The Poetry Of Emily Dickinson's Poetry

Noted as the most popular American and prolific poet, Emily Dickinson illustrated a unique style in all of her 1,775 poems, a monstrous amount of work completed in one’s lifetime. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson never ventured away from her hometown. In fact, she held a reclusive life, becoming mostly introverted and somewhat eccentric. Her only friendships were carried out through her correspondence letters. She was unwilling to greet any guest; as a matter of fact, she stayed at home by herself in her later years. The irony of the reclusive, poet’s style is the deep understanding of emotions and feelings portrayed in her writing. Her poetry shows a concise language style, depth of thought, unconventional capitalization, punctuation,

Patience and meditation help a reader when deciphering her poetry. It is difficult to read; nevertheless, the deeper meaning the poet is trying to convey will be clarified when a reader takes the time to dissect the poem. Let’s start with the title of the poem. Notice the number “764” besides the title. She never titled her poetry; she only numbered her poems. Because of a non-title, the poem is given a title by the first line of the poem. “Life,” “Owner,” “We,”, “Sovereign Woods,” “Him,” “Master’s,” “His,” and “He” have been purposely capitalized to attribute a human character to a human or thing. She also weaves through this poem – Dashes – her “calling card.” These dashes are numerous, almost as if the speaker is taking a breath, pausing, and contemplating what word choice will be speaking next. This poem has a certain slant or chant-like rhythm. The common meter is a smooth sound, usually popular in hymns. A hymn has a singsong rhythm because it is easy to sing along with the hymn. Even though the poem has this singsong rhythm, the reader will become aware from the content of the words that this poem is not fit for a congregation piece of music. Dickinson was very aware in writing this piece. It is strange and ironic that she would use this common meter because her poem was filled with intensity and negativity. She wanted her readers to notice and also to demonstrate

As a reader reads this poem, certain themes shine forth throughout. First, of course, violence is wrestling with the capability of taking a life. Anger can spur on violence. Not only can violence give way to destruction, but also, in reality, it can be self-destructive. Which is worse – destroying another’s life or self-destruction of one’s own? Second, power influences. It is a two-sided equation. This means that someone has power over someone or something. For example, the speaker has control of the wording which gives the speaker power over the reader. The gun has power over the victim; it can take a life away at any given moment. The “Owner” or “Master” is more powerful than the gun. The gun is guarding the master. Third, gender alludes as a theme. Is the speaker male or female? Notice the pronouns in this poem – him, he, and his. The doe is female. In the 1800s, a chauvinistic society was very common. Conflict between masculinity and femininity grabbed the reader’s attention. Maybe the speaker was a woman while the master was the male. This powerful speaker/woman did not seem oppressed by the master/male presence in this poem. The last and final theme could be mortality. The poet considers what lies ahead past death into an unknown. Morality makes the poet consider how easily a life can be taken. What is her own role in this matter? Should the preservation of life or the destruction of life be