On Expression In Emily Dickinson's Poetry

The thesis focuses on analyzing the unique expression in Dickinson's poetry. The Formalistic theory on expression and Mr. Zhu Guangqian's theory on humor and slantness are adopted in the thesis. By expression, the present thesis mainly refers to 'the finer accommodation of speech to that vision within.' The most fascinating feature that distinguishes Dickinson's poems from those of her contemporary poets is the Dickinsonian twist of humor and slantness.The thesis is divided into four chapters.Chapter One "Introduction" briefly outlines the artistic characteristics of her work, and expounds on the structure of the whole thesis as well.Chapter Two "The Representative Expression in Dickinson's Poetry" discusses the first principle of humor used in the representative expression in her poetry from three perspectives: themes, diction, and rhetorical devices. Her peculiarly jocular way of maneuvering the diction and the unaffected light tone are appropriately wedded with such serious and weighty topics as love, death, and social evils.Another principle of slantness is harmoniously adopted in the representative expression in her poetry. Her poetic images are mainly collected from daily trivialities, yet shines brilliantly with earth-shaking significances. Her poems are teemed with bafflingmultrpJicityin meaning. With diction being brief and concise, her works still appear intricately too subtle for comprehension.Chapter Three "The Formal Expression in Dickinson's Poetry" mainly analyzes her inheritance and innovation in poetic forms from two perspectives: rhyme and rhythm. To express herself well, she adopts the slant rhyme in lots of her poems. Her experiments with rhyme schemes and metrical patterns are unprecedented. Hence, it is not unreasonable to say that her poetry is heavily characterized with modernist features.Chapter Four "Conclusion" gives an overall evaluation of the representative expression and formal expression in her works by making some worthwhile comments on the significance of such unique methods of expression and their influences upon later poets.