Emily Dickinson
An Enigma50 total reviews
Comment from Paul Manton
Hello Debbie. I gave you six for the poem and another six for the notes, but I couldn't find the 12 button!
Here is one of my all-time favorite authors. I often compare her with Christina Rosetti, whose 'Goblin Fair' has definite overtones of 'forbidden fruits'.
But Emily is in some ways nearer to Jane Austin, with regard to a passionate personality put under its own control - definitely suppressed desires, breaking into the poetry infrequently.
You have missed nothing at all, as far as I can tell - and the extensive notes show signs of very diligent research. There should be a 'researcher of the month' award - and you would win it every time!
And, yes, I remember 'pelf' because you checked it with me too - so now we both have a useful rhyme for the future.
Emily Dickinson is still ridiculously underrated and under-researched; she has many advocates though - and we, apparently, are two of them.
Thank you, Debbie.
Paul
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Hello Debbie. I gave you six for the poem and another six for the notes, but I couldn't find the 12 button!
Here is one of my all-time favorite authors. I often compare her with Christina Rosetti, whose 'Goblin Fair' has definite overtones of 'forbidden fruits'.
But Emily is in some ways nearer to Jane Austin, with regard to a passionate personality put under its own control - definitely suppressed desires, breaking into the poetry infrequently.
You have missed nothing at all, as far as I can tell - and the extensive notes show signs of very diligent research. There should be a 'researcher of the month' award - and you would win it every time!
And, yes, I remember 'pelf' because you checked it with me too - so now we both have a useful rhyme for the future.
Emily Dickinson is still ridiculously underrated and under-researched; she has many advocates though - and we, apparently, are two of them.
Thank you, Debbie.
Paul
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much for this very kind and, as ever, amazingly thorough review! I'm honoured by your comments here and, yes, what a word, apparently from the French...but you'll know that already:) Take care Debbie x
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Please continue to enlighten us with the fruits of your amazing diligence. (Pompous or what?)
Paul
Comment from Eleri
I'll be honest and admit that I have never got on with Emily Dickinson's poetry. I have tried but, although I have enjoyed some of them, her poems in general do nothing for me. This, however, is a good description of her life and work that generally reads well throughout. I am not certain that
'pelf' is the right word in the last stanza, as I thought that that referred to money earned dishonestly, and the poem is incredibly long but the rhyming is good as is the metre.
Eleri
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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I'll be honest and admit that I have never got on with Emily Dickinson's poetry. I have tried but, although I have enjoyed some of them, her poems in general do nothing for me. This, however, is a good description of her life and work that generally reads well throughout. I am not certain that
'pelf' is the right word in the last stanza, as I thought that that referred to money earned dishonestly, and the poem is incredibly long but the rhyming is good as is the metre.
Eleri
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Eleri, for your kind review. I appreciate your read even though you don't get on with her poetry. I can actually understand a little of that because some of it is so ridiculously obscure and, without any notes from her, frustrating to read. But the more you read of her work, the more it begins to make sense, certainly if you know something of her background. I hear what you're saying about the word 'pelf' but the context is that her work was like hidden pelf because it was all secreted away in drawers etc, almost as though she were hiding stolen goods. She didn't want it to fall into public hands and seemed quite nervous of reaction to these very private thoughts contained in her poetry. Many famous poets etc hate the idea of reviews, critiques etc. And don't forget how private and reclusive she was. It's imagery with that particular word. But thank you again for pointing out your valid concerns. Take care Debbie
Comment from Alexandra Trovato
This is an excellent poem. I enjoyed reading it. Your entire presentation is good. You use descriptive words that draw in a reader and you weave a beautiful poem of EDs life. Your author note is full and interesting.
Best wishes!
Alexandra
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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This is an excellent poem. I enjoyed reading it. Your entire presentation is good. You use descriptive words that draw in a reader and you weave a beautiful poem of EDs life. Your author note is full and interesting.
Best wishes!
Alexandra
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Alex, for your kind review and thoughts! I'm delighted and encouraged that you enjoyed. That means a lot to me. Debbie
Comment from Nina Sexton
What a lovely way to honor Emily Dickinson. Thank you for the lesson below. I am in awe of the ones who have truly made writing their life's work and to be so knowledgeable is a dream. I hope you have an amazing day!
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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What a lovely way to honor Emily Dickinson. Thank you for the lesson below. I am in awe of the ones who have truly made writing their life's work and to be so knowledgeable is a dream. I hope you have an amazing day!
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Nina, for your kind review and thoughts. All mean a lot to me. Take care Debbie
Comment from WalkerMan
Writing about Emily Dickinson's poems is difficult because there are very different collections of her poems, all published posthumously and without her approval. All of them came from her hidden bundles of slips of paper containing her hand-written, untitled poems, plus marginal notes indicating possible changes she added later, all punctuated with marks of varied length from dots to long dashes at differing angles, and many capitalized words not normally so.
After Emily died in 1886, two of her friends, Mabel Loomis Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, gathered the many bundles of poems into three "Series" books: Series One (1890), Series Two (1891), and Series Three (1896). They replaced the dashes with standard punctuation, altered some rhymes and other words for what they thought made more sense, made up titles for some poems, and even removed some stanzas they believed inappropriate.
Thomas H. Johnson published The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955, with her 1,775 poems in what he considered chronological order based on the evolution of her handwriting. In the process, he removed all titles assigned in the Series books, reverted most dashes to EN-dashes, restored stanzas missing from the Series books, and changed some words back to their originals. That rendered some passages somewhat clumsy in comparison with their Series version.
Ralph W. Franklin rearranged the poems again in his 1981 The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson and also published a refinement of Johnson's work in The Poems of Emily Dickinson (1998). For more details. search for the article, "The Posthumous Discovery of Dickinson's Poems" at the Emily Dickinson Museum online.
Accordingly, your poem about Emily Dickinson's life, views, and poetry was a major task; but you handled it well. Your poem reads smoothly in quatrains of alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter with corresponding a-b-a-b rhyme scheme, and your detailed Author's Notes aid understanding. Your effort here contributes to our comprehension of Emily Dickinson's work for those who either did not know about it (other than her name) or were confused by the particular version of one or more of her poems they read.
Superb, and aptly illustrated with Emily dressed in white.
Thank you for mentioning me. The poem and Author's Notes are all yours, except for the little-known word "pelf" that fit so well where you needed it. :)) -- Mike
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Writing about Emily Dickinson's poems is difficult because there are very different collections of her poems, all published posthumously and without her approval. All of them came from her hidden bundles of slips of paper containing her hand-written, untitled poems, plus marginal notes indicating possible changes she added later, all punctuated with marks of varied length from dots to long dashes at differing angles, and many capitalized words not normally so.
After Emily died in 1886, two of her friends, Mabel Loomis Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, gathered the many bundles of poems into three "Series" books: Series One (1890), Series Two (1891), and Series Three (1896). They replaced the dashes with standard punctuation, altered some rhymes and other words for what they thought made more sense, made up titles for some poems, and even removed some stanzas they believed inappropriate.
Thomas H. Johnson published The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955, with her 1,775 poems in what he considered chronological order based on the evolution of her handwriting. In the process, he removed all titles assigned in the Series books, reverted most dashes to EN-dashes, restored stanzas missing from the Series books, and changed some words back to their originals. That rendered some passages somewhat clumsy in comparison with their Series version.
Ralph W. Franklin rearranged the poems again in his 1981 The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson and also published a refinement of Johnson's work in The Poems of Emily Dickinson (1998). For more details. search for the article, "The Posthumous Discovery of Dickinson's Poems" at the Emily Dickinson Museum online.
Accordingly, your poem about Emily Dickinson's life, views, and poetry was a major task; but you handled it well. Your poem reads smoothly in quatrains of alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter with corresponding a-b-a-b rhyme scheme, and your detailed Author's Notes aid understanding. Your effort here contributes to our comprehension of Emily Dickinson's work for those who either did not know about it (other than her name) or were confused by the particular version of one or more of her poems they read.
Superb, and aptly illustrated with Emily dressed in white.
Thank you for mentioning me. The poem and Author's Notes are all yours, except for the little-known word "pelf" that fit so well where you needed it. :)) -- Mike
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Mike, you're superb! Thank you so much for all this information and your kind review! Not to mention that amazing word that I loved even before I knew what it meant! She was a difficult write especially in the time allotted (half of which I probably spent worrying about the task!) But, as ever, your support is greatly appreciated. Debbie x
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You are most welcome, Debbie. The research I did to best help you taught me some things about Emily that I had not known. The effort was worth my time. :)) -- Mike
Comment from Pam Lonsdale
Again, your author's notes have come in handy, as I thought she was writing in "white" ink before I understood it was her color of choice in dress.
She never married, correct? And I have read that she became a recluse. I'm sure her poems brought great comfort to her; I only wish that she could know that we still talk of her, admire her, and study her work.
In planning my own funeral, I have asked that my son read, "Because I would not stop for death". I have always found it to be not morbid or even so much about death as a poem of acceptance and hope.
Now I feel like reading me some Emily:-)
You're always outdoing yourself, Debbie.
xo
Pam
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Again, your author's notes have come in handy, as I thought she was writing in "white" ink before I understood it was her color of choice in dress.
She never married, correct? And I have read that she became a recluse. I'm sure her poems brought great comfort to her; I only wish that she could know that we still talk of her, admire her, and study her work.
In planning my own funeral, I have asked that my son read, "Because I would not stop for death". I have always found it to be not morbid or even so much about death as a poem of acceptance and hope.
Now I feel like reading me some Emily:-)
You're always outdoing yourself, Debbie.
xo
Pam
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Pam for this lovely review! I'm delighted you enjoyed and would like to read more. Please do keep in touch if you learn more about her - there's so much. And, yes, nothing is quite what it seems about her. I didn't want to make the poem all about death but the fact is she actually treated death with humour, curiosity and, as you say, hope and inspiration. Hope is always that little feathered thing that crops up so regularly. I think Sylvia Plath was a bit obsessed with birds too. Anyway, happy reading and thanks again, Debbie x
Comment from Sally Law
I don't know much about the life of Emily Dickinson, but I sense a deep darkness in the stanza referring to being kept in chains. Your poem is stunning, my friend. Another poetry if the month winner, I predict. Sending you my best today as always.
Sal XOs
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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I don't know much about the life of Emily Dickinson, but I sense a deep darkness in the stanza referring to being kept in chains. Your poem is stunning, my friend. Another poetry if the month winner, I predict. Sending you my best today as always.
Sal XOs
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Sally, for your kind review! Yes, there is quite a bit of darkness there - I'm told that she may well have been a victim of paternal abuse. But, for all that, she had a wonderful ability to lift herself out of herself with that amazing imagination and intelligence. Sally, I'm a bit behind on congratulating you - another contest win I think, not to mention your interview with Helen which I loved. Well done! Debbie x
Comment from TPAC
I'm glad to be introduced to her, sounds like a very profound individual, feeling from your statements the shear courage of this woman. Thanking you for the introduction. We all need someone strong to look up to.
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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I'm glad to be introduced to her, sounds like a very profound individual, feeling from your statements the shear courage of this woman. Thanking you for the introduction. We all need someone strong to look up to.
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 lovely thoughts! I'm delighted the verse inspired your interest in this remarkable lady. Take care Debbie
Comment from dragonpoet
Hi Debbie,
This is a good abab ode to Emily Dickenson's life and art. It shows how she became a recluse late in her short life and really didn't get to enjoy the fame her writing brought her during her life
Keep writing and stay healthy.
Congrats on placing third in the contest
Have a great day.
Joan
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Hi Debbie,
This is a good abab ode to Emily Dickenson's life and art. It shows how she became a recluse late in her short life and really didn't get to enjoy the fame her writing brought her during her life
Keep writing and stay healthy.
Congrats on placing third in the contest
Have a great day.
Joan
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much, Joan, for your kind review and thoughts, all much appreciated! Take care Debbie
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You are most kindly welcome on all accounts, Debbie.
Joan
Comment from John Ciarmello
Debbie,
What a beautiful poetic documentary on one of the best. Her genius for the most part hidden. It proves that legacies don't expire only the physical body does. If in life you present a brilliant light it will forever shine in death.
I enjoyed all of this! Thank you for the read and the education. Best, JohnC
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Debbie,
What a beautiful poetic documentary on one of the best. Her genius for the most part hidden. It proves that legacies don't expire only the physical body does. If in life you present a brilliant light it will forever shine in death.
I enjoyed all of this! Thank you for the read and the education. Best, JohnC
Comment Written 10-Sep-2023
reply by the author on 10-Sep-2023
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Thank you so much for this, John! I'm honoured and delighted you enjoyed and found it informative. This means a huge amount to me. Take care Debbie