Emily Dickinson is a poet of real delicacy and decorum.
- 4 beats then 3 beats
- She doesn’t know what to say every time but she always had that common meter waiting for her (Ole King Cole, nursery rhymes).
- The quatrains are little boxes waiting for her.
- Meanwhile, she is dealing with extreme states: live burial, a breakdown.
- Tension: Decorous and mannerly language + Frightening extremities she’s dealing with
- Capitalizes nouns
- Uses commas and dashes
- Emily Dickinson has domesticated her extreme states and survived them. This is where she is treasured.
- She has nerves of steel.
- ==She is one of the few poets that besides the common meter she uses seems a pure original. Difficult to say she was influenced.
To Do
See notes from Billy Collins’ Masterclass for thoughts on Emily Dickinson.