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  • Essay / Discussion of Symbols in Emily Dickinson's Poetry

    Emily Dickinson wrote many poems throughout her life; however, very few have been published. Emily wrote her poems to be cryptic and enigmatic to the reader. She appreciated his ability to create deeper meaning in his poems; she also liked to make symbolic not only a small part of her poems, but the entire poem. Emily Dickinson's use of symbolism is what made her poetry so touching to readers, as symbolism is a very important part of literature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Symbolism gives readers a connection to their own lives. A symbol could even serve as a lesson to the reader, just like the theme or moral of a story. In Cuéllar Cajiao's article, Disenttangling Emily Dickinson's Riddles and Encoded Voices in "My Life had Stood a Loaded Gun" and "I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed", Cajiao states "Each reader has their own way of making sense of the texts according to a complex mixture of personal experience, training and sensitivity” (Cajiao 28) This quote expresses the fact that the symbol of a piece of literature can be different according to people depending on their life we ​​can see; one symbol different from another in the same piece of literature That said, authors like Emily Dickinson have designed their literary work with symbols based on their lives. By doing so, the authors are able to give readers a connection with. their own lives Although symbolism is ubiquitous in literature, especially in poetry, it can be a little difficult to find from time to time. Michael Farber noticed how difficult it was to find both symbols and their. meaning when he sent one of his students to find out why the myrtle was a symbol. Farber, after noticing the difficulty of finding symbols and their meanings, created a book called A Dictionary of Literary Symbols. There he writes: “But where, exactly, do you send a student to discover the symbolic meaning of [anything]” (Ferber 1). Emily's poems, much like other works of literature, can have symbolism that is difficult to locate. However, knowing a little about Emily's background can make it a little easier to find what Emily's intended symbolism is. Emily lived a very simple and, to the naked eye, boring life, according to Gerhard Brand's biography of Emily Dickinson: "[Emily] was born in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, passed most of her life in the family home and died there on May 15, 1886. She graduated from Amherst Academy in 1847, then attended nearby Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for a year. She visited Springfield occasionally and twice to Boston. In 1885, she and her family visited Washington and Philadelphia. She never married” (Mark 12). Brand says this little quote sums up Emily's life; However, Brand also writes: "Yet her inner life was so intense that a prominent 20th century poet and critic, Allen Tate, was able to write: "Any pity for Miss Dickinson's 'starving life' is misdirected. His life was one of the richest and richest. the deepest ever experienced on this continent. It is a life that has proven a puzzling enigma to many critics and biographers. (Mark 12). Despite her seemingly boring life, Emily wrote many poems, around two thousand to be exact. However, she only published ten in her local library. In Roseanne Hoefel's analysis of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, she states: "After Emily Dickinson's deathin 1886 her sister Lavinia found forty-nine fascicles, or packets […] These were well received and led to the publication in 1891 of 161 additional poems and, in 1896, of 168 more […] In 1914, the Dickinson's niece and literary heiress, Martha Dickinson Bianchi, compiled other poems […] Millicent Todd Bingham published the remaining 688 poems and fragments in 1945” (Roseanne). This is how we were able to see all of Emily's known works, rather than just the ten she published while she was alive. Many of her poems were about what she loved best: nature. In terms of religion, Emily attended a Congregational church; however, his view of God was very strange. She believed and feared God, but sometimes in her poetry she abandoned God. Emily's death was celebrated on May 15, 1886. In Thomas Arp's book, Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound & Sense, twenty-one of Emily's most popular poems are listed. Included in this list are: A light exists in spring, I heard a buzz of a fly - When I died, apparently without surprise and I taste a liquor never brewed (Arp XVIII-XIX). In Dickinson's I Heard a Fly Buzz - When I Died, most of the symbolism can be found in the form of the fly and the people in her room. In this poem, the narrator lies on her deathbed, surrounded by her friends and family. In analyzing this poem, Christopher Nesmith writes: "Although it may seem that I side with the view that the appearance of the fly is a bad omen or at least a negative symbol [...], I do not I disagree with [those who believe this] in pointing out that the introduction of the fly into the scene suggests a king of natural chaos amidst the imposed artificial order and convenience of the scene” (Nesmith 165) . Not only does this express Nesmith's view on the symbolism of the fly in Emily's poem, but it also expresses that not everyone will see a symbol in the same way. Another poem by Emily, Apparently Unsurprising, shows an example of how Emily used an entire poem to express a symbol. This poem has been considered to express Emily's feelings towards God. In analyzing this poem, Richard Brantley states: “In “Apparently Unsurprising,” the speaker sarcastically abandons God and triumphantly rejects Him without denying His existence in the past or relinquishing the right to speak to Him again. » (Brantley 24). This poem symbolizes the struggles Emily had with God. The struggle was probably quite significant and was upsetting Emily in her relationship with God. Emily's poem I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed shows an example of both her love for nature and its symbolism through several parts of her poetry. Emily's poem is written: "I taste a liquor never brewed - Tankards gathered in pearl - Not all the vats of the Rhine produce such alcohol! Leaning against the - Sun -” (Dickinson in Arp 737-738). The speaker of this poem was discovered to be a hummingbird. The hummingbird drinks from a flower which is “from the inns of the molten blue” (Dickinson in Arp 737). The quote: “From Tankards scooped in Pearl” refers to the interior part of the flower from which the hummingbird drinks nectar (Dickinson in Arp 737). Another quote, “I taste a liquor never brewed,” speaks of the nectar of plants; the nectar is sweet and nutritious for hummingbirds and butterflies, and the nectar is produced naturally. The two lines that mention “Bee” and “Butterflies” explain that now the hummingbird is the only animal or insect to collect nectar from plants; therefore, the hummingbird does not have to fight any creatures for one turn each flower (Dickinson in Arp 737). The last stanza of the poem can lend itself to.