Break Through The Theory Of Limited - Emily Dickinson's "private Published"

Emily Dickinson, the greatest American poetess in19th Century, devoted more than30years to her secret creation of poetry. Dickinson has written about1800poems by her death in1886. However, she didn’t publish any poetry out of her own free will in her life.Dickinson, in her poetry and letters to friends, honored poet as the most dignified career in the world and implied her desire to be a poet all her lifetime. Meanwhile, Emily Dickinson’s century is the most flourishing years for publishing and the best time for poets to expand their names by publication. However, Dickinson has never offered her poems to publish. As a poet, publication is inevitable, but Dickinson saw publication as "auction". Here comes the question that does Emily Dickinson need any reader? What does non-publication mean to her? This thesis, by looking into Dickinson’s poetry, letters and biographies, attempts to analyze Dickinson’s "silence strategy" toward poetry creation, her "private publication" and the influence on her poet career exerted by the special kind of publication.The introduction discusses Dickinson’s life and her writings of letters and poems as well as the general situation of her publication before her death, raises the question why Emily Dickinson refused to publish, and interprets the basic motivation and purpose of this thesis.For the first chapter, by text analysis of Dickinson’s poetry, letters and biographies, digging into Dickinson’s attitude toward the career of poet and also her obsession in the power of imagination; the second chapter discusses the discrepancy between Dickinson’s abundant poetry and her "stinginess" in publication by probing into several possibilities and argues that the inner reason for Dickinson’s refusing publication is refusing printing; the third chapter, by text analysis and employment of Susan Butler’s theory of gender performance, discusses the forms and objects of Dickinson’s private publication and the results brought about by the special form of publication.The conclusion reiterates the argument that Dickinson’s refusal of "publication" actually is being against "publication to the public" and the uniform printing at machine age as well as her disapproval of American public thoughts in her days. Dickinson found another way of publication-private publication, which not only allowed her presenting her poems of unique styles and allowed her existing as a genuine special poetess to her selected readers and to the rest of the world.