
She also excelled in other subjects emphasized by the school, most notably Latin and the sciences. She attended the coeducational Amherst Academy, where she was recognized by teachers and students alike for her prodigious abilities in composition. © Alison Platt KendallĪs a girl, Emily was seen as frail by her parents and others and was often kept home from school. The building is now part of the Emily Dickinson Museum. The home of Emily Dickinson in Amherst, Massachusetts it was built for her grandparents about 1813. “If we had come up for the first time from two wells,” Emily once said of Lavinia, “her astonishment would not be greater at some things I say.” Only after the poet’s death did Lavinia and Austin realize how dedicated she was to her art. The highly distinct and even eccentric personalities developed by the three siblings seem to have mandated strict limits to their intimacy. Never marrying, the two sisters remained at home, and when their brother married, he and his wife established their own household next door. Both parents were loving but austere, and Emily became closely attached to her brother, Austin, and sister, Lavinia. Her mother, Emily Norcross Dickinson, from the leading family in nearby Monson, was an introverted wife and hardworking housekeeper her letters seem equally inexpressive and quirky.

Her father, Edward Dickinson, was a forceful and prosperous Whig lawyer who served as treasurer of the college and was elected to one term in Congress. For her first nine years she resided in a mansion built by her paternal grandfather, Samuel Fowler Dickinson, who had helped found Amherst College but then went bankrupt shortly before her birth. The second of three children, Dickinson grew up in moderate privilege and with strong local and religious attachments. Her verse is distinguished by its epigrammatic compression, haunting personal voice, enigmatic brilliance, and lack of high polish. She freely ignored the usual rules of versification and even of grammar, and in the intellectual content of her work she likewise proved exceptionally bold and original. Her unusual off-rhymes have been seen as both experimental and influenced by the 18th-century hymnist Isaac Watts. She habitually worked in verse forms suggestive of hymns and ballads, with lines of three or four stresses. Devoted to private pursuits, she sent hundreds of poems to friends and correspondents while apparently keeping the greater number to herself. Only 10 of Emily Dickinson’s nearly 1,800 poems are known to have been published in her lifetime.

With Walt Whitman, Dickinson is widely considered to be one of the two leading 19th-century American poets.
#Emily wants to play wikipedia full
She also made clean copies of her poems on fine stationery and then sewed small bundles of these sheets together, creating 40 booklets, perhaps for posthumous publication.Įmily Dickinson, in full Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, (born December 10, 1830, Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.-died May 15, 1886, Amherst), American lyric poet who lived in seclusion and commanded a singular brilliance of style and integrity of vision. Though few were published in her lifetime, she sent hundreds to friends, relatives, and others-often with, or as part of, letters. Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.Įmily Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.

#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
