Counter Sublime-Interpretation Of Emily Dickinson’s Poems And Letters From The Perspective Of Space

Emily Dickinson has been widely popular since the publication of her poems.The publication of her letters has offered more authentic resources for the study of her poems.Scholars have analyzed either Dickinson’s seclusive life or the theme of Sublime.But no one has systematically analyzed Dickinson’s Counter Sublime through “greatness in small creatures” by going her own way.Therefore,by analyzing Dickinson’s concerns over the small ones in her poems and letters,this thesis tries to grasp Dickinson’s theme of Counter Sublime in the physical space,social space,and mental space from the perspective of Henri Lefebvre’s space theory.This thesis contains six chapters.Chapter one introduces the research background and significance,as well as its framework.Chapter two reviews the previous academic studies on Emily Dickinson both at home and abroad.It also introduces Henri Lefebvre’s space theory.Chapter three gives a brief introduction to the key concepts of Counter Sublime,and lays stresses upon how the Dickinson Homestead and the Pleasant Street House trigger Dickinson’s desire for space and make her challenge the authorities.Chapter four analyzes the religious resurrection and America during the Civil War and Dickinson’s garden through Dickinson’s poems and letters,focusing on how the outside conditions made her focus on the greatness in small animals and plants.Chapter five stresses the demonstration of Dickinson’s mental space–the circumference space,in which,she discusses eternity and circulation from the angles of death,space and time.Chapter six is the conclusion,which is drawn from the previous analysis: physical space offers a platform for Dickinson to challenge authorities and wakes her desire for a private space.Social space makes her realize that home is the safest and best place to have her own space.Mental space presents her theme of Counter Sublime and builds her authority.Therefore,the exchanges of the above three spaces serve to form her theme of Counter Sublime.Dickinson’s emphasis on “small creatures” and her construction of circumference space also make her poems and letters special.