Puritan Imagination In Emily Dickinson's Poetry

Puritanism has profound influences on American culture and literature.Emily Elizabeth Dickinson(1830—1886) is one of the greatest American poetesses in the nineteenth century.Born in New England Puritan family, Dickinson has overwhelming religious basis.However, she holds uncertainty about some Puritan doctrines,wanders on the margin of Puritan traditions as well as adds strange images and rich Puritan imagination to her poetry which offers us a unique cognize angle and a special writing style to achieve a dreamlike effect.In her poetic imagination, Dickinson translates Puritan beliefs about Paradise,love and death into her unique perspectives respectively and gradually establishes her own world outlook.This thesis consists of three parts.The first part is an introduction to the background, motivation, scope, methodology, and expected significance of the thesis.The second part includes three chapters concerning the topic of Puritan imagination.The first chapter reveals Dickinson's Puritan imagination in her nature poems.Dickinson imagines sunset as Jesus'Crucifixion,earth as the gentlest mother God,and living creatures as "beautiful inhabitants" in Eden.Nature is equated with Paradise.Dickinson's devotion and loyalty are not to the traditional heaven but to this life and this earth.The second chapter analyzes Dickinson's Puritan imagination in her love poems.Dickinson imagines spiritual love as God-man union and erotic love as "rowing in Eden."Love is demonstrated as human-divine unity.Dickinson bravely proclaims her sacred love, passionately portrays erotic love and vividly describes rich feelings in love as well. Furthermore, she claims unconventional love with female's independence and autonomy.The third chapter deals with Dickinson's Puritan imagination in her death poems.Dickinson imagines death as Christ's call,as a long sleep in "Alabaster Chamber," and as a special journey to a new heaven.Death is represented as entrance to eternity. Death is an integral part of life, another form of life and the bridge between life and eternity.The last part is the conclusion which presents the significance of Dickinson's unique world outlook and the usefulness of her Puritan imagination.By applying feminist literary criticism, archetypal criticism, inter-textual and hermeneutic approach,this thesis attempts to review Dickinson's poems,demonstrate her remarkable Puritan imagination through sample-analysis of her poetry, reveal her unique perspectives about the traditional themes in literature as well as in Puritan culture,and further summarize her counter-traditional consciousness and spirit.