Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems in her lifetime but did not publish them. After her death in 1886, her poems were discovered and published. Dickinson used unconventional styles such as dashes, capitalized letters, and odd punctuation. She followed the rhythm of hymns in her poems about nature, love, and death. Dickinson became widely known after her death for her unique poetic style.

1. De’jon White
ENG 1102
Mrs. Owens
May 10, 2012

2. Emily Dickinson nearly wrote 1,800 poems throughout her life.
Because she had no interest in publishing her poems, none of her
poems were discovered and published until after her death on
May 15, 1886.

3. THERE WERE FEWER
THAN TWENTY POEMS
THAT EMILY DICKINSON
TITLED. ONLY THE
LETTERS AND POEMS
THAT SHE SENT TO
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
WERE TITLED. THE REST
OF HER POEMS THAT
BECAME PUBLISHED
AFTER HER DEATH WERE
NUMBERED. DICKINSON
IDENTIFIED HER POEMS
BY THE NUMBERS IN
WHICH THEY WERE
CREATED OR BY THE
FIRST LINES OF HER
POEMS.

4. Emily Dickinson, unlike other poets in her
era, wrote with a peculiar style. She used
dashes to indicate pauses in her poems, she
capitalized random letters and her
punctuation was odd; all of which were
widely criticized because her poems
violated the conventional laws of poetry
writing.

5. She was known for using the common meter
in her poems. The common meter is a line of
eight syllables followed by a line of six
syllables, repeating in quatrains of an
8/6/8/6 pattern. A popular Christian song
that uses the common meter is “amazing
grace.”

6. Emily Dickinson followed the rhythm of the hymn in her poems. A hymn is a
religious song or poem, typically of praise to God or a god. Two famous
composers, Barber and Copland, were able to use her poems in their music
because of her use of the hymn.

7. emily Dickinson’s poems are mainly aBout the major experiences oF
LIFE. SHE HAD A PASSION FOR CREATING POEMS ABOUT NATURE AND TWO OF
HER MOST POPULAR ARE: “there’s a certain slant oF light” anD “a
narrow Fellow in the grass”
THE THEME OF LOVE IN HER POEMS IS WHERE EMILY
WAS MOST EMOTIONAL AND EARNEST. HER POEMS “i
cannot live with you” anD “wilD nights” ARE THE
MOST POPULAR IN REGARDS TO LOVE.
DEATH AND IMMORALITY WAS
THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE FOR
DICKINSON. HER MOST POPULAR
POEMS IN RELATION TO DEATH
ARE: “Because i coulD not
stop For Death” AND “i hearD
a Fly Buzz when i DieD”

8. once emily Dickinson’s poems were puBlisheD By maBel loomis tooD
AND T. W. HIGGINSON, THEY WERE DISTRIBUTED IN THREE DIFFERENT SERIES.

9. EMILY DICKINSON WAS WIDELY KNOWN AFTER HER DEATH FOR HER unUSUAL
STYLE OF POETRY WRITING. SHE CREATED HER POETRY WITH A STYLE THAT
SHE MADE HER OWN AND SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF HER POEMS, DICKINSON
BECAME THE MOST PROLIFIC FEMALE POET OF ALL TIME.
THE END