Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst Massachusetts.

She had a younger sister named a!ina and an older brother named Austin. "er mother Emily #orcross Dickinson, was largely de$endent on her %amily and was seen by Emily as a $oor mother. "er %ather was lawyer, &ongressman, and the 'reasurer %or Amherst &ollege. (nlike her mother, Emily lo!ed and admired her %ather. Since the %amily was not emotional, they li!ed a )uiet secure li%e. 'hey rarely shared their $roblems with one another so Emily had $lenty o% $ri!acy %or writing. During her childhood, Emily and her %amily attended 'he *irst &ongregational &hurch on a regular basis. Emily did not like going to church because she didn+t think o% hersel% as being !ery religious. She re%used to belie!e that "ea!en was a better $lace than Earth and e!entually rebelled %rom the church. Emily saw hersel% as a woman who had her own way o% thinking, a way o% thinking sha$ed neither by the church or society. ,y the time she was twel!e, her %amily mo!ed to a house on -leasant Street where they li!ed %rom 18.0 to 18//. Emily was already writing letters, but com$osed most o% her $oetry in this home. Emily only le%t home to attend Mount "olyoke *emale Seminary %or two semesters. 'hough her stay there was brie%, she im$ressed her teachers with her courage and directness. 'hey %elt her writing was sensational. At the age o% twenty0one, Emily and her %amily mo!ed to the Dickinson "omestead on Main Street. 'his mo!e $ro!ed to be !ery di%%icult %or Emily. 'his was di%%icult %or Emily because she became !ery attached to her old house, which sha$ed her writing and $ersonality %or %i%teen years. 'hey now li!ed ne1t door to her brother Austin and his wi%e Susan and their daughter Martha. Emily and Susan became so close that many $eo$le belie!e they may ha!e been lo!ers. A rumor $er$etuated by the %act that Emily was known to ha!e written many lo!e letters and $oems to Susan. Martha attem$ted to $rotect both o% their images and su$$ress the rumors. 2t became common knowledge that Emily had some ty$e o% !ery strong %eelings %or Susan. At the age o% thirty0one Emily sent some o% her $oems to a $ublisher, 'homas "igginson, %rom whom she got a !ery good res$onse and a strong %riendshi$ de!elo$ed. "e acted as her mentor but she ne!er seemed to ha!e taken any o% his ad!ice. 2t became e!ident that she didn+t like the idea o% ha!ing her works $ublished, she made .0 $ackets o% about twenty $oems a$iece %rom 81. $oems. She $laced these in a bo1 along with 333 other $oems. Emily died on May /, 1883 at the age o% /3. She had $lanned her own %uneral. 2t was held at the mansion on Main Street and ended at the %amily $lot near the house on -leasant Street. At her re)uest, her casket was co!ered with !iolets and $ine boughs, while she hersel% was dressed in a new white gown and had a strand o% !iolets $laced about her neck. ,e%ore she died, Emily le%t s$eci%ic instructions %or her sister and a housemaid, Maggie to destroy all the letters she had recei!ed and sa!ed. 'he bo1 o% $ackets and $oems was %ound with these letters, but Emily had not said anything about destroying them. "er sister a!ina was determined to ha!e these $ublished, but Susan ke$t them %or two years be%ore they were released to "igginson. 2n 1840 and 1841, some o% the $oems were $ublished. 'hey recei!ed a great res$onse, but no more were

released until 14//, when the rest o% her $oems were $ublished. 'hough she was not religious many o% her $oems do re%lect -rotestant and &al!inistic !iews. She wrote many o% her $oems on $ain, but unlike most -rotestants she re%used to belie!e that she deser!ed this $ain. 'hough she is !iewed by many as a hermit who s$ent much o% her li%e in isolation, she also is admired %or her style in writing. She chose her words %or her $oems in a way that allows the reader to choose the meaning. 2n conclusion, she wrote nearly eighteen hundred $oems, most ignoring rhyme and $unctuation. Emily5s $oems did not ha!e titles because she ne!er wanted them to be $ublished. Many o% her $oems are dark and mysterious but all are true works o% art.