This research project undertakes a comprehensive examination of the intersection between nature and religion in Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Employing an ecofeminist position, the study meticulously analyzes five pivotal poems: “A Bird came down the Walk”, “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass”, “Because I could not stop for Death”, “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church” and “The World is not Conclusion”. The research includes a comparative analysis, not only within Dickinson’s own body of work but, when pertinent, with the works of other poets sharing similar thematic elements. This dual approach aims to unveil patterns and themes that underscore the intricate interconnectedness of gender, nature, and spirituality within Dickinson’s verses. The findings contribute significantly to existing scholarship by addressing gaps in the literature and illuminating Dickinson’s unique contributions to 19th-century American poetry. The discussion extends beyond historical contexts, emphasizing the relevance of Dickinson’s insights to contemporary discussions on the interplay between nature and religion.
References
[1]
Farr, J. (2004). The Gardens of Emily Dickinson. Harvard University Press.
[2]
Franklin, R. W. (ed.) (1999). The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition. The Belknap Press.
[3]
Gerlach, J. (1996). Emily Dickinson’s Fascicles: Method & Meaning (review). The Emily Dickinson Journal, 5, 121-123.
[4]
Grabher, G., Hagenbüchle, R., & Miller, C. (1998). The Emily Dickinson Handbook. University of Massachusetts Press.
[5]
MacGregor, S. (2006). Beyond Mothering Earth: Ecological Citizenship and the Politics of Care. University of British Columbia Press.
[6]
Merchant, C. (2005). Radical Ecology the Search for a Livable World. Routledge.
[7]
Miller, C. (2012). Reading in Dickinson’s Time. In Reading in Time: Emily Dickinson in the Nineteenth Century. University of Massachusetts Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vk9d0.6
[8]
Miller, C. (ed.) (2016). Emily Dickinson’s Poems: As She Preserved Them. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
[9]
Oberhaus, D. H. (1987). “Tender Pioneer”: Emily Dickinson’s Poems on the Life of Christ. American Literature, 59, 341-358. https://doi.org/10.2307/2927120
[10]
Sewall, R. B. (1998). The Life of Emily Dickinson. Harvard University Press.
[11]
Spencer, M. (2007). Dickinson’s Because I Could Not Stop for Death. The Explicator, 65, 95-96.
[12]
Walker, C. (1982). The Nightingale’s Burden: Women Poets and American Culture before 1900. Indiana University Press.
[13]
Wolff, C. G. (1986). Emily Dickinson. Alfred A. Knopf.