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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Her Letter to the World


Please read the following poem by Emily Dickinson and respond to the questions below:

This is my letter to the world,
That never wrote to me,
The simple news that Nature told,
With tender majesty.
Her message is committed
To hands I cannot see;
For love of her, sweet countrymen,
Judge tenderly of me!

What inferences could you make from this poem about Emily Dickinson as a poet and a person? Examine also her picture above and comment on her expression, clothing, and/or overall appearance. How does she strike you?

19 Comments:

Blogger Spencer Z said...

She doesn't seem bitter about the fact that nature hasn't given her a tangible message, instead she contents herself with the sublime display of beauty and majesty that nature shows her. She pleads for this reason that her fellow man not judge her for her eccentricities because she has only love in her heart.

She seems to me to be a very pensive and lonely woman. Her face and clothes are plain but the expression on her face seems deep and calm. She strikes me as a rather intellectual person.

2:22 PM  
Blogger Alyssag said...

I think that she is sort of like the olden day hippi. She appears as if she doesn't really care about appearance, and is content with who she is becuase of the plain expression on her face, as well as her plain clothing. Also, I think that her connection with nature makes her a down to earth, but really passionate person.

"Her message is committed to hands I cannot see;" I dont fully understand what this means, but my inference is that Emily works through nature, wanting to help people that she cannot reach or know of. I think that her poetry will mostly be about the world and the people in it.

4:27 PM  
Blogger Jessica K said...

I believe Emily Dickinson was a very unique almost strange person for her time. It seems she had a better understanding of life and nature than just the superficial and judgemental qualities that can exsist in some people. I can tell that she wants to convey this to the world and so she writes however the people she writes for only judge.

This deep understanding that she has is a reason for the plain appearance and her calm and confident expression. She is content with herself and doesn't need to hide behind looks.

4:47 PM  
Blogger Emilee P said...

In this poem Dickinson simply writes down her thoughts about nature; it is honest yet poetic. I think that this tells us that she was a private person, who used poetry to share her feelings with others. In this poem, when she puts her personal thoughts about the greatness of nature into words, readers get a slight glimpse into her life

In the picture her clothes are pretty plain and ordinary compared to others in that time period. Her expression is also plain, however her eyes seem kind of lonely. (I don’t know why, but there also seems to be a sort of evil genius smirk on her face)

5:17 PM  
Blogger Anoel said...

She seems very shy, reserved, and almost bitterly alone. I assume that she was, since she was talking about how the whole word didn't think she existed. She seems to love nature. I think that she was unbothered with her appearance, since she had no one to impress. Her hair is modest, she dresses in dark grey, covering dresses, and it seems to me that she is just a face in the crowd.

5:26 PM  
Blogger Monique R said...

She seems like someone who has accepted her place in life when she states 'the world, that never wrote to me' but also cares how others view her when she says 'judge tenderly of me!' I think she, by posing for a picture in plain clothing, displays the fact that she doesn't try to impress others with material things, and seems kind of down to earth, like Alyssa said, when she writes about Nature in her poem. She seems like an interesting person who could tell the truth about a lot of subjects.

7:00 PM  
Blogger Jordan L said...

I think the poem shows that she really likes nature and really connects with it. Her poems are really deep but simple and convey a lot about her. As a person she seems very alone like Spencer said. She looks like her eyes have a fire in them but she looks so quiet and reserved and doesn't know how to release her inner fire except through poetry. Her face looks like she is longing for something and very peaceful.

7:39 PM  
Blogger BessieS said...

She seems lost and lonely. I think she was misunderstood and wanted people to notice her and love her for who she was. I agree with Spencer that she is not bitter about her relationship with nature but I think that she used writing to ease her feelings of loneliness a disconnection from the world. Her clothing suggests that she is closed off and maybe uptight but the look on her face is soft and there is a longing in her eyes.

7:43 PM  
Blogger Mackenzie said...

To me, this poem shows explains why people do not understand Emily Dickenson that well...she is a mystery. In this poem she tells the world why she does not connect with it very well (as she said, the world never wrote to her, which means she does not "click" with how the world was at the time); she connects better with nature. Her last line shows that she wants other people to be OK with that and not judge her harshly because of it. Perhaps this is why she became a poet, she could escape to the reality of her poems instead of the reality of the world where she did not fit in.

In the picture, she looks content with who she is but like many people have said, she looks lonely for people, or the world, which does not accept her. The last line of her poem seems to be a plea for people to accept her the way she is so she can escape from this loneliness.

7:46 PM  
Blogger EmilyL said...

If broken into sections, the poem appears to reveal several things about Emily:
In the first two lines, she seems to be a lonely person, but not resentful or angry. "That never wrote to me" doesn't contain malice, but is only a simple, factual statement.
Emily portrays Nature and its messages in a positive light, and it seems that she believes the fundatmentals of life can be found by looking in a garden, walking through the woods, or sitting beneath a tree. Simplicity comes to mind.
The final four lines imply that she lived a rather solitary life, but she doesn't seem to be a misanthrope. Rather, she is pleading for the world not to judge her and to think kindly of her.
Emily appears rather vulnerable and fragile in her portrait, but her eyes hold strength. The flower in her hand reinforces her love of nature.
Emily seems to have a natural intuition about emotions and thoughts. Although her poetry is lined with sadness, there is a quiet independence and confidence that makes me think Emily was a woman of great courage and determination.

8:12 PM  
Blogger Erin G said...

She seems to feel invisible or forgotten. She seems to love nature and wish to pass its "news" to others without their judgement. As others have said, I believe the only way she could share herself was through her writing. Her clothes seem very modest as does her hair. Her espression is very blank, but her eyes seem to hold many feelings. Her eyes look like she feels sort of trapped, but also that she has hope.

8:21 PM  
Blogger Sarah P said...

About the picture, i think that she looks shocked and almost just suprised. The way she dresses clearly shows that this portrait was taked a LONG time ago,

and because of the last line in the poem...it seems like her self confidence is not very high. Also, the subject changes in this poem from "my letter" to her message." is there a reason for that?

8:30 PM  
Blogger Sarah D said...

She feels as if the world is not responding to her writing as she desires it to be. She doesn’t crave attention or recognition, she craves people to be touched by her work. She wants the world to stop and think about what she says in her writing.
Her clothes are plain and simple. She doesn’t want people looking at her because of her exterior. Her loneliness is apparent in her facial expression. She longs for the world to see what she has to offer and for people to get to know who she is, regardless of her clothes.

8:35 PM  
Blogger jessicam said...

Her poem, or this poem in particular, seems to have elements of romanticism in it; and seems optimistic. Emily Dickinson herself seems to be a reserved women, who also has a bold streak to her, and poetry is her way of opening up to the world. Her clothes make her seem very old fashioned, in lifestyle and mentality too. Yet overall, she seems like a pleasant person.

9:15 PM  
Blogger J Hunt said...

She was probably a little misuderstood and definately lonely. She liked nature and prbobaly spent a lot of time in nature and maybe wrote a lot of her poems about it. She feels judged by others and is bothered by it.

9:56 AM  
Blogger BessieS said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

10:18 AM  
Blogger ryan said...

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10:20 AM  
Blogger ryan said...

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10:23 AM  
Blogger ryan said...

Emily seems like she is very...disturbed. Her poetry is so simple and so basic, that it leaves a haunting and lonely feel to every word. Her words are few and I think that shows how she is so personal and reserved. Her outfit and manor is very conservative and modest, she looks kind of aloof and spacey.

10:31 AM  

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