Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson

We will on the following 21 poems from Dickinson’s collection. Since Dickinson rarely gave her poems titles, her works are almost always identified by their first line.

1. ‘A narrow Fellow in the Grass’
2. ‘A Word dropped careless on a Page’
3. 'Because I could not stop for Death'
4. ‘Blazing in Gold and quenching in Purple’
5. ‘From Blank to Blank’
6. ‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers’
7. ‘I died for Beauty – but was scarce’
8. ‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain’
9. ‘I had been hungry, all the Years’
10. ‘I heard a Fly buzz – when I died’
11. ‘Like Rain it sounded till it curved’
12. ‘My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun’
13. ‘Publication – is the Auction’
14. ‘The Frost of Death was on the Pane’
15. ‘The saddest noise, the sweetest noise’
16. ‘There’s a certain Slant of light’
17. ‘There’s been a Death, in the Opposite House’
18. ‘There’s something quieter than sleep’
19. ‘This is my letter to the World’
20. ‘To know just how He suffered – would be dear’
21. ‘Two Butterflies went out at Noon’

KEY POINT:
Note that the capitalisation and punctuation of these titles and poems may differ depending on the edition of Emily Dickinson’s poetry you have.
For the purposes of this Text Guide, we will be referring to The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson edited by Thomas H. Johnson (1891).

These poems range in their thematic focus. Many observe death, while others observe nature. Some observe the extremities of the human condition such as madness and grief. Dickinson did not limit herself to one scope of discussion. Some of her poems observe the craft of writing itself.
 
Having written almost 18,000 poems in her lifetime, Dickinson offers us many insights into different elements of the human experience. Her poems are also quite short compared to average works by other poets. However, this does not limit your analysis. Her poetry is full to the brim with literary techniques and different philosophies!

Often, Dickinson’s poetry does not deal exclusively with only one theme, and trying to reduce her poems down to a single thematic concept is a recipe for disaster in your analysis! In many instances, it is Dickinson’s combination of a multitude of themes that communicates a particular idea. For example, a poem on death may incorporate elements of the natural world to fully communicate the philosophies Dickinson intends to portray. I would also highly recommend keeping an eye out for links between poems. How these different poems interact together largely depends on how one chooses to interpret each poem. Many of these poems are rather ambiguous, particularly in their use of symbolism, so do not be afraid to construct your own interpretations.

Another common element of Dickinson’s poems is the construction of a speaker. Do not assume that this speaker is Dickinson herself! In some cases – such as ‘Publication – is the Auction’ and ‘This is my letter to the World,’ it can be interpreted that Dickinson is the speaker. However, many of her poems develop particular speakers in order to communicate Dickinson’s ideas and intent more clearly through the voice of another. For example, her poem ‘I heard a Fly buzz – when I died’ makes use of a speaker who is conveying their thoughts from the afterlife. It is important that when analysing poetry, we can distinguish between the poem’s author and its voice.

Each poem analysis in this Text Guide will include a section that identifies links between this poem and others from Dickinson’s collection. However, these are not the only possible parallels that can be drawn so I would encourage you to add to this list with ideas of your own!