AUTHORS (1830–1886); AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
Though almost all of Emily Dickinson ’s celebrated verse form , from the morbid “ Because I Could Not Stop for Death ” to the uplifting “ ‘ promise ’ Is the Thing With Feathers , ” were publish after her death , she ’s now considered one of the capital American poets of the nineteenth century . Read on for facts , quote , and more from Emily Dickinson ’s life and career .
1. Emily Dickinson’s Poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” Was Published Posthumously.
Only ten ofEmily Dickinson ’s poemswere issue during her lifetime — the absolute majority of her piece of work was edited and published after her end by her friend and wise man Thomas Wentworth Higginson , with the help of her brother ’s mistress , Mabel Loomis Todd , among others . “ Because I Could Not Stop For Death , ” possibly Dickinson ’s most famouspoem , was released in the first loudness , Poems , in 1890 .
2. Most of Emily Dickinson’s Poems Didn’t Have Titles.
Since Emily Dickinson did n’t title her poems , her editors took the impropriety of give some of them title before publishing . “ Because I Could Not lay off for Death , ” for example , is sometimescalled“The Chariot . ” Otherwise , they ’re ordinarily referred to by the first line of the verse form and/or a numeral that correspond to its location in whichever collection it first appeared .
3. Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope’ Is the Thing With Feathers” Illustrates Her Often Unconventional Use of Punctuation.
Though Dickinson ’s early editorsalteredmuch of the punctuation in her verse form after her death , her original manuscripts bring out just how often she used vary dashes to emphasize certain lines and phrases in her body of work . In “ ‘ Leslie Townes Hope ’ Is the affair With Feathers , ” for model , dashesseparate“in the Gale ” in the line “ And sweetest – in the Gale – is find out – ” and “ never ” in the assembly line “ Yet – never – in Extremity . ” How just Dickinson meant those dashes to influence beat and import is up for interpretation .
4. The Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts, Hosts an Annual 19th-Century Children’s Circus.
Though the particular of the summer circus vary from year to class , highlightshave included 19th - century bodily function like tightrope - walking and ring fling , as well as poetry readings , parade , and hitch through Dickinson ’s menage . The circus was inspired by Dickinson ’s recollections of a similar genus Circus put on by her niece and nephews .
5. Emily Dickinson’s Love Poems and Letters Imply a Mystery Man of Her Own.
The excellently single Dickinson compose three “ Master Letters ” between 1858 and 1862 to an anon. love interest she called only “ Master , ” and some of her poems—“Wild Nights , ” for example — also broach the subject of passionate , amorous love . Though we ’ll likely never know whom Dickinson was writing about , scholars havesuggestedhe was a wise man , a newspaper editor , a reverend , an Amherst student , a fancied muse of her own devising , or God himself .
6. Emily Dickinson’s Cause of Death Might’ve Been High Blood Pressure.
According toEmily Dickinson ’s deathcertificate , she go of Bright ’s disease , a case of kidney disease . free-base on her symptom and medication , however , her actual cause of demise could ’ve been nerve failure or a head bleeding contribute on by hypertension , or high blood pressure . She passed away in her Amherst menage on May 15 , 1886 , elderly 55 .
7. Emily Dickinson’s Grandfather Founded Amherst College.
Her paternal granddad , Samuel Dickinson , was one of thefoundersof Amherst College , and her father and crony each do as the origination ’s treasurer . Not only does the college house the orotund collection of Emily Dickinson ’s work , it also owns the Emily Dickinson Museum , which include the Homestead — Dickinson ’s birthplace and home — and the neighboring property the Evergreens , where her brother ’s household lived .
Famous Emily Dickinson Poems
Famous Emily Dickinson Quotes







