I Cannot Live With You PPT.pptx Emily Dickinson

1. I Cannot Live With You
EMILY DICKINSON

2. Confessional Poetry
 Confessional poetry is a genre of poetry that emerged in the mid-20th century.
 It is characterized by its personal and often autobiographical subject matter.
 Confessional poets often write about taboo subjects such as mental illness,
sexuality, and addiction.
 Confessional poetry is known for its raw and emotional style, and its focus on the
individual experience.
 The genre was influenced by the work of poets such as Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath,
and Anne Sexton.
 Emily Dickinson is considered a major figure in confessional poetry, despite the fact
that she lived in the 19th century, long before the genre emerged.

3. Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
 Dickinson's poetry is characterized by its unconventional style, including her use of slant
rhyme, capitalization, and dashes. Her poetry often defies traditional poetic
conventions, making it stand out from other poets of her time.
 Her poetry is often seen as an early feminist voice, as she defied the expectations of her
time by being outspoken and emotional in her writing.
 Dickinson, in her poems, often uses images from nature, religion, law, music,
commerce, medicine, fashion, and domestic activities to probe universal themes.

4. Emily Dickinson- Personal Life
 She never married, but she had several significant relationships throughout her life.
 Dickinson's girlhood relationships (most importantly with her friend and later sister-in-law- Susan
Gilbert), her "Master Letters," and her correspondence with Judge Otis Lord have all been the
subject of discussion.
 She was brought up in a Calvinist (Protestant) household and attended religious services with her
family.
 Dickinson's struggles with faith and doubt reflect her society’s diverse perceptions of God, nature,
and humankind.
 Dickinson's spiritual beliefs have been described as "spiritual-but-not-religious" and ahead of her
time.

5. Emily Dickinson- As a Poet
 Dickinson's poetry is known for its personal and introspective subject matter, and many of
her poems read like confessions of her psyche.
 Dickinson's use of unconventional syntax, punctuation, and capitalization, as well as her
focus on the individual experience, have been cited as evidence of her influence on the
confessional poetry movement.
 Dickinson's poetry is often seen as an early feminist voice, as she defied the expectations
of her time by being outspoken and emotional in her writing.

6. Understanding the Poem
 The poem “I Cannot Live With You” can be seen as an expression of Dickinson’s fear of losing a
beloved and the pain that comes with love.
 Other major themes include- nature of love, exploration of death, autonomy of female voice.
 The poet captures the inner turmoil of a lover (partly feminist and partly devoted) who,
throughout the poem, talks about why she cannot be with the person she loves. The speaker
cites various reasons for her decision and addresses her lover to explain her suffering and pain in
being away from them.
 The speaker addresses her lover as “You” throughout the poem keeping their identity gender-
neutral.
 the speaker expresses that the idea of eventual separation from their lover after living a lifetime
together is more painful than not being with them at all. Therefore, the purest form of love exists
in the speaker's mind at a distance.

7. Summary (1/4)
 The title of Emily Dickinson's poem "I cannot live with You" contains irony as one would expect
the word "without" instead of "with" in the statement. This unexpected use of language shocks
readers at the very beginning of the poem. (Feminist Ideals)
 In the first stanza, the speaker confronts her lover, declaring her inability to be with them. The
word "Life" embodies a mere existence devoid of vitality. She resists a monotonous existence that
might negatively impact the sense of love she holds for them. (Feminist ideals + Dickinson’s
confessional aspects)
 In the second stanza, the "Sexton“ stands for various roles, from ringing the church bells to
gravedigging. This mention enhances the sense of monotony and a sense of gloom that the
speaker envisions in a shared life. The symbol of the "Porcelain" on the shelf speaks about the
lovers' marital existence. While it may seem idyllic on the surface, internally it harbors a sense of
desolation and fragility. Similar to an empty "Cup.“ (Dickinson’s confessional aspect- her heart
was broken a several times)

8. Summary (2/4)
 The third stanza delves deeper into the speaker's rationale. She asserts that despite the strength of their
love, it's inevitable that monotony would eventually eclipse the initial joy. Sevres porcelain from Paris is
known for its intricate designs. This suggests that as time passes, the lovers might yearn for a different, more
alluring life, one that seems more exciting than the one they currently share. (Dickinson’s confessional
aspect- Gilbert chose the safest way by marrying a man-also shows the speaker’s sense of
disappointment)
 In the fourth stanza, the speaker laments that even if they spend a lifetime together, they cannot
synchronize their deaths. Death, an undeniable reality, would extinguish one lover's "Gaze," leaving the
other to witness the final moments. (Dickinson’s confessional aspect- death might also suggest a death of
her devoted feeling of love)
 In the fifth stanza, the speaker emphasizes the finality of physical death as the ultimate end to mortal love.
The prospect of outliving her significant other is so overwhelming that she'd prefer not to share a life at all.
(Confessional aspect- her sufferings after her heartbreaks that she bore till death- she never married.)
“Without my Right of Frost“- her share of suffering- coldness of death (also death of relationships). Death’s
privilege?” – a rhetorical question, enhances this notion and suggests that death seems more attractive to
her than a dull life.

9. Summary (3/4)
 The speaker transitions from the mortal realm to the spiritual in the sixth stanza. She portrays her
lover as so angelic and spiritually pure that he would swiftly ascend to heaven, even outshining
Jesus himself (a hyperbole- also might be an irony comes from her anguish- the idea being
something like “I’m not like so called devoted like you, but nothing can change that. It is my
life”). It can be treated as feminist as well as hints at her doubt of religious faith and the feeling of
not being accepted by the society.
 In the seventh stanza, it is implied that the speaker’s love for her lover surpasses her inclination
towards religion. She says that the lover is closer to her heart than God and that she therefore
would not have the privilege of being in heaven with her significant other. (Her doubt of religious
faith + not being accepted for it.)
 The same idea is carried out through the next two stanzas. In the eighth stanza, the speaker she
rejects the scope of going to heaven by hinting at her supposedly moral drawbacks. In the ninth
stanza, “no more eyes” symbolizes her apparent blindness to religious calls and represents the
eternal inability of their union.

10. Summary (4/4)
 In the tenth stanza, the speaker says that if by any stroke of chance, she ascended to Heaven while
the lover is “lost,” or not in Heaven, she would be lost too. Even if she gets to enjoy all the rewards in
heaven, she would not feel whole without him. (This hints at the concept that Dickinson was true to her
own faith, and it also might be seen as a statement of questioning the society’s faith in general.)
 In the eleventh stanza, the concept of eternal separation is once again emphasized. The speaker
envisions a scenario where her lover is "saved," entering Heaven while she is "condemned" elsewhere.
This circumstance would be akin to her own personal hell. The symbolic use of "Hell" is crucial; it
signifies that regardless of her location, she would be tormented and in anguish without her lover.
(Dickinson’s confessional aspect- her personal experiences.)
 In the final stanza, the speaker concludes, asserting that the lovers must part ways to spare each other
from these various torments. The use of "So" signals a summation of her arguments and a painful but
final solution (autonomy and decision-making- feminist ideals.) Even if their existence is one of
"despair," the speaker prefers this, as it allows her to continue loving the addressee throughout her life,
even if they don't share a life together (Confessional aspect- her sufferings after her heartbreaks that
she bore till death- she never married.)

11. Important Questions for Exams
 As a Love Poem (Treatment of Love)/As a Confessional
Poem
 As an early-feminist Poem
 Dickinson’s criticism of society

12. Thank you! A PRESENTATION BY
AKASH NEOGI