Emily Dickinson: A View From

Emily Dickinson: A View From a Room

Emily Dickinson looked at life with a different pair of eyes than most of us. Even now, her poems are slightly odd, focusing on some unique aspect of a common experience. This ability makes to see things in a different way is what makes her poetry live. Her talent allowed her to explore many facets of life that troubled her. Many of these facets involve religion, death and God. "Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers," "I Dwell in Possibility," 'Heaven'- is What I Can Not Reach," and "Some keep the Sabbath going to Church" provide examples of Dickinson's talent and ability to see things from a distinct point-of-view. Her poetry reveals that even the most modest hermit can grapple with the biggest ideas about life and death and find peace doing so. Dickinson found meaning through a simple existence of writing and thinking.

Life has meaning and in "I Dwell in Possibility," the poet explores the importance of her existence and through her examination, we see how she came to appreciate what she had. This is significant because, from our 20th-century perspective, she did not have much. However, with her imagination and her passion for writing, she had more than most in any society. Her imagination is her "possibility" (1) and her writing "house" (2) affords her many windows and doors. The windows allow her to look out at the world and the doors control who comes in. This is important as we realize we are studying the work of a hermit. Her home is more than a home, it is a retreat. The poet goes on to describe the "chambers as Cedars" (5), which reinforces the notion of privacy. They are "Impregnable of Eye" (6), which leads us back to the house of possibility. The last stanza of the poem shows us how incredibly powerful the imagination is as the poet spreads her "narrow hands / To gather Paradise" (11-2). Here, we see how everything is connected to the imagination. The poet understands that she must only reach out with her hands and take what it is she wants. Because she was a writer, she sees the connection between her hands and the world. She was confident enough to know this about herself and follow through. The follow through is important, as it leads to fulfillment and happiness that one has found one's calling in life.

In "Heaven'- is what I Can Not Reach," the poet is looking at something she feels is unattainable. The imagery in this poem is powerful because she describes things we see everyday in an attempt to describe the aspect of heaven. The apple hanging "hopeless" (3) on the tree represents heaven to the poet. The color of the "Cruising Cloud" (5), the house behind the hill, and the "Teasing Purples" (9) of the afternoon skies are simply that -- a tease for those who want to reach heaven. This poem combines hope and doubt in the same breath, which may seem confusing from one aspect but from another, it makes perfect sense. On this earth, we cannot find heaven and it is up to our imagination to envision it and it is up to our faith to believe in it. It is easy to imagine but more difficult to believe and this poem reiterates Dickinson's trouble with religion and faith.

In "Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers," Dickinson explores death, one of her most widely explored topics, from the perspective of a tiny spec in the huge universe. Dickinson employs irony from the beginning, by using the word "safe" (Dickinson 1) in reference to resting in a coffin. Death is indeed safe from the perspective that nothing in life can hurt or destroy. The dead are "untouched" (2) by everything and nothing. The "meek members of the resurrection" (3) are sleeping, safe and sound, waiting for what awaits them on the other side. The most significant aspect of this stanza is the insinuation that the dead are still waiting for their resurrection, which may, in fact, never occur. This attitude is not unusual for Dickinson, as she explored death and God many times in her poetry, as if she were attempting to make sense of life, death, and religion. The last stanza of the poem demonstrates an even closer inspection of death as the speaker looks at the "grand" (10) years of life, as they pass "Soundless as dots on a disk of snow" (14). The poet realized one of the most important, sobering facts of life there is, which is the fact that regardless of who we are and what we do, life goes on after we die. This last line is similar to many of the poet's last lines, in that death renders all of us the same. The prince is no better than the pauper in the alabaster chamber; they are both waiting for the same thing, which in this poem, feels like nothing. This may be one of her most dark poems because it holds no hope in the afterlife; however, it does reinforce the importance of making the most of every day. The fact that we cannot know what awaits us on the other side of life is enough motivation to enjoy ever moment we have.