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Emily DickinsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Romanticism began in the late-18th century and spanned into the mid-19th century. It departed from 18th-century popular notions of order, rationality, and harmony by celebrating “the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental” (“Romanticism.” The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica.com, 17 Aug. 2022). By the second phase of Romanticism, the ideals on which the movement began moved from a so-called universal ideal to focusing on national iterations of Romantic thought.
In pre-Civil War America, many writers began incorporating mysticism and dreams into their work, as well as tackling the intense, mythic quality of meritocracy, which is an ideology that strongly informed “the American Dream.” With the American Dream as a cultural value, Romantic writers sought to solidify their own identities, modes of expression, and voice (A Criticism of the American Dream, Georgia State University).
Dickinson’s work delves into “the hidden consciousness of fragmented thoughts” (“Romanticism.”), which is a popular Romantic trope. Her signature dashes and lines emote this quality. This is especially evident in “Tell all the truth but tell it slant,” among other notable poems.
By Emily Dickinson
A Bird, came down the Walk
A Bird, came down the Walk
Emily Dickinson
A Clock stopped—
A Clock stopped—
Emily Dickinson
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
Emily Dickinson
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Emily Dickinson
"Faith" is a fine invention
"Faith" is a fine invention
Emily Dickinson
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Emily Dickinson
Hope is a strange invention
Hope is a strange invention
Emily Dickinson
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
Emily Dickinson
I Can Wade Grief
I Can Wade Grief
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
Emily Dickinson
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
Emily Dickinson
If I should die
If I should die
Emily Dickinson
If you were coming in the fall
If you were coming in the fall
Emily Dickinson
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
Emily Dickinson
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Emily Dickinson
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Emily Dickinson
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Emily Dickinson
The Only News I Know
The Only News I Know
Emily Dickinson
There is no Frigate like a Book
There is no Frigate like a Book
Emily Dickinson