On December 10, 1830, late, near midnight, one of America?s most famous poets was born. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, the second child of the prominent Edward Dickinson and his wife, also named Emily. The first child was Emily?s older brother Austin. Later to be born was her sister Lavinia or ?Veeny? as they liked to call her. Emily and her siblings were all born in the Homestead in the small, quiet town of Amherst, Massachusetts. In the 1800?s Massachusetts was quite puritanical and because of this Edward Dickinson raised his children in the strict, Christian tradition. As Emily got older she began to challenge her father?s and the church?s beliefs. Some think that this was what made her poetry so strong.
Dickinson showed signs of originality and brilliancy in her writing, even as a child. It has been said that ?she dazzled her teachers.? Her writings were always unique and different from anything her teachers had seen before.
English: Grave of Emily Dickinson in Amherst, Mass...
Photo of the Dickinson Homestead taken in October ...
English: Daguerreotype of the poet Emily Dickinson...Though she was definitely intelligent, she didn?t let that stop her from spending time with Austin and Veeny, whom she loved very much.
Emily Dickinson always cared deeply for her friends as well as her family. During her one year at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary she frequently corresponded with a good number of them. In her letters she showed a lot of her tendencies. Such tendencies as her preference of privacy over society, the pride in her witty writing, and the love for her close circle of friends and family were all evident. Once Dickinson returned from Mount Holyoke, she became more and more recluse, spending most of her time at the Homestead. A few years later, in 1858 she started writing poetry.
Emily Dickinson is very well known for her imaginative poetry. Her poetry is completely different from what was being written...