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= = =Biography of Emily Dickinson=   Emily Dickinson was born on 10 December 1830 in Amherst, in western Massachusetts , and died there on 15 May 1886. Her parents were Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross Dickinson. The family included three children: Austin, Emily, and Lavinia. Emily had a strong secondary education and a year of college at South Hadley Female Seminary. After her years at school, Emily Dickinson lived in the family home for the rest of her life. She cared for her parents in their later years and was a companion to her sister Lavinia, who also stayed "at home" for her entire life. Neither sister married. The extended Dickinson family included Austin's wife Susan Huntington Gilbert, their three children. In or around 1858 Dickinson began compiling a manuscript record of nearly 1,800 poems, along with many letters. In the early 1860s she produced hundreds of poems each year. In 1864 and 1865, failing eyesight, slowed her production of manuscript books. But her production of manuscripts continued at a slower pace until her last illnesses in 1885-86. Though she wrote hundreds of poems, Dickinson never published a book of poetry. The few poems published during her lifetime were anonymous. The reasons why she never published are still unclear.  ="Certain Slant of light" By Emily Dickinson= There's a certain slant of light, On winter afternoons That oppresses, like the heft Of cathedral tunes. Heavenly hurt it gives us; We can find no scar, But internal difference Where the meanings, are. None may teach it anything, 'T is the seal, despair, An imperial affliction Sent us of the air. When it comes, the landscape listens, Shadows hold their breath; When it goes, 't is like the distance On the look of death.

​​The poem “Certain Slant of light” explores a common theme in Dickinson’s work. She is quite fond of the idea that change can be painful and something to be feared but is also essential and illuminating. In this poem the slant of light is compared to “the Heft/Of Cathedral Tunes-.” Dickinson’s choice of the word “heft” as opposed to “weight” media type="youtube" key="-Lt1R-lPSnU" height="210" width="282" align="left" which would more fit the rhyme scheme it implies an upward movement that is difficult verses an image of downward force. While the slant of light is oppressive the diction makes it clear that it can be uplifting as well. Her use of the term “Cathedral” ties into her thoughts of religion and all that it entails. These ideas are not easy for her and have an oppressive quality and cause “Heavenly hurt”. This adjective is emphasized by the alliteration and the flipped syntax. These ideas while difficult bring her closer to God by uplifting by way of leading her to greater understanding. In the third stanza the painful transformation becomes clearer. We see that its lessons cannot be taught but rather lived. The phrase “Seal of Despair - / An imperial affliction” implies that those who experience this transformation are brought onto another level that is almost royal. This transformation seems two sided while it is worthwhile because it can be uplifting it is also painful. The final stanza ends the transformation and leaves the day much closer to night and the person experiencing the transformation closer to death which is the last word of the poem. However, death is kept closely related to life because “death” and “breath”, which is used earlier in the poem to symbolize life, rhyme.

="These are the days when birds come back" By Emily Dickinson= These are the days when Birds come back -- A very few -- a Bird or two -- To take a backward look.

These are the days when skies resume The old -- old sophistries of June -- A blue and gold mistake.

Oh fraud that cannot cheat the Bee -- Almost thy plausibility Induces my belief.

Till ranks of seeds their witness bear -- And softly thro' the altered air Hurries a timid leaf.

Oh Sacrament of summer days, Oh Last Communion in the Haze -- Permit a child to join.

Thy sacred emblems to partake -- They consecrated bread to take And thine immortal wine!

media type="youtube" key="BUewDQas9Zk" height="203" width="290" align="left" “These are the days when birds come back” emphasizes the contradictions that come up when the falseness of an Indian summer and the contradiction of the language of communication and the distinction between Indian summer and June. An Indian summer is a day after the first frost that resembles that of early summer days such as those that occur in June. These kinds of days are similar to that of the human condition. June symbolizes Eden and the first frost symbolizes man’s fall from the paradise that was the Garden of Eden. The Indian summer is like the realization that we have fallen from that paradise. Though we still see around us the natural beauty that surrounds us is suddenly stricken. In short, true summer has ended and the impending fall symbolizes the death of the year. Some people see the blue and gold skies and think of June but they are false and June is not upon them. This image is a reminder that all life has to come to an end. Also while humans seek immortality the rest of nature goes on with their lives because the only way to be immortal is to take communion with nature. This addresses Mrs. Dickinson’s problem with preformed religion.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = ="I died for Beauty - but was scarce" by Emily Dickinson= I died for Beauty -- but was scarce Adjusted in the Tomb When One who died for Truth, was lain In an adjoining room --

He questioned softly "Why I failed"? "For Beauty", I replied -- "And I -- for Truth -- Themself are One -- We Brethren, are", He said --

And so, as Kinsmen, met a Night -- We talked between the Rooms -- Until the Moss had reached our lips -- And covered up -- our names -- media type="youtube" key="RUHb_hSaObM" height="212" width="280" align="left"In the poem “I died for Beauty – but was scarce” tells the tale of a woman who has just died for beauty when a man is laid in an adjoining room that has died for truth. This man says that truth and beauty are the same. Dickinson portrays the physicality of death, the ideals of martyrdom, and a yearning for platonic companionship and an optimistic outlook for the afterlife. The further the reader reads into the poem all of the ideals that are buried with these two people fade away along with the evidence that they leave behind with their bodies and tombstones. This poem is describes how everything that is involved human life and ideals cease to exist with death. She makes these changes gradually so that the speaker becomes adjusted in the tomb and she portrays a speaker that is untroubled by her death. Dickinson creates a scene that is frightening and grotesque but is also compelling and comforting. I feel that Dickinson used this poem to express her feelings and reasons for her seclusion.

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="The Soul selects her own society" By Emily Dickinson= The Soul selects her own Society -- Then -- shuts the Door -- To her divine Majority -- Present no more --

Unmoved -- she notes the Chariots -- pausing -- At her low Gate -- Unmoved -- an Emperor be kneeling Upon her Mat --

I've known her -- from an ample nation -- Choose One -- Then -- close the Valves of her attention -- Like Stone -- media type="youtube" key="l1SC0Ae5CgM" height="217" width="306" align="left" The poem “The Soul selects her own Society-“ has an ominous tone that is very grand and quiet. In this poem Dickinson gives the reader a look into her justification for being so reclusive. This poem evokes the image of a somber ceremonial closing of a door to all of those that do not matter to them. In the poem the speaker says that the soul can refuse to allow anyone in even an emperor. In the middle of the poem she emphasizes her uncompromising attitude to allow anyone to force their selves into the soul. With this poem I feel that Dickinson shares with her readers a lot about herself and her seclusion. In this poem I also feel that Emily Dickinson showcases her ability to focus on metaphor and imagery. Dickinson manages to continually surprise the reader with her unexpected images that emphasize the mood of the poem.

Biography of Edgar Allen Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. Both of his parents died before the poet was three and John and Frances Allan raised him as a foster child in Richmond, Virginia and sent him to the best boarding schools and later to the University of Virginia, where he excelled. After less than one year, he was forced to leave the University because Allan refused to pay his gambling debts. Poe returned to Richmond, but his relationship with Allan deteriorated. In 1827, he moved to Boston and enlisted in the United States Army and his first collection of poems, was published that year. Following his Army service, Poe was admitted to the United States Military Academy, but he was again forced to leave for lack of financial support. He then moved into the home of his aunt, Mrs. Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia, in Baltimore, Maryland. He brought his aunt and twelve-year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, with him to Richmond where he married Virginia in 1836. Over the next ten years, Poe would edit a number of literary journals. It was during these years that he established himself as a poet, a short-story writer, and an editor. After Virginia's death from tuberculosis in 1847, Poe's life-long struggle with depression and alcoholism worsened. He returned briefly to Richmond in 1849 and then set out for an editing job in Philadelphia. For unknown reasons, he stopped in Baltimore. On October 3, 1849, he was found in a state of semi-consciousness. Poe died four days later of "acute congestion of the brain."

="Annabel Lee" By Edgar Allen Poe= It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of ANNABEL LEE; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea; But we loved with a love that was more than love- I and my Annabel Lee; With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea, A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee; So that her highborn kinsman came And bore her away from me, To shut her up in a sepulchre In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven, Went envying her and me- Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we- Of many far wiser than we- And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride, In the sepulchre there by the sea, In her tomb by the sounding sea

The poem “Annabel Lee” is the story of the death of a girl named Annabel Lee that the speaker loved dearly and his loss. The poem begins as an introduction of her and the deep love that the speaker feels for her. This love is described as the love of his life and nothing else matters. He however is not the only one in love with Annabel Lee. The angels in the heavens above are also in love with her and desire her presence in heaven. The speaker speaks of a wind that has taken her and shut her up in a sepulcher, which means that she has been taken to an eternal rest in the kingdom by the sea. The speaker is so overwhelmed with love for her that he remains faithful to her even after her death despite what anyone else including spirits and demons may think of him. He even goes so far as to lay by her side as she sleeps her eternal sleep. This poem is about an undying love that this man possesses for his Annabel Lee. He feels that he can provide everything they may ever need no matter how long they live because in his mind love is all you need to be happy. media type="youtube" key="VD9M-bMCZxw" height="254" width="308"