Birth: Decmber 10, 1830

Death: May 15, 1886

About Myself: I, Emily Dickinson, was born on December 10, 1830 into one of the most admirable families in Amherst, Massachusetts. I'm the second child born to Emily Norcross and Edward Dickinson, my only elder sibling is my brother, William Austin Dickinson; we often refer to him as just 'Austin'. I have one other sibling, a younger sister Lavinia "Vinnie" Norcross Dickinson. Until I was ten years of age, My family resided in a house with my grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, on Main Street. In 1840, my family decided to move, and so we bought a house on North Pleasant Street. My window then looked over the West Street Cemetery, where there were daily burials taking place. This same year I began schooling at Amherst Academy. Here, I was under the instruction of scientist and theologian, Edward Hitchcock.

            Throughout my life my parents have been strong supporters of education and I have greatly benefited from this aspect. At an early age I was educated in classic literature, studying the writings of Virgil and Latin, Mathematics, history, and botany. Though school was not difficult for me, I preferred to be at home. At seventeen I set out to study in South Hadley Massachusetts, at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. I left in less than one years times, for reasons I am not inclined to disclose. I moved back to my parents home an began to write my first poems. I began spending my time alone more and more often, reading, writing, and keeping in contact with friends and relatives.

            In 1862 I answered to a calling for poetry submissions in the Atlantic Monthly. The editor and I began communication and though he tried to correct my work, I would not accept corrections or alterations.  In 1864 and 1865 I went to stay a while with my Norcross Cousins in Boston, to see a doctor; I was forbidden to read or write for a difficulty with my eye sight. In the early 1970's My mother was confined to her Bed, where my sister took over caring for her. In 1874 my Father, Edward Dickinson, died very suddenly. Upon these occurrences, I quite attending public schooling altogether, and began to stay in my room alone; in solitude and enjoyment, writing at my desk. In 1878 My mother succumbed to death as did two of my close friends, Samuel Bowles and Charles Wadsworth.

            I was diagnosed, somewhere in the midst of all these deaths, with Brights disease and began secluding myself from the outside world entirely.

Emily Dickinson’s poems were only published by her younger sister Lavinia, after her death on May 15, 1886.

Publish dates:

• Poems, Series 1, 1890
• Poems, series 2, 1891
• Poems, series 3, 1896

INSPIRED BY:

• John Keats
• Elizabeth Barret Browning

Pains element.mp3

Pain Has an Element of Blank.

It cannot recollect

where it began, or if the were

a day when it was not.

It has no future but itself,

Its infinite realms contain

Its past, enlightened to perceive

New periods of pain.

-Emily Dickinson

            Pain is a different interpretation for every person. The first line of this poem states that there is no definition for pain, no origination, and no way of telling what sort of pain the future may hold. It is impossible to say whether pain has or has not been present since the beginning of time, but it does state that pain, wherever it originated from, will always remain present. Though one person may not feel pain, another does. Therefore pain is an unbeatable entity, a no-stop legacy. Emily also states how repetitive pain is in her line "It has no future but itself". This statement is true because pain cannot form into anything other than pain, it does not have to ability to change itself. It can reside in a body and then leave, but it cannot become any other feeling. Pain is out of our control very much so because of it is untouchable. "Its infinite realms", we cannot evade pain forever, nor can we destroy something we do not entirely understand. Though one may post-pone pain, it can always return whether in small quantity or large amounts, no living specimen can outlast pain. We cannot defeat pain, it is an infinite occurrence, and Emily states that well in her poem.

                                                                                                    As written by: Michelle

Sources Cited:

Merrimen, C.D. “Emily Dickinson”. Online-literature.com. 2006. Jalic Inc. 22 Oct. 2007.         

    <http://www.online-literature.com/dickinson/>

Picture<http://rogerbourland.com/blog/wp- content/uploads/2006/07/emily_dickinson.jpg>

Scott, Michon. “Edward Hitchcock”. Strangescience.net. 21 Aug. 2005.

    The Dinosaur Papers. 29 Oct. 2007. <http://www.strangescience.net/hitch.html>

Page created by: Michelle C.