Emily dickinson education

Emily dickinson family
Emily dickinson famous poems
Emily dickinson cause of death

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Emily Dickinson

(1830-1886)

Who Was Emily Dickinson?

Emily Dickinson left school as a teenager, eventually living a reclusive life on the family homestead. There, she secretly created bundles of poetry and wrote hundreds of letters. Due to a discovery by sister Lavinia, Dickinson's remarkable work was published after her death — on May 15, 1886, in Amherst — and she is now considered one of the towering figures of American literature.

Early Life and Education

Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her family had deep roots in New England. Her paternal grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was well known as the founder of Amherst College. Her father worked at Amherst and served as a state legislator. He married Emily Norcross in 1828 and the couple had three children: William Austin, Emily and Lavinia Norcross.

An excellent student, Dickinson was educated at Amherst Academy (now Amherst College) for seven years and then attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary for a year. Though the precise reasons for Dickinson's final departure from the academy in 18

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From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–This introduction to an important American literary figure is notable for its clear and succinct writing. Beginning with descriptions of Dickinson's family, early childhood, and formal education, the narrative is enhanced by many black-and-white photos, illustrations, lithographs, and facsimiles. Described by one of her teachers as shy and nervous, Dickinson buried her feelings in her poetry and letters. Meltzer speculates about her poor health, her family responsibilities, her love life, and her reluctance to leave familiar surroundings. During her lifetime, Lincoln was elected and assassinated, the Women's Suffrage Movement was born, Civil War broke out, and slavery was abolished. Despite these important events, the poet preferred to write about the natural world outside her window and everyday occurrences. Excerpts from her letters and poems appear throughout. A worthwhile book for students who might have difficulty with more scholarly works.–Pat Bender, The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, PA
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Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, but only for one year. Her father, Edward Dickinson, was actively involved in state and national politics, serving in Congress for one term. Her brother, Austin, who attended law school and became an attorney, lived next door with his wife, Susan Gilbert. Dickinson’s younger sister, Lavinia, also lived at home, and she and Austin were intellectual companions for Dickinson during her lifetime.

Dickinson’s poetry was heavily influenced by the Metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England, as well as her reading of the Book of Revelation and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town, which encouraged a Calvinist, orthodox, and conservative approach to Christianity. She admired the poetry of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, as well as John Keats. Though she was dissuaded from reading the verse of her contemporary Walt Whitman by rumors of its disgracefulness, the two poets are now connected by the distinguishe