Markovi, Katarina Markovi Professor Nataa Karanfilovi XIX century American literature 16th May 2 11

!mily "ickinson#s Poetry $%heme of &eli'ion (ne of the most fre)uently use* themes in +oetry is the theme of reli'ion, It is har* to fin* -ar*s that *i* not ask themselves the -i' )uestion$ is all fate for nothin'. /ome of them res+ecte* reli'ious *o'mas, some of them *i* not, an* some ha* com+letely uni)ue vie0s on this su-1ect2matter, (ne of these *istinctive min*s 0as !mily "ickinson3s, %his famous +oetess is may-e -est kno0n for her eccentricity, 4!mily sel*om left her home after she 0as t0enty2si5 years ol*, an*, follo0in' her father3s *eath 61789:, -ecame the to0n3s recluse,; 6<ra0for*, 2=1: /he usually 0ore 0hite clothes, an* ha* close relationshi+ 0ith her family mem-ers only, "ue to the fact that her social life 0as in a 0ay +oorer than her inner one, 0e can conclu*e that her reasons for creatin' +oetry 0ere rather +ersonal, It seems that she ha* no *esire to im+ress the environment -ut to e5+ress her o0n emotions an* *ou-ts the -est 0ay she coul*, Another ar'ument that +roves it is the fact that she ha* a 4re)uest that all her manuscri+ts an* corres+on*ence -e *estroye*,; 6<ra0for*, 2=2: !mily "ickinson an* her si-lin's 0ere raise* in <hristian tra*ition, "ue to the fact that her father !*0ar* 0as a conventional Protestant, she 0as e5+ecte* to follo0 his -eliefs 0ithout )uestionin',; >e 0as a stern man, com+letely committe* to his *uty to ?o*, his family an* his community, Nevertheless, his stern nature coul* not su++ress the 'entleness an* 'reat love he felt for his chil*ren,;6Paci, 2 2: >o0ever, it seems that this e5traor*inary +oet 0as never a ty+e of +erson 0ho 0oul* *o somethin' 1ust -ecause she 0as e5+ecte* to *o so, /he kne0 -etter than that, @e coul* say that she ha* only one o-li'ation$ to follo0 her o0n heart, It is +recisely that o-li'ation that -rou'ht such stron' +oetry to us,

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!mily "ickinson is seen as a 4*ee+ly reli'ious +oet;, 6Paci, 2 A: as many of her -est kno0n +oems use <hristian ima'ery, ;>er +oetic su-1ect matter *eals 0ith classic reli'ious themes2 *eath, re*em+tion, immortality, 46Paci, 2 A: >o0ever, her reli'ious vie0s 40ere unortho*o54 6Paci, 21 :, an* not somethin' 0e 0oul* e5+ect from her, since she has -een -rou'ht u+ in a conventional Protestant family, It seems that she *i* not share her father#s -lin* -eliefs an* continue* )uestionin' reli'ious *o'mas throu'hout her entire life, 4/he 0as *issatisfie* 0ith Puritan tra*ition, )uestionin' most of its theolo'y, *iscar*e* much an* re*efine* a 'reat *eal of it,; 6Paci, 21 : >er uni)ue vision of reli'ion is remarka-ly 0ell *escri-e* in the follo0in' sentence$ 4Brom her early *ays, 0hile still at colle'e, !mily "ickinson came to realiCe that she coul* never acce+t reli'ion as convention, that reli'ion 0oul* have to -e e5+erience* not as teachin' -ut as a 0ay of life,4 6Paci, 21 : @hat !mily "ickinson sa0 more clearly than her contem+oraries an* 0hat *efine* her reli'ious +oetry is that reli'ion has to -e un*erstoo* an* felt as an in*ivi*ual e5+erience, as a relationshi+ -et0een an in*ivi*ual an* ?o*, %hat kin* of relationshi+ 0as somethin' unkno0n to her contem+oraries, %his is 0hy !mily "ickinson often criticises their un*erstan*in' of reli'ion, /uch +oems are 4Baith is a fine invention4 an* 4Prayer is the little im+lement4, In the first +oem I mentione*, the +oet +uts the 0or* faith in )uotation marks 6&ea*er, "ickinson, Poem 17D, line 1: in or*er to e5+ress her o+inion concernin' the truthfulness of their reli'ious feelin's, /he *oes not -elieve that they came to un*erstan* 0hat faith really is, an* the false ima'e of it is the su-1ect of her criti)ue, In these fe0 lines, -y callin' the faith 4invention4 6line 1:, this +oet confronts the society 0hich she consi*ers to -e 0orrie* only a-out their o0n interests, More s+ecifically, the a*1ective 4fine4 characteriCes their +icture of themselves as 'reat -elievers, >o0ever, 0hen they realiCe that some of their +ro-lems cannot -e solve* in this 0ay, !mily "ickinson#s contem+oraries 0oul* turn to science, -ut only as their final resort, %hat is +recisely 0hat the lines 4 Eut Microsco+es are +ru*ent F In an !mer'ency4 6lines =29: tell us, as the 0or* 4Microsco+e4 is a synonym for science, It is not *ifficult to ima'ine !mily "ickinson lau'hin' -itterly at their inca+a-ility to ask themselves if follo0in' the conventions is really 0hat they nee* to *o, as her ironic tone in this +oem is

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)uite o-vious, It is interestin' to com+are it 0ith the situation no0a*ays, In my o+inion, thin's have chan'e* 'reatly, since science is usually the first thin' 0e consult in a +ro-lem, 0hile reli'ion is +ro-a-ly the last, at least for some +eo+le, %he conclution mi'ht -e that the ri'ht -alance is necessary, to unite our reli'ious an* scientific si*es, in or*er to -ecome -etter +ersons, %his kin* of criti)ue is also +resent in the +oem 4Prayer is a little im+lement4, (nce more, -y callin' the sacre* thin' such as +rayer 4little im+lement4 6&ea*er, "ickinson, +oem 9=8, line 1:, a tool, !mily "ickinson criticises the society she is force* to live in, /he surly *escri-es 0hat a +rayer has -ecome to them$ it is like an en*less list of 0ishes an* *eman*s that is increasin' every *ay, Gsin' the line 4If then >e here4 6line 6: she e5+resses her *ou-ts a-out the im+ression their selfish re)uests *is'uise* as +rayers 0oul* leave on ?o*, In these t0o +oems, as in many others, 0e fin* some of reli'ious voca-ulary,4>er voca-ulary also 0ears the stam+ of her Puritan herita'e$ she often +ara+hrases the Ei-le, uses the terms of the esta-lishe* theolo'y2 salvation, re*em+tion, sacrament, lor*, heaven, +ara*ise, soul, *es+air, -liss,; 6Paci, 2 A: /o 0e come across 4faith; 6+oem 17D, line 1:, 4+rayer; 6+oem 9=8, line 1:, 4?o*; 6+oem 9=8, line D:, 4>eaven; 6+oem 297, line 1:, 4An'els; 6+oem 297, line D:, an* many other Ei-lical le5emes, 4"ickinson3s *ee+est literary *e-ts 0ere to the Ei-le an* to Eritish 0riters, *ea* an* livin',;6IC'ar1an, 297A, +ara'ra+h 2:, >o0ever, the ori'inal conce+t of them seems to -e some0hat chan'e* in her +oetry, In the -e'innin' of the +oem 4/ome kee+ the /a--ath 'oin' to <hurch;, !mily "ickinson is makin' a clear *istinction -et0een her an* the rest of the society, -et0een her -eliefs an* the conventions other +eo+le follo0, >er contem+oraries -elieve* that 'oin' to church 0ill ensure them a +lace in >eaven, >er main 'oal in this +oem is to sho0 that for a true -eliever, none of the conventions are necessary, Hou *o not nee* a 4<horister; 6&ea*er, +oem =29, line =:, you *o not nee* a 4"ome; 6line =:,@hat you nee* is to fin* in your heart a haven, a sanctuary, an* +recisely there, ?o* 0ill 'ive you all the ans0ers you nee*, Bor !mily "ickinson, such +lace 0as her home, ;"ickinson *eclare* home to -e holy, 4the *efinition of ?o*;, a +lace of infinite +o0er,; 6IC'ar1an, 2977, +ara'ra+h 1:,

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>er +oint 0as that one can -elieve in ?o* an* everythin' >e re+resents from any +lace in the 0orl*, concernin' the fact that ?o* is every0here, >er home, her favorite +lace in the 0orl*, an* her -eautiful 4(rchar*; 6line 9: is 0here she fin*s ?o*, an* 0here she feels like she is in >eaven every *ay, Iust -ecause she *oes not 'o to <hurch, it *oes not mean she is a-an*onin' her faith, /he +rays *ifferently from the 0ay it is usually *one, In lines 4?o* +reaches, a note* <ler'yman F An* the sermon is never lon'; !mily "ickinson3s attitu*e to0ar*s cler'y is +resent, /he feels no nee* for a me*ium in a form of a cler'yman or his lon' s+eeches that are al0ays the same, /he e5+ects to fin* ?o* in nature an* throu'h her relationshi+ 0ith family an* frien*s, %he +oet thou'ht that the *irect messa'e 0oul* soun* lou*er, an* felt *ee+er in her soul, In this +oem 0e also see !mily "ickinson3s criti)ue to0ar*s the society -ecause of its lack of un*erstan*in' an* acce+tin' *ifferences, %hat all +eo+le shoul* have the ri'ht to choose the 0ay to live their life an* e5+ress their emotions, 0as the ultimate messa'e this +oetess 0ante* to +ass to her contem+oraries, as 0ell as to the future 'enerations, In this +oem, 0e see the *emocratic si*e of her +ersonality, %he lines 4/o instea* of 'ettin' to >eaven, at last F I3m 'oin', all alon'; tell us that !mily "ickinson 0as )uite satisfie* 0ith the 0ay she live* her life, >er +oetry, her constant cha+erone throu'h life, ma*e her feel heavenly, Eecause of the fact that she 0as not afrai* to reveal her emotions to ?o*, her relationshi+ 0ith the 4note* <ler'yman; 6line A: 0as much more honest than the relationshi+ of her contem+oraries 0ith >im, In the +oem 4@hy2 *o they shut Me out of >eaven.; a'ain, the criti)ue of the society is +resent, >o0ever, 0e also 0itness !mily "ickinson3s +ain -ecause of the lack of the acce+tance, In the line 4"i* I sin'2too lou*.; 6&ea*er, "ickinson, +oem 297, line 2: she is askin' herself 0hat she *i* 0ron', 0hy her contem+oraries sa0 her as if she 0as e5+elle* from >eaven, !mily "ickinson 0as *efinitely someone 0ho *i* not follo0 'en*er roles in the society an* -ecause of the society she live* in -elieve* that she 0as not a role mo*el that shoul* have -een follo0e*, /he 0as thou'ht to have -een actin' in a 0ay ina++ro+riate for a *ecent <hristian 'irl, In the line 4@oul*n3t the An'els try me24the 0or* 4An'els; a**resses her contem+oraries, 0ho think hi'h of themselves an* are 0illin' to 1u*'e everyone 0ho is *ifferent than them, /he *i* nothin' in her life to

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4trou-le them; 6line 8: -ut they still continue* to 4shut the *oor; 6line 7: for her, Burthermore, in the last stanCa of the +oem, !mily "ickinson assures us that, 0ere it the other 0ay roun*, she 0oul* -e much more un*erstan*in' of their uni)ue visions of the 0orl* than they are of hers, In one of the most emotional +oems of !mily "ickinson3s o+us, the +oem calle* 4Pa+a a-oveJ; the +oetess a**resses ?o* *irectly, /he asks him to hear her +rayers an* says >e is the only one that can hel+ her, %he +oet feels like 4a Mouse F over+o0ere* -y the <at; 6&ea*er, "ickinson, +oem 61, lines 2 an* =:, Kater she refers to herself as a 4&at; 6line D: may-e -ecause she is seen as sinful -y the society, %he mice can also re+resent all the -elievers an* their *esire to -e in >eaven after the Iu*'ment *ay, An e5am+le of !mily "ickinson3s uni)ue vision of >eaven an* >ell is the +oem 4(f ?o* 0e ask one favor; 6@ikisource, +oem 16 1:, In this +oem 0e come across her claim that 0hat is ri'ht an* 0ron' has -een chan'e* -y the *octrine, In the first three lines, she talks a-out the uselessness of the confession -ecause, as all2mi'hty an* all2 kno0in', ?o* shoul* alrea*y kno0 all our sins, so there is no nee* for confessin', %he fourth line ar'ues the Puritan *octrine of all +eo+le -ein' -orn sinful, 0hich !mily "ickinson fou'ht a'ainst her entire life, /he 0ante* to tell us that there is no +oint in tryin' to un*erstan* 0hy the thin's that make us ha++y are seen as 0ron' an* as a sure 0ay to >ell, In lines five an* si5, she refers to reli'ion as a 4ma'ic +rison; 6line 6:, %he fact that +eo+le satisfy themselves 0ith lives of unha++iness -ecause of the <hurch, ma*e her feel sorry for them an* for their lives 0aste* on 0ron' thin's, As in most of her reli'ious +oems, here she claims that +eo+le shoul* occu+y themselves 0ith makin' their o0n >eaven here, no0, on this 0orl*, an* not to 0ait for the ne5t 0orl*, 0hose e5istence is +urely an assum+tion, As she sai* in another +oem, 4Borever2is com+ose* of No0s2 F L%is not a *ifferent time4 6@ikisource, +oem 629:, Peo+le shoul* not lock themselves in +risons -ecause of other +eo+le, or to -e afrai* their re+utations mi'ht -e in *an'er, It is only in the eyes of <hurch that 0hat they have *one is 0ron', an* the 0ay to live freely a'ain is not to let it rule their lives, /he conclu*es in the seventh line, sayin' that the ha++iness that +eo+le feel 0hen *oin' somethin' they love can com+ete 0ith any offer of everlastin' life any reli'ion can

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'ive us, %he +leasure that <hristian >eaven -rin' can -e e5actly 0hat some +eo+le 0ante*, -ut concernin' the fact that not all +eo+le are the same, the others mi'ht fin* ha++iness in every *ay life an* its +leasures, Bor !mily "ickinson, 4>eaven is so far of the Min* F %hat 0ere the Min* *issolve*; 6@ikisource, +oem =8 :, /o, accor*in' to !mily "ickinson, >eaven is 0hat you 0ant an* make it to -e, Eesi*es her father, 0ho ha* reli'ious influence on her, another male fi'ure relate* to the <hurch that *i* a lot for her reli'ious +oetry 0as &everen* <harles @ar*s0orth, 4In Phila*el+hia, an* in /an Brancisco, after 1762, he live* a +u-lic life as minister an* as hus-an* an* father,;6IC'ar1an, 29A , +ara'ra+h 2: >e 0as one of the male ac)uaintances she referre* to as her 4Masters; 6IC'ar1an, 29A , +ara'ra+h 2:, +ossi-ly -ecause she felt inferior to them in *ifferent 0ays, /he felt a0e to him an* he soon 0as referre* as her 4*earest earthly frien*;6 "ickinson, 4 Letters;:, (f course, &al+h @al*o !merson3s ra*ical vie0s on reli'ion an* Puritan tra*ition 0ere the most si'nificant influence on !mily "ickinson3s +oetry, Nota-le are the !mersonian conce+t of com+ensation, the Puritan ascetism, an* the Puritan theme of renunciation, >er +oetry is +re*ominantly mystical an* +sycholo'ical, rather than irreli'ious, >umanitarianism su-or*inate* to in*ivi*ual res+onsi-ility, +hysical love to *ivine, 6<ra0for*, 2=9: It is im+ossi-le to fin* a sin'le, unite* i*ea (f <hristian ?o* in !mily "ickinson3s reli'ious +oetry, >er visions of this hi'her +o0er are so *ifferent that they sho0 all the sta'es a non2-eliever +asses in or*er to -ecome a true -eliever, In one +oem, she refers to ?o* as 4note* cler'yman; 6&ea*er, "ickinson, +oem =29, line A:, in the other 4Pa+a a-ove; 6&ea*er, "ickinson, +oem 61, line 1:, an* in the thir* 4-ur'lar, -anker, father; 6@ikisource, +oem 9A:, %his inconsistency is one of the reasons 0hy her +oetry is sometimes har* to un*erstan*, Eut, if you try to investi'ate more a-out her life an* -eliefs an* *iscover 0hat an interestin' +erson she 0as, you 0ill acce+t it as somethin' necessary,

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@ithout a *ou-t, !mily "ickinson is one of the -est American +oets so far, an* I am sure 0e 0ill have to 0ait for a very lon' time in or*er to fin* an e5)uisite min* as hers$ 4>er +oetry is not like any other +oetry of her timeM it is not like any innumera-le kin*s of verse 0ritten to*ay,46Paci, 1A8: %he themes she 0rote a-out are +resent in our every *ay lives, 0hich 'uaranties her +o+ularity in many 'enerations that come, >er )uestions a-out reli'ion torment even +eo+le no0a*ays, an* the 0ay she *eals 0ith them can -e e5tremely hel+ful to all 0ho seek ans0ers,