vThe Belle of AmherstEmily Dickinson(1830-1886) This is my letter to the world,That never wrote to me,- The simple news that Nature told, With tender majesty. Her message is committed To hands I cannot see; For love of her, sweet countrymen,Judge tenderly of me! vAmong the ranks of other such acclaimed poets as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most original 19th Century American poets. bornvon 10 December, 1830vone of most prominent families in Amherst, Ma. vthe second child of Edward Dickinson, who wasa Yale graduatea successful lawyerTreasurer for Amherst Collegea United States Congressman vHer grandfather, Samuel Dickinson: a Dartmouth graduatean accomplished lawyerone of the founders of Amherst College vHe also built one of the first brick homes in Amherst on Main Street, which is nowa National Historic Landmark The Homesteadone of the now preserved Dickinson homes in the Emily Dickinson Historic District. veducated at Amherst Academy.vAt 17, began college at Mount Holyoke Female SeminaryvBecame ill the spring of her first year and did not return.Seminary seminri n. 學校,學院Emily Dickinson Museum, Amherst The Dickinson Homestead in Amherst The Dickinson Homestead in Amherst (garden) The Dickinson Homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts (bedroom) The Dickinson Homestead in Amherst(Dress) vReligion played an important role in her life. vDickinson was terrorized by old-fashioned sermons about damnation(詛咒、下地獄)the frequency of death in that age of high infant and childhood mortality(死亡率) vAs her friends moved away and got married, she gradually became estranged(疏離) from the religious beliefs of her community. vknown for being a reclusevShe didnt leave her familys homestead for any reason after the late 1860s. valways wore whitevoften lowered snacks and treats(點心) in baskets to neighborhood children from her window, careful never to let them see her face. va few friends and acquaintances from day to day vBest friend: Thomas Wentworth Higginson, an editor vVery few people knew Emily was secretly writing poetry.vOnly a few people with whom she corresponded ever saw any of her poems. vEveryone expected her to marry and raise a family like most women of her class.vThis all suddenly changed when she was 24. Cast members of the ballet “Emily of Amherst” pose in the living room Return to Amherstvretreated from all social life in Amherst within a few yearsvalways wore white, like the bride she would never be.vremained in her parents house vrestricted herself to household work and writing poetryvsometimes sent her poems to people as gifts for valentines or birthdays, along with a pie or cookiesvOnly a few of her poems were published in her lifetime. vDickinson died May 15, 1886 of nephritis (kidney disease). vAfter her death, friends and relatives found bundles of her poemswhich they edited and “corrected” and had published in installments (分期).Posthumous Publication vIn 1955, Thomas H. Johnson finally published a collection of her poems： that had not been “corrected.”the versions we read today. v1. The Biblev2. British writers:Her knowledge of Shakespeare was minute (微小的) and extremely personal. vadmired the works of John Keats and Elizabeth Barrett Browningvbut avoided the florid (華麗的) and romantic style of her time va deeply sensitive woman vsoulfully explored her own spirituality, often in poignant, deeply personal poetry- poignant lpinnt adj. 1 傷心至極的; 辛酸的 2 令人心碎的, 深深打動人的; 強烈的, 深刻的 v3. the poetry of Longfellow, Holmes, and Lowell.vShe identified with Hawthornes isolated, gnarled, idiosyncratic characters.-gnarled n:l a.飽經(jīng)風霜的idiosyncratic lidisilkrtik a. 不同尋常的 vat times characterized as a semi-invalid (病人，殘疾者)a hermita heartbroken introvert (性格內(nèi)向者)a neurotic agoraphobic (焦慮不安的廣場或陌生環(huán)境恐怖癥患者) vEmily Dickinsons poetry comes out in bursts. vThe poems are short, many of them being based on a single image or symbol. vWithin her little lyrics Dickinson addresses those issues that concerned the whole human beings, which include religiondeathimmortalitylovenature v1800 poems, the definitive edition(選定版) of her poetry were published in 1955: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson. vHer modernity is her articulation(表述) of psychological experience skeptical desire for faith vA few universal themes occupied the poet: love, nature, doubt and faith, suffering, death, immortality.these John Donne has called the great granite(堅韌的) obsessions(困擾、迷念) of humankind. vLife perhaps only those who have “l(fā)oved and lost” can love. (4) naturevA fascination(魅力) with nature consumed Emily.vShe summed all her lyrics as “the simple news that nature told” vshe loved “natures creatures” no matter how insignificantthe robin (知更鳥) the sparrow (麻雀)the beethe butterflythe rat vOnly the serpent gave her a chill (5) Pain And Suffering vHer last stanzas become a catalog of grief and its causes: deathwantcolddespairexile (1) poems without titles(2) directness, brevity, compact, severe economy of expression; highly compressed v(3) elliptical, Ambiguity of meaning and syntaxshy of (缺少) being exposedshe will say no more than she mustvsuggesting either a quality of uncertainty or one of finality. (4) capital letters and the use of dashes emphasis (5) short poems, mainly two stanzas vher poetry is sometimes brooding(沉思的) sometimes joyous and celebratory (快樂的) Nobody knows this little Rose -It might a pilgrim beDid I not take it from the waysAnd lift it up to thee.Only a Bee will miss it -Only a Butterfly,Hastening from far journey -On its breast to lie -Only a Bird will wonder -Only a Breeze will sigh -Ah Little Rose - how easyFor such as thee to die! v(6) rhetoric techniques: personification make some of abstract ideas vivid v(7) lyricvhighly subjectiveOne-fifth of them begin with I - she knows no other consciousness. (8) influence of Christian tradition: vBiblical language and allusions(暗示)vmeter of hymns4 beats+3 beats+4 beats+3 beatsvstanza of 4 linesvmusical device to create cadence three labels：v Regular meter v Common meter v Short meter (4.3.4.3)Dickinson found poetic freedom within the confines of this meter. vRegular meter hymn meter and ballad meter, also known as Common meterQuatrainsAlternating tetrameter (四音步句) and trimeter (三音步句) (9) new England perspectives: Puritan introspection; brevity and intensity(10) innovation in rhyme vPoetry should be powerful and touching. vThe inspiration(靈感) of the poet came from his inner world or intensity of his emotionsthe past literary traditionsthe noble heroes vLike Emerson, she thought that only the real poet could understand the world.vTruth, virtue and beauty are all the one thing. vThe most dignified beauty was embodied by the active, affirmative dignity. (-Emerson) vPoetry should express ideas through concrete images. vIt was the poets duty to express abstract ideas through vivid and fresh imagery. vShe was against the restriction of the traditional doctrines and argued for the depiction of ones inner world. 2. on naturevDickinson observed nature closely and described it vividly but never with the feeling of being lost in it. vShe thought that nature was both kind and cruel, which was similar to Tennyson. 3. on deathvShe wrote about nearly 600 poems on death.vHer attitude toward immortality was contradictory. v(1) My Life Closed Twice before Its Close v(2) Because I Cant Stop for Death v(3) I Heard a Fly Buzz When I died v(4) Wild Nights Wild Nights v1. Critics Viewv2. Stanza Format v3. Meterv4. Charactersv5. Analysis and Commentary 1. Critics ViewvAllen Tate said, it deserves to be regarded as “one of the greatest in the English language; it is flawless to the last detail”.- Allen Tate, 1899-1979a distinguished American poet, teacher, and critic 2. Stanza Format vEach of the six stanzas has four lines. vA four-line stanza is called a quatrain. Metervthe 1st CharactersNarrator: vShe is a woman who calmly accepts death.vIn fact, she seems to welcome death as a suitor who she plans “marry”. Death: vThe suitor who comes calling for the narrator to escort her to . Immortality: vA passenger in the carriage. Children: vBoys and girls at play in a schoolyard. They symbolize early life. 5. Analysis and CommentaryvIt reveals Emily Dickinsons calm acceptance of death. vIt is surprising that she presents the experience as being no more frightening vthan receiving a gentleman callerin this case, her fianc. Stanza 1vThe journey to the grave begins when Death comes calling in a carriage in which Immortality is also a passenger. Stanza 2vAs the trip continues, the carriage trundles along at an easy, unhurried pace, perhaps suggesting that death has arrived in the form of a disease or debility that takes its time to kill. Stanza 3vA review of the stages of the life of the author: Childhoodvthe recess sceneMaturityvthe ripe, hence, “gazing” grainthe descent into deathvthe setting sunas she passes to the other side vThere, she experiences a chill because she is not warmly dressed. vIn fact, her garments are more appropriate for a wedding:vrepresenting a new beginningvthan for a funeral:vrepresenting an end. vHer description of the grave as her “house” indicates how comfortable she feels about death. vThere after centuries pass, so pleasant is her new life that time seems to stand still, feeling “shorter than a Day.” vThe overall theme of the poem seems to be that death is not to be feared since it is a natural part of the endless cycle of nature. vHer view of death may also reflect her personalityreligious beliefs As a Christian and a Bible reader, vshe was optimistic about her ultimate fate.vshe appeared to see death as a friend. Dickinsons LegacyvAlong with Walt Whitman, Dickinson is one of the two giants of American poetry of the 19th century. v1.Similaritiesv2.differences 廈門大學-2004年閱讀及英美文學、語言學v4. Answer ONE of the following questions on American Literature (in no less than 100 words) (8 points):v A. Discuss the differences in themes between Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. 1.Similaritiesv(1) Thematically, they both extolled(贊美), in their different ways, an emergent America, its expansionindividualism Americannessvtheir poetry being part of “American Renaissance” v(2) Technically, they both added to the literary independence of the new nation by breaking free of the convention of the iambic pentameterexhibiting a freedom in form unknown beforevthey were pioneers in American poetry 2. differences(1) vWhitman: seems to keep his eye on society at largevDickinson: explores the inner life of the individual (2) vWhitman: “national”vDickinson: “regional” After a hundred years After a hundred years Nobody knows the place， Agony that enacted there， Motionless as peace. Weeds triumphant ranged， Strangers strolled and spelled At the lone orthographyOf the elder dead.Winds of summer fieldsRecollect the way，Instinct picking up the keyDropped by memory. Emily Dickinson :Previewing Questionsv1. Preview “I heard a Fly buzz” and “Because I could not stop for death”.v2. What is the symbolic meaning of the fly?v3. How does she feel when dying?v4. What is the theme of the poem? v5. What do the carriage and drive symbolize? Who is “He”? What is he like?v6. What is the theme of the poem?v7. What are the features of Emilys poem?