeral was held in May 1886.
1890165438+1October 12 Dickinson's poetry was published.
189 1 year165438+1October 9th, Dickinson's second collection of poems was published.
The letter1894165438+1October 2 1 Dickinson was published.
1 September 1996 Dickinson's third collection of poems was published1.
Style of works
Dickinson's poems adopt the metrical pattern of general church hymns: four sentences in each section, the first and third sentences are eight syllables, the second and fourth sentences are six syllables, the pace is the simplest "light and heavy", and the second and fourth sentences rhyme. For example:
Because I can't stop to die-
He kindly stopped for me-
We're the only people in the car-
And immortality.
Poems are short, mostly only two to five sentences, and often informal, often referring to the so-called "half rhyme"; Give up traditional punctuation, use dashes and capitalize nouns (but this habit was common at that time); Sentence components are often omitted, and sometimes even verbs are omitted; Syntactic inversion is very common, and some scholars point out that it is influenced by Latin word order.
Dickinson's poems are full of wisdom, and novel metaphors are thrown out at will, which drives the vocabulary in various fields (domestic or literature, science or religion), and makes new use of old words, thus achieving his great vocabulary. I like to play different roles in poetry, sometimes the bride, sometimes the little boy, especially the dead. Dickinson's poems describing nature are very famous in America and are often selected into children's textbooks. Pain and ecstasy, death and eternal life are all important themes in Dickinson's poems.
The musicality and iconicity of Dickinson's poems have become the focus of critics' attention. The dashes used in his poems last for a short time, sometimes up and sometimes down. Some critics pointed out that these are music notation, representing the high and low rhythm when reciting or singing this poem. The lines of his poems are often not written from beginning to end. Sometimes a poem is written in two or three lines (that is, there are only two or three words in each line). Some scholars believe that this arrangement is deliberate and has a lot to do with poetry (in addition, Dickinson sometimes attaches "illustrations" to poems and songs sent to friends). Therefore, some people argue that the study of Dickinson's poems must take her manuscript (or a copy of it) as the text, so as not to distort the poems.
Publication of works
The work was discovered.
Dickinson's sister lavinia knows Dickinson's handwriting, but she doesn't understand that these words represent Dickinson's passion all his life. She was really shocked when she found this box containing more than 1000 poems.
Works have been published one after another.
Selected poems of some works
Answer in July
Where are the bees?
Where is the red color?
Where is the hay?
Ah, July said
Where are the seeds?
Where is Bud?
Where is May?
I'll let you answer
No.-May said
Show me the snow.
Show me the bell.
Show me Jay!
Picky Jay
Where is the corn?
Where is the fog?
Where are the thorns?
Here, Nian said.
Answer July-
Where are the bees-
Where is the blush-
Where is the hay?
Ah, July said
Where are the seeds-
Where are the buds-
Where is May?
Answer you-I-
No, May said.
Show me the snow-
Show me the bell-
Show me the Jay!
Jay argued-
Where's the corn-
Where is the haze-
Where is the drill?
Here—the year—
The concept of "image" is very important in understanding poetry. It refers to the poet's giving abstract subjective feelings to concrete objective images, making them into tangible artistic images and vividly showing them. Simply put, it is the combination of subjective "meaning" and objective "image", which blends into the poet's thoughts and feelings and is a concrete image endowed with some special meaning and literary meaning. Dickinson used a lot of accurate and vivid images in her poems, which made up for the poet's lack of life experience, made every grass and tree in her poems have far-reaching charm and philosophy, and influenced many poets in later generations. She herself is also regarded as the pioneer of American Imagist poetry. However, as a Victorian lady, she seldom travels for her own reasons, let alone to other places. The images in Dickinson's poems are very limited, all of which come from the poet's careful observation of nature and daily life. Nevertheless, Dickinson's proper use of these images is fascinating. Dickinson once wrote a poem entitled "I died for beauty", and it was with this attitude that she wrote it all her life. The recurring images in Dickinson's poems mainly include the images of death, homeland and nature.
Emily middot's Analysis of Death Images in Dickinson's Poems
Death is an unavoidable topic in life. Human understanding of death has gone through a long process. And it will continue. This understanding is recorded by writers or poets in various literary forms, which constitutes an important part of human death consciousness. When Dickinson was young. After the death of his family and lover, the poet deeply felt the pain caused by death, which left an indelible mark on his mind and became an important theme in his creation. One third of Dickinson's poems describe death. The poet describes many aspects of death and discusses the true meaning of death and life by using death images such as death, the dead and funeral. Like many westerners, Dickinson believes that death is related to eternal life. Death leads to eternal life. Therefore, death is not terrible, death is not the end, but the beginning of another life; The god of death who leads people to the world of death is no longer ferocious. On the contrary, it is more like a gentleman, a friend and even a lover. "Because I can't stop waiting for death" profoundly embodies this point. In this poem, we find that death is a kind driver. He stopped to wait for me to get on the bus, and Eternal Life was still sitting in the car. "I" was moved by the kindness and courtesy of death and decided to give up work and rest and embark on the road of death. In the poem "Put Down the Latch, Death", the poet begged death to open the latch and let the tired people go in and have a rest, so that they would stop looking and running. Here, the poet treats death calmly, thinking that death is only the destruction of the body, and the immortal soul can only live forever through the necessary stage of death. As long as you understand this secret, death will no longer be terrible, but will become carefree and leisurely.
The image of the dead in Dickinson's works is not terrible, but "sleeping peacefully" and "the face is better than delicate flowers", showing an extraordinary beauty, without suppressing the death breath of rancidity, and the tone of the poem becomes light. The reason why the poet adopts this creative tendency lies in his understanding of the essence of death, that is, death is a kind of enjoyment and a privilege to another world.
As a watershed between life and death, funerals are often heartbreaking and sad. For example, in the poem "I feel that the funeral is held in my mind", the poet feels the arrival of death as a dead person, suggesting that only on his deathbed can one understand the value of life and know how to cherish it, but it is too late. Although I have struggled painfully, I still can't get rid of the gates of hell, which also shows Dickinson's fear and despair of death.
Emily middot: A Brief Analysis of Home Images in Dickinson's Poems
Home is a very broad concept, which can be both a place of residence in the geographical sense and a spiritual destination. Dickinson's home is located in the street of the town. It is called home. Dickinson lived in her house until her death, but she and her family moved from 184O to a less luxurious but more spacious house on Happiness Street. This almost autistic life makes her external experience extremely limited, and the poet will naturally have a strong dependence on her family. In her poems, there are often home-related words such as the name of household goods and architectural vocabulary. As a concept or symbol of home, home has a great influence on Dickinson. Poets often use words related to home in their poems, creating a sense of space or security of home and reproducing the dream of a beautiful home for readers.
As a woman imprisoned at home all her life, the room is a geographical place for Dickinson to escape from society and indulge in poetry, and also a spiritual space for the poet to feel safe and quiet. The word "room" appears in many of Dickinson's poems, but when poets use these words, they are often metaphorical, thus enriching their meanings. For example, in the two poems "What Inn" and "Living in White and Bright Houses", the poet uses the familiar "inn" and "room" to symbolize the grave and the place where people take refuge after death. These two images have a sense of security, tranquility, warmth and belonging. The psychological basis of this consciousness lies in the poet's spiritual needs for safety, belonging and dignity in the face of impermanence of life and mysterious death. From these descriptions, we can perceive Dickinson's view of death: death is real. After death, people do not embark on the road of wandering in search of heaven, but return to their homes that give them a sense of security and belonging. But the home of the deceased has now become a completely closed space, cutting off the connection between the deceased and the world, existing in the world and disappearing into people's sight, and falling into an eternal loneliness. Among the images of homeland used by Dickinson, the word "door" is the most abundant, which can express loneliness, loss, death, security and so on. In the two poems "I have been away from home for many years" and "In the street, a door opened slightly", the image of "door" is mainly associated with the loss of home. In the poet's view, "door" is the switch of "existence" and the boundary between life and death: a strong sense of home leads the poet's dead soul. The familiar warmth after returning to the "door"; Once home was close at hand, but it was a permanent farewell and an insurmountable distance inside and outside the door: people became exiles forever because of death, and home finally existed on the other side of the world out of reach.
"Garden" is an important home image. From the Garden of Eden in the Western Bible to the Garden of the Gods in the Eastern mythology, the "garden" is a symbol of a beautiful and happy life hidden in the depths of human hearts. People explore the possibility of returning to happiness by constructing garden images, and look for the lost spiritual home of mankind. In her poem Another Sky, Dickinson constructs a fairyland-like garden far away from the world through imagination, where time is eternal, birds are singing and flowers are fragrant, there is no darkness and pain, only sunshine and beauty. This idealized garden is the spiritual habitat of the poet's fantasy. Used to avoid or slow down external pressure. Let the soul get a quiet, happy and comfortable pure land.
Emily middot's Analysis of Natural Images in Dickinson's Poems
Poetry with the theme of nature has a long history. Many great writers have discussed the mystery of nature and its purifying effect on human mind. As a poetess living in a rural town in the United States in the mid-Kloc-0/9th century, Dickinson's daily contact with nature is the most easily observed thing. Among the poems left by this poet, there are more than 500 poems with nature as the theme or background. These poems outline the primitive natural scenery of the countryside, flowers, birds, insects and fish. Natural scenery closely fits with the poet's emotion and mentality, and becomes an important artistic symbol in poetry.
In her poems, Dickinson sometimes uses flowers as metaphors to lament the short life and unknown situation of flowers, thus alluding to her troubled fate and lonely life. In How Many Flowers Fade in the Forest, the poet is disappointed that the flowers have withered, and no one knows, and the silent blooming and dying of flowers is a portrayal of the poet's life. In The Bees Driving His Bright Car, the poet expresses his understanding of the ideal love mode with the help of the image combination of flowers and bees: the bees flying among the flowers are symbols of men, while the flowers waiting for them are symbols of women: flowers always appear as solemn ladies, sometimes dismissive of pursuers, and sometimes reluctant to part with them. Dickinson tries her best to show that love is driven by an inevitable emotion and cannot be controlled or explained by reason at all.
In addition, the image of "fruit" appears repeatedly in Dickinson's poems, and poets often use words such as "apple" and "forbidden fruit". Obviously, this shows that the image of "fruit" is related to the meaning of forbidden fruit mentioned in the Bible. However, the poet did not regard it as the source of evil that led to corruption and temptation to commit crimes, but expressed his yearning and desire for the forbidden fruit. In the poem "Forbidden Fruit has Taste", "Forbidden Fruit" has a unique taste in the poet's mind, that is "how delicious"! The thirst for forbidden fruit is the thirst for knowledge and civilization.
In addition to the images of flowers and fruits, animal images also occupy a very important position in Dickinson's poems. The poet described many creatures that are easily overlooked and have terrible shapes, such as mice, flies, snakes, spiders, bats and so on. Give them rich souls and fresh life to express their feelings. In A Slender Guy on the Grass, the poet mentioned the encounter with a snake and tried to get close to it but was rejected, which implied the poet's complex feelings in the face of nature: fear, reverence and confusion. In I realized that a fly was buzzing when I died, the author added a humble little creature, the fly, to dilute the horror and darkness of death and make it dull and even painless. The intrusion of flies and the "buzzing" sound are meaningless, which constitutes a kind of disharmony and even funniness with the significant death, and this disharmony and funniness makes people feel that life is absurd and meaningless.
In a word, the images of death, family contract and nature are the main images in Dickinson's poems. Through these images, readers can better understand the meaning of Dickinson's poems. Among them, the image of death creates a highly infectious artistic conception, showing all kinds of possibilities after death. Encourage readers to explore the eternal theme of mankind; The image of home shows the poet's loneliness and anxiety, as well as his pursuit of a safe, stable, harmonious and warm home. Wonderful nature is the poet's poetic god, which inspires the poet's creative inspiration.
Social evaluation of representative works
Emily middot Emily Dickinson is a famous American poetess. After her poems were published, they got higher and higher evaluation. Her position and influence in the history of American poetry is second only to Whitman. 1984, American literary world commemorates "the father of American literature" Washington &; Middot on the occasion of the bicentennial of Owen's birth, he was in St.&; Middot John's church also opened a "Poet's Corner", and only Whitman and Dickinson were selected.