Emily Dickinson had a very different writing style when you compare her works to Walt Whitman. She was a major poet and writer, but her poems seemed to focus on the softer side of things like love and looking inside of our heart. Her poetry was very religious too because she was very religious herself (Pettinger, Tejvan). In her poems she incorporates inner experiences while talking about the religion she believes in. Her poems express life in its simplicity. She often thinks of herself as if she is a child again (Pettinger, Tejvan). She is not really a girly-girl either, but has a boyish side to her too.
Upon doing some research, I found that Emily Dickinson gradually slid into seclusion when she was in her late twenties (Pettinger, Tejvan). This seclusion allowed her to clear her mind and do great things with her work. She stayed in the family home, but her works continued to flow out (Pettinger, Tejvan).
Emily Dickinson's most famous poem was "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" It was very simple. Basically she is stating that she is no-one. She lived a very secluded life and was not famous during her lifetime. Her works were not widely recognized for awhile because some of the subject matter was too interesting and she was told that probably not many people would like it (Michelle). The poem shows that Emily Dickinson is more appealed to being nobody than to constantly keep her name circulation because it is tiresome. Again, her poems were simple. She had views about herself and she expressed her feelings.
One thing about her poems is that she refers to love a lot, or an object that she claims to love. There is a lot of emotion behind her writings and poems. Whatever was happening at the time had an impact on her writing. When the Civil War broke out, her poems had a more eerie feeling to them probably because the emotional and darkening setting of the Civil War (Pettinger, Tejvan). She also wrote about things that were not really common. She had a keen eye for observing things and wrote about topics that were a little out of the ordinary, which set her apart from other writers of the time period (Michelle). She was still very influential with the writing style she uses, just her words and how they flow, and overall the poems were very simple and to the point.
Her poems about love are probably the far most significant because she puts a lot of emotion behind her words. Not only is she feeling these things, she expresses them so freely. In her poem "I Have No Life but This" she is talking about how she lives through the existence of her partner, or lover (Dickinson, Emily). It is inspiring because she says she has no new actions to take on or anything to tie her down, she just loves this person very much and her existence is clarified through this person.
Overall, it was her sense of emotion and her simplicity in her writing that made her phenomenal after her lifetime. She paved the way for many writers today, even though she was not famous during her lifetime, she created her own style of poetry and writing that modern authors still incorporate.
Michelle. "Emily Dickinson's Story." Kyrene School District. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/poets/dickinson.htm>.
Dickinson, Emily. "20. “I Have No Life but This.” Part Three: Love. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 20. “I Have No Life but This.” Part Three: Love. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Bartleby Great Books Online. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bartleby.com/113/3020.html>.
Dickinson, Emily. "27. “I ’m Nobody! Who Are You?” Part One: Life. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 27. “I ’m Nobody! Who Are You?” Part One: Life. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Bartleby Great Books Online. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bartleby.com/113/1027.html>
Pettinger, Tejvan. "Biography Emily Dickinson." Emily Dickinson Biography. Biography Online, 26 June 2006. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.biographyonline.net/poets/emily_dickinson.html>.
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