Emily Dickinson: Theme of Love

It is very likely that Dickinsons poetry grew from her personal experience and that this was a way for her to express her deepest emotions and thoughts. As Dickinson was quite religious it is no wonder that there are many poems about Christianity and for sure if she is expressing her love for an actual lover or od and in some of her love poems it is not od himself. At one point of her life! the

poet started isolating herself and she emphasi"ed her isolation by dressing in white. #his seclusion is quite noticeable in poems in which she writes about forgetting a lover or about her broken heart. #he death of her father! and later! an unexpected death of her nephew led to an absolute seclusion and these deaths were probably an inspiration for a certain dark note in her poetry. $iographers have tried to find the source of this passion and intensity that is found in her poems but there is an enigma when it comes to her love life. #hey have wondered how she met these men! was the love reciprocated and how strong the feelings were. It is clear that Dickinson had several passionate relationships but these relationships never developed into something more and Dickinson remained unmarried. %ove sometimes made &mily Dickinson feel an ama"ing rush of passion! sometimes it led to an exhilarating feeling while waiting for her beloved and sometimes it led to a strong sense of deprivation or even death. It is quite clear that when this poet would choose her ob'ect of affection she would express deep devotion and use him as an inspiration. (ne of the poems in which Dickinson writes about her loved one who is away from her is )If you were coming in the fall.* In this poem! it is clear that the distance from her lover doesnt represent an obstacle for her feelings and that she is very eager to meet with him. +he is saying that for her it is not a problem to wait for a season to pass until her lover comes. In the second stan"a gradation appears and one season becomes a year. +he diminishes a year to months and makes it easier for herself to count until the moment when they meet. In third stan"a a year becomes not one! but more centuries which she can count on her hand. +he is also saying that her lover is only lingering but that he will certainly come. In forth stan"a! time is not limited to months or years anymore but it becomes eternity! which means that she would probably wait for him forever. +he is implying that she doesnt mind dying and casting her life away if that means that she will be with him. +he is saying that she would toss away her life )like a rind!* that is like something that is not important to her. ,hile the first four stan"as begin with )If* which implies something hypothetical and something that is no more than only a possibility the final stan"a begins with )$ut now!* which means that she is coming back to reality and she is not sure anymore for how long she will have to wait for her lover. #he time is annoying her like a )goblin bee* which represents -

something bad! something evil. +he is very uncertain and she actually doesnt know what will happen in the future. Another poem in which the lovers are separated is ),hat if I say I shall not wait.* but in this poem it seems that the lovers are not away from each other by their own will or 'ust simple physical distance but they are forced to be apart by others. #he )I* of this poem is very eager to see her lover and she will break free by force if it is needed from those who are keeping her. It seems as she is actually threatening that she will escape and she is asking her lover what will happen if she manages to escape and come to him. In the second stan"a she is saying that now when they are together no one can separate them anymore. ,hile in some poems the lovers are separated and far away from each other in others the lovers are together and are en'oying each other not 'ust emotionally but physically as well. (ne of the poems in which only a physical relationship is mentioned is ),ild /ights0 ,ild /ights0* #he main theme of this poem is passion which has no rules and is purely sensual. )1y life had stood 2 a %oaded un* is also a good example of a poem full of passionate feelings. A woman is referring to herself as a )%oaded un* so someone who is full of emotions and someone who is 'ust waiting to express those emotions. )#he +oul selects her own society* is a poem about choosing only one person to be in poets life and this person is all she needs. In a very short poem ),e outgrow love like other things* the poet is denying love and is very negative. +he wants to put love away! she )wants to get the love away from her eyes* because maybe this way she wont have to think about it. $ecause faith and religion were very important for &mily Dickinson it is not strange that in some of her poems she wrote about the love she felt for od. In the poem )#he +oul selects her own society* it is possible that the poet chooses od and that she is only letting 3im into her heart. &ven though &mily Dickinson wrote while she was all alone she was able to be very eloquent when it came to writing about not 'ust love! but about peoples lives. od! life and sadness as well. +he understood what love can give and take away from people. +he understood the importance of love in hers and other