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

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Emily Dickinson’s poems did not gain notoriety until after her death.

Emily Dickinson’s poems didn’t have titles when they were written, and they usually had to be added afterward.

Speaking of unconventional, Amherst College owns a lock of Emily Dickinson’s hair, which she originally saved for her friend, Emily Fowler.

The house where Emily Dickinson was born is now part of the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Emily Dickinson’s letters and poems still hold a lot of mysteries about her life.

Emily Dickinson’s gravesite in Amherst, Massachusetts.

What Amherst College would have looked like in 1848. Emily Dickinson’s grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson, was one of the college’s founders.