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Comparison between emily dickinson and ralph emerson
Comparison between emily dickinson and ralph emerson
Comparing and contrasting Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman
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How can a strong, hearty man, and a somewhat sickly, isolated woman share very similar ideals? How could such a stark contrast of persons both have the same interpretations of life? Emily Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson were very similar, and despite Dickinson’s very isolated life, she knew Emerson and his ideals very well. Due to this, some of her poetry reflects his transcendental beliefs, including Non-conformity, importance of nature, and simplifying life. Down to her core, she was very similar to Emerson, wanting to live a simple life, and a love for literature, and she most greatly reflects her transcendental beliefs in “How happy is the little Stone”, “There’s a certain Slant of light”, and “Much Madness is divinest Sense-”. The poem
In conclusion, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman did have some differences in their writing. However, both poets also did have some similarities as well. Similarities such their tone or attitude toward death, and the acceptance they show toward it. These poets had different styles of writing, yet also had similar styles concepts in their
We as humans are all born with a gift, the gift of being able to think and being able to have thoughts transitioning through our minds. From the thoughts of compassion to the thoughts of heinous, we as humans all have our own interpretation of life. Transcendentalism is the idea that our souls have with nature and that our ideas go beyond the aspect of the world as we see it. During the 1800’s, Transcendentalism blossoms with the help of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Emily Dickinson, they all express their beliefs through their writings which consists of self reliance, love of nature, and “Carpe Diem”. This idea connects and incorporates the philosophy of “Carpe Diem”. In the film Dead Poets’ Society, the term “Carpe Diem” is the center focus of the movie. It meant to do as much as one can in the present and give little thought to the future. Both Transcendentalism and “Carpe Diem” go beyond the spectrum of normal individuality and epitomizes the philosophy of self-reliance.
“If a person wished to know what transcendentalism was he should empty his mind of everything coming from tradition and the rest would be transcendentalism” (Boller 34). This literary period has dramatically shaped literature and religion, in America. Many writers like Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson have been influence by transcendental ideas. It is astonishing how an inspiring literature movement can change so much of the world’s view and still is around today.
Loneliness was an important characteristic of both poet's lives during the writing years. Whitman, whose sexuality has been questioned, was never one for social interaction. Much of his time was spent writing or editing newspapers such as the Long Island Star and the Brooklyn Daily Times (Whitman XV). Dickinson, whose life was similar to Whitman's in a social sense, lived in a different atmosphere. Emily lived in Amherst which was a far cry from the hustle an bustle of Whitman's life in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. She never married, living alone in her home for the majority of her life (Dickinson 128). The loneliness, along with the inspiration from nature (a major characteristic of Romantic writing), are two things that can be seen in the two poems that we are about to take an in depth look at. In addition to these items we can also see a possible attempt by Whitman and Dickinson to keep their real life away from public view (even though they were not immediately published), instead making their lives seem joyous.
In Emily Dickinson’s poem #336, the narrator feels a strong sense of despair and laments at having lost the physical ability to see in one eye. The narrator reflects upon the importance of sight in experiencing nature and finds a better appreciation for it now that she has lost her sight. By the end of the poem however, the narrator experiences transcendence, as she comes to the realization that through the act of imagination she is able to see far more than the limited view her eyes provided her with. Through the act of poetic writing, the narrator is able to capture the beauty of nature and engrave in into her soul. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s excerpt from “Nature”, he alludes to the significance in sight when it comes to it being able to merge the human soul with nature to create perfect unity, and as such he lays the groundwork for Dickinson’s ideas that are presented within her poem. Though Dickinson’s poem may initially seem transcendental, it can also be interpreted as a mixture of Emerson’s transcendental ideas and those that support the notion of imagination. Dickinson’s poem serves as a response to Emerson’s ideas because she adds on to his thoughts and unites his idea that there is oneness present in the world with the notion that imagination and sight serve as a bridge that connects human consciousness with nature to create this oneness that Emerson believes in.
Emily Dickinson's Obsession with Death. Emily Dickinson became legendary for her preoccupation with death. All her poems contain stanzas focusing on loss or loneliness, but the most striking ones talk particularly about death, specifically her own death and her own afterlife. Her fascination with the morose gives her poems a rare quality, and gives us insight into a mind we know very little about. What we do know is that Dickinson’s father left her a small amount of money when she was young.
The most interesting comparison about these two authors would be their motives and backgrounds. Emily Dickinson was a
the human race, in addition to doing it in the name of her own sanity.
The speaker poses a very familiar question, if you knew you were going to die would you tell anyone or keep it to yourself? In this case, the speaker will not say a word. The Riddle represents the passageway from this world to the next, and the speaker will walk through it without letting anyone know anything at all. Except for the first tetrameter line, the poem is written in iambic trimeter which gives the poem a light, sing-songy quality.
Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost both think that individuality is very important to a person, equally like Ralph Emerson. Although they may have a lot in common, these poets are different in many ways. Both Frost and Dickinson were American poets and were both from New England. A big similarity between Frost and Dickinson. Both talk about death.
Literary Analysis of Emily Dickinson's Poetry. Emily Dickinson is one of the most famous authors in American history, and a good amount of that can be attributed to her uniqueness in writing. In Emily Dickinson's poem 'Because I could not stop for Death,' she characterizes her overarching theme of Death differently than it is usually described through the poetic devices of irony, imagery, symbolism, and word choice. Emily Dickinson likes to use many different forms of poetic devices and Emily's use of irony in poems is one of the reasons they stand out in American poetry. In her poem 'Because I could not stop for Death,' she refers to 'Death' in a good way.
Often, the poets Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson try to convey the themes of the meaning of nature, or that of death and loneliness. Although they were born more than fifty years apart their poetry is similar in many ways. Both poets talk about the power of nature, death and loneliness. However, Dickinson and Frost are not similar in all poetic aspects. In fact, they differ greatly in tone.
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are both considered as the most original poets who has boldly revolutionized the subject and style of 20th-century American poetry. Both the poets come from vastly different backgrounds but they share common inspirations but in a distinctive way. They both lived polar opposite personal lives as Walt was friendly, outgoing and influential, while Emily was very simple, shy, isolate and content. A lot of poems written by them were based on nature, death, and immortality and they focused on the importance of individualism in the society like in “I Hear America Singing” by Walt and “Much Madness is most divine Sense” by Emily. Together, they both have huge hands to shape the American poetry, and their influences
Nature is the most beautiful places for anyone to enjoy peace and stability in the human minds. Emily Dickinson is a naturalist poet that she wants the world to know that peace does exist in the human world and she wants to tell the world. Dickinson's poems are mostly written by "nature", "love", and "death" according to Anna Dunlap in her analysis. Dickinson's sister, Lavinia, is the one who published Dickinson's work, on her first attempt the editor that was responsible was taking her sweet time. This editor had Dickinson's work for two years so Lavinia decided to find another editor and Loomis Todd is the right person and editor for this job.
Psychological criticism is known as the type of criticism that analyses the writer’s work within the realms of Freud’s psychological theories. Such approach can be used when trying to reconstruct an author’s position throughout their literary writings, as well as understanding whom the author was and how their mind created such works. When considering the work of Emily Dickinson, psychoanalytic criticism comes into play with the role of explaining the many meanings behind her poetry, as to make the reader relate to such poetry on a deeper level or not to who she was as a human being.