19 November 2013

Emily Dickinson: nihilist?

Could it be that Emily Dickinson was a nihilist?

By homely gift and hindered Words
The human heart is told
Of Nothing —
"Nothing" is the force
That renovates the World —


(#A 821)
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10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Maybe overall she leaned transcendentalist. . .but this poem is definitely nihilisitic.

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  2. Anonymous3:47 PM

    Every time I see an Emily Dickinson poem I smile because the nun who taught us AP English pointed out that you can sing most of her poems to the tune of Gilligan's Island. All these years later, I realize how much I really learned in her class because of her deft use of humor to help us learn.

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    Replies
    1. Also, "Yellow Rose of Texas" and most Methodist hymns ("Amazing Grace").

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  3. Anonymous6:12 PM

    To see a very recently discovered daguerreotype of Emily, go to www.kaplancollection.com.

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  4. or in the spirit of St John of the Cross..... Nada Nada Nada

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  5. Or possibly instead.... in the spirit of St. John of the Cross..... Nada, Nada, Nada (nothing)

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  6. I've always thought that she was depressing and such. I am surprised that you are reading her! A nihiist? hmmmm maybe, but I dunno for I have never met a true nihilist....

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    Replies
    1. ED is one of my all-time fav poets. . .I took a grad seminar on her work and wrote a paper comparing her work to Adrienne Rich's. ED is one of my Deserted Island picks.

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  7. Anonymous9:36 PM

    The late great literary critic Harold Bloom said her poetry at least TENDED towards nihilism. I think it's safe to say you don't have to read very far along with her before figuring out she definitely didn't believe in an afterlife. Take Death is a Dialogue as an example; in the last line it seems faith has won out, but it also has an ironic ring to it, because an overcoat of clay isn't strong evidence (suggesting that doubt in fact has won out).

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