A Portrait Of A Heart-On Paradoxes In Emily Dickinson

Among all the poets in American literature, Emily Dickinson distinguishes herself by her special way of living and unique way of poem-writing. When her Poems was first published in 1890 in a collection, four years after her death, it caused a sensation, not even expected by the then editors. Ever since the publication, various versions of Dickinson works and biographies began to come out, studies on Dickinson began to bloom, and without any sign of fading, so is situation with the ongoing Dickinson debate.Based on Emily Dickinson's writing– her poetry, and letters depreciated for many years, my paper puts Dickinson in the context of her family, the society she lived in,and the New England in nineteenth century American. In such a wide context, Emily Dickinson, the legendary"Amherst recluse"and"eccentric spinster"seems to have always been struggling in the whirlpool of paradoxes of all kinds: she rejected the Puritan's strict adherence to Christian doctrines, yet she was unwilling to be isolated and socially expelled by the people, mostly Puritans, around her; she was courageous enough to rebel against patriarchy in her family and in the society as well, yet she was acutely aware that strategies were absolutely needed in dealing with such a mighty power. Alongside with her rebellion against these dominant powers of her day, not without the paradox though, Emily Dickinson had her dream: she longed for true love which would make her life a fuller and more passionate one, yet she was unwilling to lose herself and subject herself to the role of a dutiful wife or loving mother in a traditional sense; she firmly believed that she was well qualified for a"crown"– the title and identity of a poet, yet she refused to be literarily tampered by those stereotyped opinions in the publishing circle.With so many paradoxes in her, Emily Dickinson experienced an array of emotions ranging from ecstasy, doubt, loss, and despair– emotions she strongly felt and profoundly introspected from time to time. By employing her special handcraft in poem-writing: her carefully-chose themes, her thought-provoking aphorisms, her fantastic and delicate imagination, and above all, her sensitive and genuine soul, Emily Dickinson successfully painted a portrait for her heart, a portrait where the paradoxes of various shapes permeate everywhere, and a portrait that consists of lines, rhyme and her special way of melody rather than colors, brushes or canvas to a painter. For verses, she once had her own definition:"A Book, is only the Heart's Portrait– every Page a Pulse"Such remarks may be slightly altered to be an appropriate observation of her own works:"Her poetry and letters, are only the Heart's Portrait– every Page a Pulse."...