Introduction: Reading Dickinson

The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

In this course, Dr Linda Freedman (University College, London) explores the poetry of the 19th-century American poet, Emily Dickinson. The course begins with an introduction to Emily Dickinson herself, dispelling the myth that she was a an inaccessible recluse, in favour of the reality of an educated an engaged poet, a thoughtful philosopher and a brilliant Romantic ironist. In the rest of the course, we explore Dickinson's poetry through four key themes: in the second module, we think about her attitudes to the conflicting forces of faith and doubt; in the third, we think about her engagement with the ideas of consciousness; in the fourth, we consider the tendency for Dickinson to make use of different personae in her poetry; in the fifth, we explore the theme of death and the unknown; and in the sixth, we explore Dickinson's engagement with the ideas of inspiration and creativity.

In each module, themes and ideas are demonstrated by a close reading of one or more poems, including: 'We see — Comparatively —' (534), 'This World is not Conclusion' (373), 'Me from Myself – to banish' (642), 'One need not be a chamber – to be Haunted', 'I'm Nobody! Who are you?' (260), 'I'm ceded — I've stopped being Theirs —' (508), 'There's been a Death, in the Opposite House' (389), 'Because I could not stop for Death —' (712), 'I'm ceded — I've stopped being Theirs —' (508), 'There's been a Death, in the Opposite House' (389), 'Because I could not stop for Death —' (712), 'Must be a Wo –', and 'There's a certain Slant of light' (320).

Introduction: Reading Dickinson

While the myth of Emily Dickinson is that of an odd and inaccessible genius, she was in reality an educated and engaged poet, a thoughtful philosopher, and a brilliant Romantic ironist, who experimented with different points of view. In this module, we explore Dickinson's interest in seeing more than one side of the story with her poem 'We see — Comparatively —' (524).