research paperzz

Okay everyone, as most of you all know...when in college, one has to write papers...and this blog is for a class...so I have to write another paper on Emily Dickinson...oh dear!

Well, all joking and mockery aside, I feel like there are quite a few topics that I could pursue. However, there are two topics sticking out in my head.

1) Barriers...including both physical barriers (such as planks, doors, fences) and distance barriers (oceans, heavens). When doing research for fascicle 11.

• Often she has the characters make a choice. They can not straddle the barrier, they can not have their cake and eat it too.
  
• Though this theme is prevalent in fascicle 11, it is also very prevalent in the body of her larger works. For example in "I Felt a Funeral in my Brain" she "felt a plank of reason broke"
  
• When reading "My Emily Dickinson" by Susan Howe, she brings up an interesting point about Emily's upbringing in New England. She is not too far removed from the original calvinists who originally settled there. Their view of God is very strict and must have been influential in the barrier themes. Your are either saved, or you are not. You are either chosen, or you are not. There is no middle ground.
  
• Does Emily feel like there isn't even a choice for her? Are the only barriers God related?
• In her own life, she created her own barriers and writes in her letters about how being inside is just as much as an adventure for her. She finds solace being behind her closed door...however, she chooses not to open it...
  

2) Her use of scientific language in her poetry. She uses the word brain a lot, and also microscopes, and atoms, and displays a lot of scientific knowledge.

• I was thinking about incorporating this into my first topic because she usually places her scientific language in a poem so that it is in stark contrast with religion.
• Could science be considered a barrier? Or perhaps part of my "either or" theme in my first topic?

Regardless, I have a lot of things to consider and a lot of reading to do...

Happy research everyone!

RARE AND DIGITALLY REMASTERED

OMG...I have discovered that I am infact in possession of one of the ONLY REAL photographs of emily dickinson...

as you can see, it has been digitally remastered...

I mean, she looks mousy in the photographs we had before...but I mean seriously! Wow, who knew her face was so pointed and that her ears were so huge?

Fascicle 11

Alrighty dudes and dudettes, I finnished writing my paper on Fascicle 11 and I'm here to report to you what I learned!

I learned that all of the Emily Dickinson anthologies on reserve are very thick and that I felt like a total nerd as I brought the 30 lb stack of books to a table on the first floor in the library next to starbucks. I was too lazy to bring them to a quiet nook in the stacks...so, I plopped my self in the midst of the world of cappuccinos and the students who have to use the printers in the library because they're too cheap to refill the black ink cartridges in their fancy... dusty printers.


Reading an Emily Dickinson fascicle is a lot like reading a poetry version of a "choose your own adventure" story. Most of the poems within fascicle 11 had female speakers who discussed what it means to be a woman...and what a woman loses when she either chooses to maintain her identity of if she chooses to succumb to the rule of a man. Each poem told a different story about someone who made this decision and what it took to make the decision.

Loss and boundaries were key themes regarding the female speakers within the fascicle. Almost every poem had a barrier between the speaker and the object of their affection and some sort of loss regarding what ever the speaker decided to do...

I felt very trapped while reading this fascicle, like being female was some sort of curse and that I would have to choose between pride and love....or between pride and heaven. I felt like there was no place to go, or any decision I could make that would allow me to keep all that I want.

According to this fascicle I only had 2 options.
A) I could fall for a dude and loose myself in his identity or
B) I could maintain my dignity but loose love and the respect of God

LOOSE LOOSE SITUATION HERE PEOPLE

LIFE SUCKS AND THEN YOU DIE...

here is a diagram....


As you can see, the ladies definitely get shafted and the guys have all the fun. (if you need further textual evidence please see my comic version of "Over the fence-" in my previous blog post....boys get all the berries....turds!)


Alright, I'm out for now...until next time!

P_A

Over the Fence -

So... "Over the Fence - " is pretty much the poem that I have based my first two papers on. I figured I'd give you a dramatic reenactment of what I view in my head whilst reading this poem....

I've had a request to put my ferrets on display for the world to see.

Here's Emily Dickinson (Emmy D. for short)

And here's Oliver Twist
Emily Dickinson's dog would eat them if he knew about them so don't tell Carlo about the ferrets!

a letter

Dear Emily,
I must tell you, reading your works in class can be a bit daunting (to say the least!). I have decided, however, that since you are most fond of communication via post that this would be the best way to ask you what in God's name is going on!?

Yes, Emily, I have found your Fascicle. Where you might ask? Did I sneak past Carlo to pillage your drawers? Did I bribe your sister to give them to me? No, Emily, they have all been published, and I have copies of them all. Please don't freak out, the content of your poetry is disturbing and quite frankly I'm CONVINCED that these are a cry for help.

I think you know what fascicle I'm talking about. Fascicle 15, specifically, "If I may have it, when it's dead." For real, Emily? I'll have you know, that breathing bodies are MUCH more interactive than their lifeless analogues. Yes, yes, I know what you'll say. You'll tell me that the poem is in the fascicle for a reason, that when read in context, this poem has a sarcastic meaning. That speaks to those who lust for the sake of lust, not caring that the object/person they're chasing is actually rotten at the core, literally.

When we first started reading your poetry (that's right, there's more than just me reading this...you have quite a following you know) I grew tired of your poems about bees and flowers and blablabla...but now, I think I want some of those poems back!

Are you angry at Carlo for stealing your dinner? I'd be angry too, heck, when my ferrets destroy my shoes I flip out, but that doesn't make me want to pay an amorous visit to the morgue.

I'm sorry, Emily, I'm being sarcastic. It's a defense mechanism, I'm just SO worried about you. Do you feel like your romantic life is failing you? Do you want to give up the chase and stop perusing those you love simply because they're married? Is it worthless?

You write a lot about things not being what they seem. In "The Color of the Grave is Green" you write about how grass and snow may cover a grave but no matter how green the grass is, or how white and lush the snow is, the inside will not reflect the outside. (I will say, I'm quite pleased that you mentioned ferrets in this poem in the FINAL line, oh my, imagine my Oliver and Emily's surprise when I told them that you mentioned them!)

I assure you Emily, not everything is as worthless as it seems. I know you already know that, but sometimes people just need a reminder. Things aren't always what they seem, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we need to hug corpses.

Hug alive people.

Or maybe dogs. Hug Carlo.

Best wishes,
P_A

P.s
Remember that

Customary first post

I am a SUPER senior at James Madison University. I'm an english major who detests grammar and spelling, and who, most of the time, is too dense to pick up on subtle symbolism and imagery. However, our AMAZING professor...(who should really give me an A) thought that it would be a great idea to have her class blog about Dickinson.And here it is, my first post for my major author class, Emily Dickinson. Here's what I "knew" about Dickinson before attending class...

• I have a ferret named Emily Dickinson (Emmy D. for short) who is deaf like her brother Oliver Twist...yes, my animal names reflect my major, don't judge. But, fun fact...Dickinson loved Dickens's and alludes to Oliver Twist in many of her letters...so, my animal names were fate.
• She wrote confusing poetry (I'm still operating under that assumption)
• she is NOT the lady who stuck her head in the oven
• She was a recluse

After taking about a months worth of classes and reading a boat load of letters and poetry by Emily...my conclusion about her has not drastically wavered, but I have determined the following, which I will explore in later entries.

• She's as mad as a hatter- seriously, she's insane, but I have decided that she is merely a victim of being born in the wrong time. If she had access to facebook or myspace or a blog, perhaps she would have been less stir crazy and people would actually write her back because...
• She has HORRID handwriting. People like her make me glad that I changed major from education...I would fail her, even though her ideas are genius (or insane?) seriously, I doubt she could even give a five year old a run for their money regarding penmanship.
  

This five year old's handwriting is at LEAST legible! Every word can be read...Dickinson could take a few pointers from this kid.

• She was lonely. Honestly, she was a recluse, but towards the end of her life when she was sick. Her father, when alive, was a religious meanie and her perfect brother Austin got ALL of the attention. I'd act out too if I was Emily.
  
• Her poetry is deep. Even the most seemingly simple poem about a lady wanting berries, but wont get them because God Would get angry at the speaker for soiling her apron. It's simple at first glance, hilarious at second glance (as a lot of her works are) and is a chin scratcher after glance number 3. She's a genius, she's insane.
• She, really, really liked her brother's wife, Sue....and I mean really...
• Seriously people, if she had access to a type writer I feel like everyone's life would have been better. It probably took people so long to respond to her mail because it took them months to decipher her "handwriting."
• She could use a hug, she wrote a lot about death, and she's always writing about how she wants to hug and "embrace" the people she's writing too.
  
• She had a giant dog...I love dogs, Emily and I would have been friends until I forgot to write her back, unless she had facebook, then I would have probably written her back.