Death Is The Middle Child Of Parents Edward And Emily...

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was the middle child of parents Edward and Emily Norcross Dickinson. Young Emily Dickinson’s early childhood consisted of attending school, reading books, taking part in church activities, and learning to sing and play the piano. Her formal schooling was phenomenal for girls in the early 19th century, though not unusual for girls in Amherst. After spending some time in Amherst district school, she attended Amherst Academy for about 7 years before entering Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) in 1847. Dickinson’s early years were not without distress. Deaths of friends and relatives, including her young cousin Sophia Holland, prompted questions about death and immortality. Death happens to be a recurring theme in Dickinson’s poetry. Although this is the case, no two poems have exactly the same understanding of death, however. Death is sometimes frightening, lenient an d gentle, or simply inevitable. The intent of this paper is to analyze the persistent theme of death in Dickinson’s poetry and how it is portrayed in some of her most well-known pieces. These select few poems will include â€Å"I like a look of Agony†, â€Å"I heard a Fly buzz—when I died† and â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death.† As Dickinson got older, her personal life went through a tremendous change. She came into her own as an artist during a short but intense period that scholars estimate ranged from 1858-1865. These