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The inner sanctum of Emily Dickinson's imagination / Susan H. McGuire

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Identifier	Thesis 1731
Author	McGuire, Susan H
Title	The inner sanctum of Emily Dickinson's imagination / Susan H. McGuire
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date	2003
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Notes	Metaphysical themes in Emily Dickinson's poetry emphasize the limitations of the human mind and the limitless possibilities of the imagination. Through a dose examination of her original use of language, readers can trace how Dickinson used everyday language as a tool to convey complex ideas and concepts. Dickinson's artistry, her originality and her genius exude from poems where she grapples with complex questions such as: What happens when someone dies? Where is heaven? Does immortality exist? If there is a God, what is God really like? What is our relationship with God? How does the natural world fit into the concept of spirituality? My paper will not answer these timeless questions, but this paper will pick out representative poems where Dickinson addresses possible answers to these types of questions. Although she encountered mental stumbling blocks in the form of the restrictions of societal conventions, the temporality of mortal existence and the intangibility of Calvinistic beliefs, Dickinson was able to push through these boundaries in her consciousness by searching her imagination and by honing her talent to write compelling poetry. Dickinson used familiar imagery: Victorian House imagery, Religious imagery and Nature imagery to portray different themes within her complex poetry. Through her experimentations using accessible language to convey metaphysical concepts, and through her creativity writing poetry with many layers of meanings, Dickinson found artistic freedom and a sense of spiritual truth within human consciousness. The first chapter shows how Dickinson uses Victorian House imagery to interpret different states of consciousness. Some poems discuss limiting mental states like loneliness in poem #777, or terror in poem 44370. Other poems show how she uses architectural imagery to show limitless states of mind like poem #I055 which presents door imagery as representing inspiration. By using common Victorian House imagery of doors and corridors, Dickinson made her notions of restrictive and freeing states of mind accessible to the reader. Chapter two examines Dickinson's poetry expounding on various thoughts about mortality. Her death poems deconstruct the traditional religious beliefs concerning death, and they present new thoughts on other possibilities besides Calvinistic views about death. Poem #71 deconstructs the belief of reunion after death, and poem #a0 suggests that there is only oblivion after death. By employing conventional religious terms and common experiences, Dickinson was able to articulate her innermost thoughts about death. In chapter three, poetry about heaven and immortality continues to demonstrate Dickinson's theme of the limitations of the human mind and the range of the imagination. Poem #721 suggests that the conventional belief of heaven as a blissful state may not be real at all. Dickinson writes about her five senses' observations here on earth, and she proposes that the beauty in this world is heavenly and preferable over Calvinistic doctrines of heaven as a locality after death. Once again familiar religious terminology helps Dickinson elucidate her different ideas about heaven and immortality. The last chapter presents how Dickinson uses Nature imagery to show an array of positive and negative concepts within her thoughts. Some poems simply enjoy Nature in a narrow, superficial way like poem #2, and other poems use natural imagery to represent a cruel and mysterious force as in poem #I 624. Also, inspiring metaphysical concepts are symbolized by natural imagery as in poem #575. In some nature poetry, Dickinson uses common Christian terms and fuses them with pantheistic notions to create her own sense of spirituality which is more expansive and universal than Calvinistic creeds. Dickinson's profound thought processes and her original use of language demonstrate her artistry and her genius. Dickinson's confidence in her own artistry led her through an assortment of beliefs connected to the social and religious systems of her community. She never seemed to agree with a teaching or a custom on face value, nor did she ever seem to accept a belief because someone told her it was true. Instead, Dickinson weighed the traditions of her day within the balance of her own reasoning abilities. She observed elements around her and analyzed conventional belief systems. Then she demonstrated her talent and skill by writing intriguing poetry using accessible language to explain her complex ideas on metaphysical topics. Through her poetic genius, Dickinson acknowledged the limitations of the human mind while also claiming a sense of artistic freedom which her independent-thinking and her imagination brought her. Since I refer to some historical context and a few biographical details, the main methodology used in this paper is Feminist Criticism. Cynthia Griffin Wolff's thorough scholarship of Emily Dickinson's life, and Dickinson's life's work, provides a foundation for my research. Critics such as Joanne Dobson and Diana Fuss discuss relevant information concerning Dickinson's House imagery and her artistry, while other critics like Roger Lundin and James Mclntosh expand on Dickinson's death poetry. Jane Donahue Eberwein writes about Dickinson's references to the Calvinist traditions, and Gary Lee Stonum elaborates on Dickinson's sublime poetry. Suzanne Juhasz describes spiritual themes in Dickinson's nature poetry. These are some of the literary critics who will be used in my paper.
Subject	Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886 -- Criticism and interpretation
Department	Department of English
Advisor	Mentzer, Melissa
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	55118092
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