Poetry Analysis
Many people in the 1800’s would have looked at Emily Dickinson and wondered why she lived the life she chose. She was born into a wealthy family that had strong community ties, yet she was reluctant to meet new people, or even leave her bedroom. Most of her friendships were only carried out through family correspondence. Dickinson was a Transcendentalist who was heavily influenced by Henry David Thoreau, believing strongly that society will ultimately corrupt the spirit and soul of an individual. This made her question the need to be wealthy or have many connections to the community. Her poem “It was not Death for I stood Up” proves that she felt her constant despair was unjustifiable due to society telling her she had everything she needed to be happy.
Her poem is characterized by pathos, drawing very strong ties between her and the reader. Her strong diction and the syntax of her sentences allow her writing to have an emotional effect on her audience. The poem tells about her justification of emotions based on her surroundings; “for all the bells / Put out their tongues, for noon.” tells her that it was day, rather than night. By stating “It was not night” rather than “It was day” gives the sentence a dark connotation, and shows the reader that she would is more comfortable with a night setting. Later on, she refers to her life as “shaven” and “fitted into a frame” meaning that all that is left of her existence is bare and stuck in one place. It is evident throughout her work that she was most comfortable living life in her own head, rather than out in the institutions provided by society.
She states that everything she had once enjoyed is no longer joyful which tells that where Dickinson was in her life was simply getting her by. Understanding that she was a Transcendentalist helps the reader not only feel her emotion, but also justifies her state of mind. The ideals of society were shoved down her throat as a wealthy woman in the 1800’s; she was told that it was not considered “normal” for a woman of her age and social status to be reclusive and enjoy time to herself or even try to live for herself. This caused her to believe that she did not have a “chance or spar” to “justify despair.” Her use of the word “spar,” meaning a strong support system which is usually meant in the context of architecture, shows that she feels that there is nothing strong enough to hold her up. When one looks at the logical standpoint of her poem, it becomes evident that she had felt that no one else around her felt the same as her. Knowing that throughout her life she only published about ten of her thousands of poems also shows that she was reluctant to tell others how she was feeling at the time.
Dickinson as a poet tended to sway outside the lines of traditional poetry. Her poems such as “It was not Death for I stood Up” embody her usual structure as well as portraying angst she felt throughout her life that she incorporates throughout her poetry. This poem has a strong emotional feel in the sense that the reader can feel her numbness to life as they indulge in her work. Emily Dickinson was one of the greatest poets of her time and throughout history and her poems continue to speak to the hearts of those who live a secluded lifestyle as they can not seem to find a place in society.
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