Ena Nanovski Professor: Aleksandra Izgarjan, PhD XIX century American literature

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EMILY DICKINSONS POEMS: THEME OF RELIGION

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In #$%!& Emily Dickinson 'rote a letter, in 'hich she enclosed four oems, to (homas )ent'orth *igginson, a noted literary critic 'ho u+lished an article ,-etter to a .oung /ontru+utor0 in 'hich he gave advice to young 'riters, and asked him ,Are you too dee ly occu ied to say if my 1erse is alive20 *igginson raised Dickinson3s oems +ut advised her not to u+lish her oetry +ecause her style and form 'ere unconventional& *igginson soon +ecame Dickinson3s mentor and gave her guidelines for her oetry +ut during her lifetime, Dickinson u+lished only several oems& 4oon after her death, ho'ever, around eight hundred oems 'ere u+lished and it 'as clear that Emily Dickinson 'as, if nothing else, very assionate 'hen it came to 'riting oetry 5Pickard, #678& (he churches in the community 'here Dickinson lived 'ere orthodo9 /ongregational ones, and services 'ere held t'ice on 4unday : 'ith daily ;i+le reading in most homes& 4ermons stressed doom and <od3s vengeance and these mournful ideas 'ere re6echoed in hymns like ,(hat a'ful day 'ill surely come0 and ,;road is the road that leads to death0& In articular, this area still 'itnessed the familiar revival harvest of lost souls, and constant demands 'ere made u on church mem+ers to declare themselves for /hrist& 4o Emily Dickinson 'as +orn into a community 'here evangelical devoutness ermeated every action& (hough she 'as re elled +y /alvinism3s grim dogmas and s ent her life re+elling against them, she never esca ed its eschatological em hasis& 4he 'as continually reoccu ied 'ith death, resurrection, immortality, and judgment and never ceased e9amining the undenia+le reality of <od& *er almost o+sessive concern 'ith death, fascination 'ith ain, and contem lation of religious e9 erience reveal her attachment to +asic /alvinism& (he tensions resulting from the clash of her erce tive, in=uiring mind 'ith the rigidly orthodo9 community roduced some of her finest oems& 5Pickard, $8 *er family had o en 'orshi of god as a friendly, loving creator& 5Pickard, !#8 In the main her oetry ty ified the moral earnestness of the old Puritans, 'ith their confidence that the human soul could overcome im erfection through struggle and self6disci line& 4he clearly erceived that the soul3s inner reality contained true value, not the e9ternal 'orld of nature& )hat also influenced her ers ective of religion and <od 'as one man& It 'as >everend /harles )ads'orth 'hom she met in Philadel hia in#$?? 'ho changed her vie's of religion&

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*e 'as the astor of Arch 4treet /hurch& 4he met him 'hen he 'as forty years old, ha ily married and totally involved in astorate& Dickinson 'as t'enty three years old and 'rote a+out loneliness& *o'ever, +arriers +et'een them 'ere im ossi+le to neglect 5him +eing married and 'hat is 'orse +eing a clergyman8& 4o, she started to 'rite to him constantly& 4he +egged him to come again to Amherst, asking laintively, ,)ould it do harm6 yet, 'e +oth fear <od0&54 rague, #%8 )hen he moved to 4an @rancisco, she felt com letely a+andoned and deserted& In that eriod she turned to her oetry seriously and 'rote her +est 'orks 'hich corres ond to the theory that the greatest ieces of art are created from the feeling of dee est sorro'& 54 rague, #A8 ,;oth oems and letters sho' her in emotional +attle, trying to ersuade her mind to rule over her heart, and she could no longer look to religion for comfort in her distress& 4he had not joined the churchB in fact she had sto ed attending church services, e9ce t very occasionally& And )ads'orth, 'ho might have +een instrumental in her return, had, to her mind, deserted her& .et she instinctively turned to <od0 54 rague, #A8, 'hich is +est e9 ressed in oem ,4aviorC I3ve no one else to tell0& 54 rague, #A8 In first verses +y saying ,I3ve no one else to tell0 5+artle+y&com8 it is as if she feels the ain for loss of everyone 'ho re resented something im ortant in her life& 4ince she couldn3t find anyone +eside her, she turns to <od 5as she refers to him as her 4avior8 as someone 'ho is su osed to +e al'ays there, 'atching us, for +etter or 'orse, in joy and sorro'& It can also +e understood that she calls him ,4avior0 so that he can save her soul and 'ash it from sins& (hen she admits and regrets that she forgot a+out <od ,I am the one forgot thee so0 5+artle+y&com8, 'hich means that she didn3t +elieve, she 'as confused, +ut no', she is there, in that articular moment, standing in front of him, +elieving in *im 'ith all of her heart, asking *im if he 'ould +e so kind to allo' her to share her +urden 'ith him& 4he fears 'hether *e forgot a+out her, too& After #$%!, the year )ards'arth left for 4an @rancisco, Dickinson +ecame more and more a recluse and for the last decade of her life she did not even leave the homeD 5Pacic, !"?8 In that eriod she 'rote her +est oems and one of them 'as this one& Instinctively she turned to

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<od as *e re resented her only connection 'ith her +ello'ed )ads'orth& 54 rague, #A8 It 'as also o+vious that her attitude to'ards <od varied from negative and ironic to ositive, as she ,in one oem refers to <od as ,a noted clergyman0 and on another occasion she salutes *im as ,;urglar, +anker, father&0 If 'e com are this eriod of life& In many oems, like ,A+raham to kill him0 and ,Ef <od 'e ask one favour0, she satirizes the orthodo9 +elief that all men are res onsi+le for the sin of the first /ontinually she arents& ictures god the father as an aloof tyrant, indifferently dealing out +lind oem 'ith, for instance, ,@aith0 is a fine invention0, 'e can clearly see ho' different her ers ective of <od and religion +ecame in this

unishments, unres onsive to rayer, and unconcerned a+out human suffering& In one oem, ,*eavenly @ather6take to thee0, she ironically comments on <od3s du licity for at once creating men 'ith original sin and then condemning them for fulfilling their nature& *er favourite +i+lical figures 'ere archangel <a+riel, 'ho +rought <od3s mysterious tidings to earth, Foses, 'ho 'as denied entrance to the *oly -and for some minor infraction of <od3s rules, and Gaco+, 'ho 'restled 'ith <od and 'on& @or /hrist she had greater affection, though it 'as marked +y a cautious am+ivalence and em hasized his human rather than divine =ualities& 5 Pickard, 7?67%8 In the midst of her most creative years Emily Dickinson 'rote: (he Enly Ne's I kno' Is ;ulletins all Day @rom Immortality& DDDDDDDD&& (he Enly Ene I meet Is <od6(he Enly 4treet6 E9istence6(his traversed 4he never 'rote truer lines, for the su+lime light of immortality illuminated all areas of her oetic interests& )ith her /alvinistic rearing and religious +ent of mind, such a reoccu ation 'ith death and immortality 'as not unnatural& *er letters and oems continually referred to the ro+lems of faith, the identity of the soul, and the reality of <od& Even +efore 'riting oetry, she

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considered these themes, remarking in the early letter : ,(o live, and die, and mount again in trium hant +ody, and ne9t time, try the u er air6is no school+oy3s themeC0 5Pickard, ###8

4he told *igginson that immortality 'as the ,@lood su+ject0 and then cry tically added: ,Paradise is of the o tion& )hosoever 'ill E'n in Eden not'ithstanding Adam and >e eal&0 4he leaded for religious assurance, and 'ith the losses of Ne'ton, her father, ;o'les, )ads'orth, and -ord she =uestioned if immortality 'ere true& 5Pickard, ###8 Almost any as ect of dou+t and +elief can +e find in her 'ritings on immortalityB she desired ersonal immortality and asserted that the soul never changedB yet, she denied the orthodo9 vision of aradise and even feared that eternity 'ould +e cosmic annihilation& )hile she felt that the very intensity and significance of human e9istence forecast its continuance after death, she continually 'ondered if aradise could ever sur ass earthly +eauty of human love, *er confidence that love endured +eyond the grave +ul'arked her ho es of immortality& *er oems associate love, eternity, +eauty, <od, and even circumference 'ith immortality& (hough never certain that death 'as the threshold of immortality, she firmly +elieved that the soul3s identity could not +e lost& 5Pickard, ###6##!8 In the oem ,4ome kee 4a++ath going to /hurch0 Dickinson tried to e9 lain her

definition and ers ective of <od& In the Preface to the H-ettersH Frs& (odd e9 lains: HH(o her, <od 'as not a far a'ay and dreary Po'er to +e daily addressed : the great HHEcli seHH of 'hich she 'rote : +ut *e 'as near and familiar and ervasive& *er garden 'as full of *is +rightness and gloryB the +irds sang and the sky glo'ed +ecause of *im& (o shut herself out of the sunshine in a church, dark, chilly, restricted, 'as rather to shut herself a'ay from *imHH 5Porter, #I8 J@rom her early days, 'hile still at college, Dickinson realized that she could never acce t religion as convention, that religion 'ould have to +e e9 erienced not as teaching +ut as a 'ay of life&J 5Pacic, !#"8 In this oem 'e can see that she is +rave and +old enough to sho' her different attitude 'hen religion is concerned and to confront those a+surd religious rules 'hich 'ere made u not +y <od, +ut the eo le& 4he is not saying she doesn3t +elieve +ut that every one of us has its o'n 'ay of e9 ressing @aith& 4he 'ants to sho' us ho' her vie's on religion and church differ from the rest of the society in that eriod of time in human history& Dickinson says that she doesn3t need to go to church to find <od, eace of mind or inner strength& Ene can

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+elieve in <od and everything that *e re resents from any lace in the 'orld, +ecause if one does +elieve, one kno's that <od is every'here, not only in church& 4he im lies +y saying ,I kee it, staying at *ome0 5Dickinson, I#8 that she finds her inner strength in her *ome, 'hich re resents her favorite lace in the 'orld 'here she can also find <od& -ife is to +e +elieved, as 'ell as faith, in the 'ay 'e think suits us +est and in 'hich 'e enjoy& In this oem it can +e seen that she 'as o en minded, democratic in a 'ay, realizing that not all the eo le are the same& 4he lives her life in her o'n 'ay and that is 'hat makes her s ecial& 4o, 'e have the im ression through this oem that she invites us to find our o'n 'ay& /losely related to her oems on immortality are those on orthodo9 su+jects on (rinity and the doctrine of the -ast Gudgment, and such +roader hiloso hic issues as the relation of heaven to earth and the identity of the soul& ,I kno' that *e e9ists0 ty ifies her a roach to religious su+jects& (he initial assum tion of faith is =ualified +y the rest of the oem, until only dou+t and an unorthodo9 osition remain& 4he kno's that <od3s elusiveness is merely a ose 'hich 'ill increase our ha iness in immortality& .et, immediately she 'onders if this game of hide6and6seek could +e in earnest& (hough a fe' other oems enlarge this hint of des air, the majority acce t <od as a true ersonality 'hom she could love, hate, joke 'ith, and +e irritated +y& Fainly she acce ted <od as the omni otent ruler and res ected the su reme majesty of his erson& Des ite her 'avering and dou+ts, she retained her ersonal faith& 5Pickard, ##!8 Ene large area in her religious oetry considered the relation of human love and

e9 eriences to life in aradise& Even <od himself, she felt, 'as de endent on human love for com lete ha iness& Ene of her oems on the connection of heaven and earth, ,I never felt at *ome6;elo'0, 'himsically states that she dou+ts if heaven 'ill lease her, since only saints 'ill +e there& @inally she remarks that only the fear of Gudgment Day revents her running a'ay& /ertainly her +est oems a+out religion 'ittily comment on conventional iety and orthodo9 +eliefs& ,4ome ke t the 4a++ath going to /hurch0 mocks the 'eekly churchgoers for making their religion a 4unday affair& Another oem +urles=ues the historical significance of the ;i+le and ridicules the orthodo9 insistence on doom and damnation 5Pickard, ##!8

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(he ;i+le is an anti=ue 1olume6 )ritten +y faded Fen At the suggestion of *oly 4 ectres6 *ere ,anti=ue0 connotes something outdated and im ractical, rather than rare of recious& -ike other old history +ooks, the +i+le 'as not 'ritten +y ins ired ro hets, +ut +y ,faded Fen0 'ho have aled 'ith the assing of centuries& >ather than divine ins iration, the 'eak urgings of s ecters rom ted their chronicle& *ere the entire conce t of the ;i+le3s truth and sacredness is reduced to the level of ghost tales and im lausi+le invention& In edagogical fashion the oem continues, listing the ;i+le3s su+jects, ;ethlehem and EdenB its main actors, 4atan, Gudas, and DavidB and its central concern, the ,distinguished Preci ice0 of sin& A ,lost0& 5Pickard, ##!6##78 (he oem concludes: *ad +ut the tale a 'ar+ling (eller6 All the ;oys 'ould come6 Er heus3 4ermon ca tivated6 It did not condemn6 Another oem dealing 'ith the -ast Gudgment acce ts the orthodo9 vie' +ut lying these conce ts to conventional religion, she notes as +oys 'ho +elieve are very ,lonesome0, 'hile other +oys are

individualizes it 'ith her ersonal conce t of circumference& (he 'ry +lend of humor and dis+elief that o ens the oem soon changes into a com lete and solemn acce tance& 5Pickard, ##78 No /ro'd that has occurred E9hi+it6I su ose

(hat <eneral Attendance (hat >esurrection6does6

/ircumference +e full6 (he long restricted <rave

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Assert her 1ital Privilege6 (he Dust6connect6and live6 At the -ast Gudgment the final transcending of human +onds occurs as the resurrected +ody rejoins the soul to a'ait its individual sentence& (he oem concludes that nothing in life can e=ual the significance of this moment& 5Pickard, ##78 Fany DickinsonHs oems, such as ,(he soul selects her o'n society, , are a+out love have some religious motives& (hat is not strange +ecause love to her often led to crucifi9ion of the heart, to ain, to a heavy sense of loss, and is therefore associated 'ith the thoughts of evanescence, loss and death& 4ome times it is hard to distinguish 'hether she 'rites a+out love she feels for earthly or heavenly +eing& 5Pacic, !#I8 4o, a+out this oem Pacic says that Dickinson e9 resses her choice of life of seclusion thus closing the door to the rest of the 'orld& *o'ever, in the third stanza +y saying ,/hoose one0 5Dickinson, A8 Dickinson announces her final devotion to the chosen one& ,;ut the utter seclusion she chooses, some critics argue, may suggest a nunnery, and the chosen one, in that case, +ecomes /hrist& 0 5Pacic, !#I8 As in this devotion there is not a slightest touch of hysical assion, this oem can +e understood to deal 'ith only s iritual love& 5Pacic, !#I8 ,In the oem ,('o s'immers 'restled on the s a0, the shi 'reck meta hor, as 'e consider it 'ithin the thematic matri9 5&&&8 suggests that the s'immer 'ho is literally saved +y reaching land is also sym+olically saved in a religious sense& (he other s'immer dies in a gesture of urgent entreaty&0 5Porter, KA8 (his oem can also +e understood as if those t'o s'immers re resent t'o different sides of her soul and her +elief in <od& Dickinson says ,t'o s'immers 'restled on the s ar0 5Dickinson, #$I8 'hich can +e understood that those t'o sides of her ersonality 'restle in her and that +attle is never ending& As the +attle in this oem, her inner +attle is also very dramatic&

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/onclusion Although (ranscendentalism3s conce t of self6reliance satisfied her in=uiring s irit more than /alvinism3s harsh dogmas, her mind dis layed the essential religious te9ture of the Puritan mentality& -acking the orthodo9 confidence in salvation, she em loyed Puritanism3s +elief in self6denial to rein the assionate, sensitive nature& 4he esche'ed the conventional su orts of home, society, and religion to fight alone on life3s hardest +attleground6'ithin the human soul& Lnflinchingly she faced inner challenges and struggled to 'rest s iritual victory from emotional defeat& ;asically she 'as a religious oet 'hose concern 'ith the fundamental issues of death, ain, love, and immortality occasioned her finest lyrics& In her oetry she e9 ressed feelings so originally that the rovincial and rivate 'ere often translated into enduring, universal art& 5Pickard, #!!8

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>eferences: /am+ridge, Fassachusetts, #II% Dickinson, Emily& (he 'orks of Emily Dickinson, )ords'arth Edition -td, #IIK Pacic, ;rankica& (he ;ig (en Fajor Nineteenth /entury American )riters, Lniversity of Nis, Nis, #II# Pickard, Gohn ;& Emily Dickinson6An Introduction and Inter retation, Lniversity of @lorida Porter, David (& (he Art of Emily DickinsonHs Early Poetry, *arvard Lniversity Press, 4 rague, >osemary& Imaginery <ardens, /hiton ;ook /om any, Philadel hia, #I%I 4e'all, >ichard ;& ed&, A /ollection of /ritical Essays, Engle'ood /liffs, #I%7 '''&american oems&com, last visited Fay #7, !"## '''&+artle+y&com, last visited Fay #7, !"##