Emily Dickinson
An Enigma50 total reviews
Comment from mermaids
Emily is one of my favorite poets. Your words capture her spirit and life. I love her poems about nature. "Her muse within had voice" is a perfect line. This wonderful poet definitely had an active muse.
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Emily is one of my favorite poets. Your words capture her spirit and life. I love her poems about nature. "Her muse within had voice" is a perfect line. This wonderful poet definitely had an active muse.
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much for this very kind review. I'm absolutely delighted that the verse meant something to you. I couldn't ask for more. Take care Debbie
Comment from nomi338
Writers with real depth are so often misunderstood, that is has almost become a cliché. It is easy to dismiss that which we do not understand or comprehend. Time always celebrates the deceased they dissed when they were their most prolific.
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Writers with real depth are so often misunderstood, that is has almost become a cliché. It is easy to dismiss that which we do not understand or comprehend. Time always celebrates the deceased they dissed when they were their most prolific.
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Nomi, for your kind review! She is still the subject of much analysis and debate all these years on. But generally remains highly respected. The majority of her work wasn't released during her lifetime because she was so private and even got her sister to promise to destroy it after her death (which of course she didn't). Take care Debbie
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We would all have been denied her artistry if her sister had complied.
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Apparently, it was her sister's life work to get everything published but in the process much would have been edited and amended. So the process of understanding Emily fully continues.
Comment from harmony13
What a lovely tribute for Emily Dickinson. This author gives a very detailed
description of the author's life throughout this poem. Thank you for the author's notes - the research on the poem and notes are amazing! The artwork is awesome and compliments the words and theme of this poem.
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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What a lovely tribute for Emily Dickinson. This author gives a very detailed
description of the author's life throughout this poem. Thank you for the author's notes - the research on the poem and notes are amazing! The artwork is awesome and compliments the words and theme of this poem.
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Maria! I really appreciate your kind words here. Debbie
Comment from karenina
This is superb.
I live very near Amherst, and visit Emily's grave regularly. Her gravestone reads "Called Back" -- how sparse for a woman whose words have shaped my love of poetry!
She made her sister, Lavinia, pledge to destroy all of her poetry upon her death.
With providential wisdom, upon finding over 1500 poems...many "sewn" into little books, and many more written on the back of envelopes, or in the margin of lists-- Lavinia made it her life's work to preserve Emily's work through publication.
We shall never know the effect that conventional punctuation and reworking of slant rhymes to "proper" rhymes altered Emily's work...
Having visited her home in Amherst and read her handwritten letters, I can only say each gossamer layer reveals a depth of passion and spirit that belies the mysterious recluse...
Upon visiting her grave I am overwhelmed at the number of flowers left, the endless poems rolled into tiny scrolls and left along her gravestone, weighted by a small stone...
Critics of a certain ilk defile her...poets
sense her spirit.
How adamantly, even now, editors ply her work!
She was not fully understood in life and shall never be so, in her posthumous published and parsed poems...
Still!
Bless Lavinia, who sensed that her sister could never be "Nobody!"
With your permission, it would be my honor to print this and bring it to her!
Karenina
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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This is superb.
I live very near Amherst, and visit Emily's grave regularly. Her gravestone reads "Called Back" -- how sparse for a woman whose words have shaped my love of poetry!
She made her sister, Lavinia, pledge to destroy all of her poetry upon her death.
With providential wisdom, upon finding over 1500 poems...many "sewn" into little books, and many more written on the back of envelopes, or in the margin of lists-- Lavinia made it her life's work to preserve Emily's work through publication.
We shall never know the effect that conventional punctuation and reworking of slant rhymes to "proper" rhymes altered Emily's work...
Having visited her home in Amherst and read her handwritten letters, I can only say each gossamer layer reveals a depth of passion and spirit that belies the mysterious recluse...
Upon visiting her grave I am overwhelmed at the number of flowers left, the endless poems rolled into tiny scrolls and left along her gravestone, weighted by a small stone...
Critics of a certain ilk defile her...poets
sense her spirit.
How adamantly, even now, editors ply her work!
She was not fully understood in life and shall never be so, in her posthumous published and parsed poems...
Still!
Bless Lavinia, who sensed that her sister could never be "Nobody!"
With your permission, it would be my honor to print this and bring it to her!
Karenina
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Wow, Karenina, I'm absolutely stunned by this! First of all thank you so much for your wonderful review. But also, thank you for all this background that you bring to her life. The problem of course has always been that no-one can really conclusively interpret her verses, not least because she never wanted them for public airing, didn't put titles and always there would be that "slant of light," it seems, that would deny clear analysis. I didn't know about the pledge to destroy her work though. I'm honoured, Karenina, that you should wish to print this and take it to her. And it's absolutely my pleasure. Debbie
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This.
Is.
Awesome.
I'm going this coming weekend.
I will bring your poem to her.
What an honor to visit her bearing such a gift!
Comment from Frank Malley
I am grateful that Debbie D'arcy has via her poem and her comments focused attention on one the great poets of the last two hundred years. This poem is largely a biographical iteration of her life and creative influences and choices using a two-line, seven-beat form to celebrate Ms. Dickinson.
I will wish that Ms. D'arcy will in other poetry strive to discover the strange and sometimes awkward associations that are so central to Dickinson's originality and thrill. Things like,'This splinter that so rudely met me/ only spoke in pain/ I needed not' is something I wrote that rang of Emily.
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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I am grateful that Debbie D'arcy has via her poem and her comments focused attention on one the great poets of the last two hundred years. This poem is largely a biographical iteration of her life and creative influences and choices using a two-line, seven-beat form to celebrate Ms. Dickinson.
I will wish that Ms. D'arcy will in other poetry strive to discover the strange and sometimes awkward associations that are so central to Dickinson's originality and thrill. Things like,'This splinter that so rudely met me/ only spoke in pain/ I needed not' is something I wrote that rang of Emily.
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Frank, thank you so much for this very kind review! I would love to know all that you request as would so many scholars who have studied her work over the last 150 years or so. Apparently she asked her sister to promise to destroy her work upon her death. Instead her sister made it her life's work to preserve it through publication. I also understand something that might explain some of her very dark thoughts and the quote you cite: I'm told that she might well have been abused as a child by her father and hinted at this possibility in her work. Debbie
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I hope she did not suffer abuse. Her writing makes her seem so solemn albeit wonderfully bright and imaginative.
Comment from Lisasview
What I just love about reading your work is that there are always details to go along with it.
Here is yet another perfect example of a great writer that takes her time.
I appreciate this so much and wish you lived next door so we could chat over poetry... Now would not that be great!!!
Lisa
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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What I just love about reading your work is that there are always details to go along with it.
Here is yet another perfect example of a great writer that takes her time.
I appreciate this so much and wish you lived next door so we could chat over poetry... Now would not that be great!!!
Lisa
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Lisa, thank you so much for this wonderful review! I really treasure your words and am here anytime should you need a chat etc. (Mind you I've been advised to hang upside down 3 times a day because I've got swollen feet from too much sitting!) Debbie x
Comment from Isabel Fontes
The poem you wrote is truly exceptional.
The beauty and poetry of your work are breathtaking.
As someone who studied Emily Dickinson's poems in high school, I am amazed by how much I learned about her through your poem.
Your poem has a mesmerizing and enchanting quality that echoes Dickinson's verse.
You invested much time and effort into researching and crafting this piece. Your use of rhyme and rhythm is spot-on and adds another layer of depth to the poem.
However, what stands out the most is how it conveys a sense of melancholy and yearning, characteristic of the poet's work.
Your creation is not just a clever exercise; it's a work of art that brilliantly captures the essence of Dickinson's life and poetry.
Your talent and skill are just excellent!
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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The poem you wrote is truly exceptional.
The beauty and poetry of your work are breathtaking.
As someone who studied Emily Dickinson's poems in high school, I am amazed by how much I learned about her through your poem.
Your poem has a mesmerizing and enchanting quality that echoes Dickinson's verse.
You invested much time and effort into researching and crafting this piece. Your use of rhyme and rhythm is spot-on and adds another layer of depth to the poem.
However, what stands out the most is how it conveys a sense of melancholy and yearning, characteristic of the poet's work.
Your creation is not just a clever exercise; it's a work of art that brilliantly captures the essence of Dickinson's life and poetry.
Your talent and skill are just excellent!
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Isabel, for this wonderful review! Your skill of encouraging and inspiring always leaves me overwhelmed. I'm delighted you enjoyed this, not least because you have background to her poetry and your comments are therefore even more deeply valued. Debbie x
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You are most welcome, Debbie :-)
Comment from Rachelle Allen
Another brilliant illumination of and tribute to a master writer. You have SUCH a knack for this! In fact, you have turned it into an art form, yourself. You are obviously well-read and familiar with so many different writers and artists. I totally look forward to each new one that crosses my Inbox.
xoxoxo
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Another brilliant illumination of and tribute to a master writer. You have SUCH a knack for this! In fact, you have turned it into an art form, yourself. You are obviously well-read and familiar with so many different writers and artists. I totally look forward to each new one that crosses my Inbox.
xoxoxo
Comment Written 11-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Rachelle, for dipping into your scant supply of sixes for me! I'm honoured. I'm not well-read - I just have to cram like mad. But I have to say, Emily sent me down quite a long and winding road to madness. She's so complex - nothing can be taken at face value. And her mockingly brilliant humour would match yours anyday! I love her! Bless you, Elle, for your encouraging support, Deb xoxoxo
Comment from Bill Schott
This poem, Emily Dickinson, written in the famous iambic heptameter that structured her poems, tells the readers a bit about her and sequestered existence and posthumous fame.
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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This poem, Emily Dickinson, written in the famous iambic heptameter that structured her poems, tells the readers a bit about her and sequestered existence and posthumous fame.
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 11-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much again, Bill! It was a bit ambitious but I hope I got, at least, some of the essence of her in there. Take care Debbie
Comment from K.L. Rockquemore
There is so much to unpack, where do I begin?
I am a fan of Emily Dickinson, but may never dented her body of work.
From what I have read,
"The Thing With Feathers," spoke to me more than others.
The rhyming pattern AB/AB, creates a timbre like a silk ribbon floating down the page.
I connected to stanza 7, because during dark times, I use my inner voice to write.
Pelf...excellent!!
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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There is so much to unpack, where do I begin?
I am a fan of Emily Dickinson, but may never dented her body of work.
From what I have read,
"The Thing With Feathers," spoke to me more than others.
The rhyming pattern AB/AB, creates a timbre like a silk ribbon floating down the page.
I connected to stanza 7, because during dark times, I use my inner voice to write.
Pelf...excellent!!
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much for your kind review and thoughts! You're right, there is a lot to unpick here because her work is so complex and I wanted some of her basic themes to come through by outlining her background. I hope the verse, together with the notes gave you a little insight at least. Take care Debbie