Emily Dickinson: Theme of Nature

Dickinson wrote in a unique way with the lack of titles, short lines, unconventional capitalization and punctuation and using slant rhyme which made her poetry unconventional at the time. Because of the variety of her themes, her work does not fit into any genre. Her major themes where poetry, religion, love and nature, she also frequently used humor, puns, irony and satire. In addition to the religious, cultural, and political events occurring during Dickinson s lifetime, philosophical movements shaped her writing as well. Dickinson has !een regarded, alongside "merson, as a #ranscendentalist. #his movement praised humankind s a!ility to transcend the mortal world through reflection, intuition, and openness to nature. $he studied !otany, and her letters and poems showed her e%cellent knowledge of the scientific names and classifications of many plants and flowers, although she often preferred their common names. &s she matured, the !oundaries !etween plants and pages !lurred more and more. $he wrote poems a!out flowers, wrapped flowers in poems. #he garden for "mily Dickinson was a place to hide and have privacy. It was a place where she could escape from the oppressive family, household and society and o!serve nature. $he could mingle with the living creatures and plants that populated her garden, including snakes, !um!le!ees, and !o!olinks, who found their way into her poetry. In the early nineteenth century, it was only accepta!le for a woman to !e a teacher, a nurse, or a governess, !ut none of these occupations appealed to Dickinson. &fter she fearlessly challenged her father and !ecame a 'literary woman , she esta!lished herself as 'the writer in the family. Dickinson paid close attention to everything around her, from the spider we!s in the kitchen to the mourners in the town cemetery. #he themes that have in general taken her attention included the domestic sphere and the joy of solitude, the immense value of friendship, the !eauty of nature, and the undenia!le yet parado%ically reassuring fact of mortality. In comparison to (omantics, "mily Dickinson had different approach to nature. $he was fascinated and more attracted to its tiniest and most insignificant inha!itants while (omantics fascination was on the level of greatness, enormity and immensity. In a very careful and cautious way, she replaces )od with the figure of nature. $he makes the contrast !etween mild, careful and approacha!le figure of nature and that distant figure of )od. *ature manages to overtake )od s right to watch over the earth. In the poem titled +#he ,urmur of a Bee- In this scenery we are a!le to see that even the tiniest aspect of nature .!ut we should remem!er that that is what influenced her mostly/ moves her deeply. "ven the murmur of a !ee is so touching, so inspirational that she needs to record it. #he nature possesses this e%quisite power to provoke 0

Dickinson s astonishment in a new way, in a way that the religious )od never could. #he poem titled +$ome keep the $a!!ath going to 1hurch- #he poem is !uilt on a series of comical su!stitutions of nature s delights for the essence of church ritual. #his is her earthly heaven, she feels comforta!le surrounded !y the !eauty of nature its peace and uniqueness. It can !e clearly interpreted that she is not denying )od or religion or for that matter the importance of rituals like going to services or keeping the $a!!ath that is why she created her own, lucid ceremony where she is convinced that she hears )od s word more clearly than in church. In +*ature is what we see- *ature and heaven are according to her equally present in every aspect of a pure surrounding. It is the hill, it is in the sea !ut it is in a cricket or a !um!le !ee as well. Dickinson had the opinion that each most minor part and detail of the nature was significant just !ecause of itself. It does not have to present any higher truth to !e worth, it is simply worth !ecause of itself. 2ike in +#he $pider holds a $ilver Ball- even the small, impercepti!le spider with its impercepti!le hands is significant just !ecause of himself. He himself as well as his work is pretty much impercepti!le !ut to Dickinson, his weaving is a!solutely remarka!le, worth every respect. #he spider is significant for himself and does his work for himself. #he same is with the poet. $he found herself in his work !ecause she also wrote her poems for herself. His we! and her poem are outward results of their inner states and inner needs. &lthough !oth, the we! and the poet s work might !e completely destroyed !y the audience that does not perceive it in the same way as the creator what inevita!ly remains is that inner feeling which on the !eginning provoked the masterpiece. In the poetry of "mily Dickinson there are many different aspects that are considered to have influenced her. Besides family, friendships and relationships nature is definitely one of the most significant.