" typical way in which a poem by Dickinson is structured is by the use of the "omitted center." This means that an initial statement is followed by an apparent lack in development and continuity and the inclusion of strange and seemingly alien ideas. However, these often contradictory ideas and images work towards a sense of wholeness and integrity which is essentially open-ended in terms of its meaning. "Often the

.. "I could not see to see" (from Dickinson, "465"). Words; phrases, and lines of poetry composed by Dickinson, within a given poem, are also typically set off, bookend-like (if not ruptured entirely at the center) by her liberal use of various punctuation "slices" (or perhaps "splices" is the better word) appearing most often in the form of either short and/or longer dashes (or combinations of these), e.g.: "-"; and/or

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1830. She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, but returned home after one year. She continued to live in her family home with her younger sister, mother and father. Her brother and his wife lived next door. Dickinson rarely left her house or received visitors. Those whom she did associate with, however, had a powerful affect on her poetry. It is

Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson exemplifies the Romantic Movement in American literature Romantic Movement in American Literature The Romantic Movement reached America in the 19th century. In America, Romanticism became sophisticated and distinctive as it was in Europe. American Romantics illustrated high levels of moral enthusiasm, devotion to individualism, an emphasis on intuitive point-of-view, and an assumption that the globe was naturally good; however, the reality was that corruption prevailed in

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson project, in their poetry, an individual identity that achieves its power from within, thus placing a premium on the individual self. Ironically, this premium on the individual self was very much in vogue in America at the time; from Emerson to the early pioneers of 19th century industrialism. As a result, their projections of individual power were greatly influenced by the culture in which

Dickinson writes in short lines, Whitman in long. Why do these choices seem appropriate for their particular subject matters. Refer to particular poems of each poet to exemplify your points and your own poems to suggest how what you learned in writing them might help you in understanding the choices of the poets. Don't forget, this is an essay and as such requires a thesis as to why the consideration