To Dwell In Possibilities Emily Dickinson Meaning

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at the University of Colorado and analyser of many of Emily’s works states, "To dwell in Possibility does not mean, for Dickinson, to dwell in unreality. Possibility, as her poem on the subject maintains, is the space of the mind and of the poem: the space of emotional and intellectual experience…(where) she as woman and poet could in fact achieve both power and safety” (Juhasz, 109). Juhasz further explains Emily’s intentions when she says, "This house is 'Possibility,' the imagination. Dwelling there, the lady of the manor makes not cakes but poetry . . . . because of the power of the imagination, the 'housewife' can be a poet" (Juhasz, 20). Throughout this poem and many others, it is evident that Emily had a clear and powerful voice regarding…show more content…
Although Dickinson was not a religious person, she would often study the Book of Revelation to inspire and influence her writing. Therefore, most of her writing focused around the common themes of the end of the world, tribulation, and suffering. Emily used the Biblical stories and ideas found in Revelation to help reveal her thoughts and feelings in poetry and her perturbed character. However, she would often use specific words choice that would also conceal her feelings in a way that made her poetry objective and able to effect those who read her poems in different ways. Emily also used uncommon poetic techniques in her poetry that expanded the standards of poetry. Frequently, Emily used Poetic Rhythm where she would use a stanza structure called Hymn Meter in in each quatrain, or four line stanza section. The first and third line would be Iambic Tetrameter and the second and fourth lines would be Iambic Trimeter. Not only this, but Emily used the technique of Slant Rhyme where a close, but not exact rhyming sound was used. Instead of using typical sounds to portray a rhyming sequence, Emily used word meanings at the end of each verse for connection and emphasis. Another unconventional poetry style that Emily used in her poetry was that she rarely titled her poems. Only 10 out of her almost 1800 poems have titles and she would often have multiple manuscripts for her poems.

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