Critical+Analysis

Sarah Cohen Cohen 1 Critical Analysis Final Draft Salamone 9H Emily Dickinson was born and lived during the 1800’s and started writing poetry when she was an adolescent. She was raised in a Puritan town by a very wealthy and well known family; her father was a lawyer and later a senator. Through her poetry, she often suggests that she dislikes her town and community, and that everyone around her judges and talks about others. “I’m Ceded, I’ve Stopped Being Theirs,” “Much Madness is Divinest Sense,” and “God Permits Industrious Angels,” are three poems that show us Dickinson’s themes and attitude. In these poems she writes about the individual and society. Although many of her works are subtle protests against the majority, and their themes are serious, Dickinson can also create poems that are lighthearted. Dickinson was a poet who was ready to come to terms with her own feelings on life, love, nature, and more. She was a rebel in her own way, living the life of a girl who was supposed to be a perfect daughter. The poem “I’m Ceded, I’ve Stopped Being Theirs,” is about Dickinson’s controlled childhood. In the first stanza, she tells readers “I’m ceded, I’ve stopped being theirs,/ The name they dropped upon my face,/ With water, in the country church,/ Is finished using now,” setting the tone for the entire poem. She means that she was forced into a religion and a lifestyle before she even has the capacity to decide if she wants to be a part of them. Although she was a baby, she seems to be stating that she should have had the choice to decide about her life. She clearly does not believe in the customs and faiths that her family practices, and secretly rebels against every control that they have ever had over her.

Cohen 2 In the poem “Much Madness is Divinest Sense,” Dickinson reveals her displeasure with society. In line six, she writes, “Assent, and you are sane/ demur, you’re straightway dangerous,” and means that if you act the way the majority would except a “normal” person to act, then you will be accepted. If you stray away and become your own unique being, you are “weird,” “strange,” or “different,” and a threat. Dickinson is saying: “So what? So what if you are different?” Dickinson’s poetry constantly repeats how she believes that madness is beauty, and difference is good. The title of the poem “Much Madness is Divinest Sense,” also supports this idea because even the title of the poem pronounces craziness or individuality is a gift, instead of a trait that should make one an outcast. The poem “God Permits Industrious Angels,” displays Emily Dickinson’s ability to write a poem that is lighthearted and gives you something to think about that does not mainly involve her opinions about the problems with society. She writes, “God permits industrious angels/ Afternoons to play./ I met one, -forgot my schoolmates,/ All, for him, straightway,” and the poem goes on to describe how the angels left at sunset, and how it was hard to go back to playing with marbles after spending time with an angel. This poem is like a breath of fresh air because most of Dickinson’s poems are deep thoughts with many meanings that cannot be understood right away. Although this poem does suggest that Dickinson would rather play with her imagination than participate in the games of society, after reading the poem once, it is basically understood. There are some words that are slightly uncommon that you may not know, but they are easy to look up. Emily Dickinson’s poems are sometimes difficult to figure out at first. Something very interesting and enjoyable about her work is that if you do not understand what she is saying at first, rereading the poem helps tremendously. Sometimes, reading her poetry can start off as frustrating because it is not

Cohen 3 always clear at first. She often includes sophisticated language and a wide vocabulary, like the words “befall” or “expound.” Something about Dickinson’s poetry that relates to real life is that she feels like an outcast, which everyone can relate to at some point. She says that “she’s nobody,” and something readers can learn from her work is that you do not always have to fit the mold. Although occasionally it may feel like what everyone else thinks is all that matters, Dickinson’s works often explain how it’s good to be different. She makes the reader feel like the people who they are being judged by are the real crazy ones.