A Timeline of Emily Dickinson’s Life: a Literary Mystery

Emily Dickinson is one of those names in American literature that just sticks with you, right? She's like this mysterious figure whose life and poetry still fascinate both scholars and readers. Born way back in the early 1800s, Emily’s choice to live away from the world and her unique style of writing have always drawn a lot of curiosity. In this piece, we’re gonna dive into Emily Dickinson's life timeline and look at the major events and influences that carved out her place in literary history.

The Life Timeline of Emily Dickinson: A Literary Enigma

Early Life: So, Emily Elizabeth Dickinson popped into the world on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her parents were Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross Dickinson. Growing up, she had a pretty stable family life and went through some serious schooling at places like Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. She was a bright kid who did well in subjects like literature and science. But guess what? Her formal education didn’t last long; she went home after just one year at Mount Holyoke.

Becoming Reclusive: When she hit her twenties, Emily started pulling back from socializing. This whole trend of staying away from people stuck with her throughout her life. Why? Well, folks have different theories—some say it was personal choice; others think maybe she had health issues. Even though she kept to herself, her surroundings, family, and a few close friends had a big impact on her work. Her letter exchanges with Thomas Wentworth Higginson—a critic and abolitionist—gave her some outside literary engagement.

Productive Years: The 1850s and 1860s were huge for Emily in terms of writing. It was during these years that she penned most of her nearly 1,800 poems. You know the ones—they stand out with their quirky punctuation, slant rhyme, and deep themes about death, immortality, and nature. Despite being super productive, only ten of her poems saw the light of day while she was alive—and even then, they were published anonymously.

Tragic Losses: The 1870s and 1880s were tough times for Emily because she lost several close family members—including her dad in 1874 and mom in 1882—which made her withdraw even more into herself. This grief showed up in her poetry too; it became more introspective as time went on. During all this heartache, she found some comfort in her sister Lavinia who stayed by her side.

Final Years: By the mid-1880s, Emily's health wasn’t great anymore. She had all sorts of ailments—though nobody's quite sure what exactly they were. On May 15th, 1886, she passed away at age 55—probably due to Bright's disease (a kind of chronic nephritis). Afterward? Her sister Lavinia stumbled upon an extensive collection of poems Emily left behind—and took on the mission to get them published.

The world finally got a taste when Mabel Loomis Todd along with Thomas Wentworth Higginson edited a collection released posthumously in 1890—which earned Emily the recognition she'd missed out on earlier in life! As more editions rolled out over time—plus tons more scholarly work—Emily’s reputation as an iconic American poet grew stronger than ever before!

Conclusion

All said done—you gotta admit—Emily Dickinson lived quite an intriguing life marked by isolation but immense literary brilliance too! From growing up nestled within Amherst—to gaining fame after departing—the journey itself paints such vivid strokes depicting both personal growth alongside artistic evolution alike! Sure—it stinks how little appreciation came during living years—but wow did those words leave lasting impressions across generations since then! Who can argue against how much influence or inspiration lies within every single stanza penned? Truly remarkable stuff indeed!

References

• Dickinson Electronic Archives (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.emilydickinson.org/
• Sewall, R.B. (1974). The Life of Emily Dickinson.
• Habegger, A. (2001). My Wars Are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson.
• Lundin, R.W. (2004). Emily Dickinson: A Biography.
• Miller Jr., J.E. (1998). Emily Dickinson: A Poet's Grammar.