Abbigail Heafner

11 December 2020

Paul Pittman

ENG 231-401

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was an American poet, who posthumously became famous for her

poetry (Cain, et al. 1186). Although we do not have many pieces of Dickinson’s poetry, the

pieces we do have continue to inspire others to this day. Dickinson had no desire to be famous or

have her poetry and letters be open to the public eye, instead she made a request that once she

died that all her writing be burned (Cain, et al. 1186). Dickinson was born on December 10,

1830, in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts (Biography.com). Her grandfather was the founder

of Amherst College where her father taught. Dickinson was an excellent student who attended

Amherst College for 7 years before transferring to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for a year

(Biography.com). She ended up dropping out of school in 1848 for unknown causes and

pursuing her writing instead. Dickinson first started her writing career as a teen writing bundles

of poetry and hundreds of letters (Biography.com). Dickinson was an amazing writer who helped

her audience deal with depression and mental health through her poetry and themes.

Dickinson’s poetry carries a mysterious vibe and has always been intriguing to her

audience. Her writing carries many reoccurring themes, which is why her poetry is so

rememberable. She wrote about what intrigued her, she was a keen observer, and she used

images from nature, religion, and law to write her poetry (Major). In her poem “204” she gives

the reoccurring theme the mystery of nature through the lens of the sun (Major). Her poetry is
most memorable for the punctuation, and titles. Dickinson never titled any of her pieces since

they were never supposed to shared. Dickinson’s poetry has since been titled by numbers or the

first line of poetry. Her poetry is most recognizable by her punctuation. She never used general

punctuation, instead always using dashes (Major). Dickinson’s method of dashes has been used

by many mid-nineteenth-century writers; however, she was the only writer to depend on it

(Major). Her poetry also shows an elliptical language used to describe what was possible yet not

realized (Poetry Foundation). Dickson would often describe her poetry as a double-edged sword

which liberated the individual but also left them ungrounded (Poetry Foundation). Dickinson’s

long-term contribution to literature was her poetry. Almost all of her letters that have been

written from the age of eleven years old and on have been preserved (Britannica). Her poetry

speaks to so many people in society who battle with mental health issues since it is presumed

that Dickinson also battled with her mental health. The reoccurring theme that these people look

to is Dickinson’s poetry on abandonment. Dickinson has helped change the lives of many people

and will always be remembered for her unique literature.

Dickinson’s most famous piece of poetry on mental health is titled “I felt a Funeral, in

my Brain”. This poem contains two of her favorite metaphors: death and afterlife (“10 Best”). It

has been speculated that Dickinson’s reason for leaving school was due to her mental health and

depression so this piece of poetry could have been written in relation to those two topics. “And

when they all were seated, / A Service, like a Drum - / Kept beating - beating - till I thought / My

mind was going numb -” (Dickinson 5-8). These four lines of poetry show the struggle of mental

illness, No matter how much someone tries to push the feeling to the side it comes back like a

drum and keeps beating and bothering them. “And then a Plank in Reason, broke, / And I

dropped down, and down - / And hit a World, at every plunge, / And Finished knowing - then -”
(Dickinson 17-20). This stanza puts in perspective no matter how hard someone tries without

proper help; he or she will continue to fall farther into the world. These are a few things that

stand out to those who have been battling with their mental health and use Dickinson's poetry as

comfort.

Dickinson’s poetry has helped so many younger individuals in their lives by giving them

poetry to relate to. Dickinson used her poetry in effort to help herself feel better on certain days,

with no idea that one day her poetry would help save so many people who felt that they had no

one to turn to or that no one understood them. She used her reoccurring themes of mental health,

sickness, and even death to help people that were struggling and needed someone to understand

their grief. Dickinson’s poem “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” has been helpful to the community

of young people now who have struggled. The poem shows Dickinson going through the same

emotions as her reader and shows her describing the never-ending feeling of abandonment and

depression. She uses the term “like a Drum - / Kept beating – beating" to describe the feeling

(Dickinson 6-7). Dickinson was an amazing writer who undoubtedly would have loved to see the

impact that she made on society and culture.

 Works Cited

Dickinson, Emily. “I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain, (340) by Emily...” Poetry Foundation, Poetry

Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45706/i-felt-a-funeral-in-my-brain-340.

“Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).” American Literature, edited by William E. Cain, Alice

McDermott, Lance Newman, and Hilary E. Wyss, Vol. 1, 2nd ed., Pearson, 2014, pp. 1186-

87.

Emily Dickinson. 13 Oct. 2020, www.biography.com/writer/emily-dickinson.

“Emily Dickinson.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

www.britannica.com/biography/Emily-Dickinson.

“Emily Dickinson.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation,

www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emily-dickinson.

“Major Characteristics of Dickinson's Poetry.” Emily Dickinson Museum,

www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/emily-dickinson/poetry/tips-for-reading/major-

characteristics-of-dickinsons-poetry/.

“The 10 Best Emily Dickinson Poems.” PublishersWeekly.com,

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/67591-the-10-

best-emily-dickinson-poems.html.