Isolation and anti-feminism

Recreation of Emily Dickinson writing a poem.

“We turn not older with years, but newer every day.”

Emily Dickinson, Letter to Frances and Louise Norcross, late 1872.

Biography

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts, into a prominent family. Dickinson was an American lyric poet who lived in seclusion and is considered one of the leading 19th-century American poets known for her bold original verse, which stands out for its epigrammatic compression, haunting personal voice, and enigmatic brilliance. Dickinson spent virtually all her life, increasingly reclusive, in her family's home in Amherst, where she was considered eccentric by locals due to her penchant for white clothing, her disinterest in leaving her room, and her reluctance to greet guests. Emily Dickinson was a prolific writer as she wrote over 1,800 poems; however, only ten are known to be published during her lifetime. Even though Dickinson's passion for writing was not a secret, it was not until after her death that her work became public, most of her poems being significantly edited and purposely censored to follow the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson never married and was suspected of having a romantic relationship with her sister-in-law "Susan," which is believed to be the inspiration for some of her poems. On May 15, 1886, at the age of 55, Emily Dickinson died of heart failure.

Introduction

We have progressed as a civilization so that now most people can be able to be themselves, express their ideas and points of view, and do any job imaginable. However, it is incredible to think that humanity took an exceptionally long time to get here. If we had a time machine and went back only 200 years, we could see how society was constructed uniquely with different rules. Men and women (especially women) had specific roles, behaviors, and tasks that were expected, but even though there were rules, there was also rebellion. Emily Dickinson, the 19th-century poet, was ahead of her time, constantly going against what was expected from her. She found a way of being free of these rules and did it not in a common approach. As Dickinson decided to do poetry, we can look through her poems and acknowledge the frustration she felt against the society of the time. In the poem “They Shut Me Up in Prose,” Emily Dickinson writes about the freedom she achieves from societal restrictions by secluding herself.

“The Shut Me Up in Prose” (1862)

Emily Dickinson writing a poem in her bedroom.

They shut me up in Prose –

As when a little Girl

They put me in the Closet –

Because they liked me “still”  –

Still! Could themself have peeped –

And seen my Brain – go round –

They might as wise have lodged a Bird

For Treason – in the Pound –

Himself has but to will

And easy as a Star

Look down opon Captivity –

And laugh – No more have I –

Poem Analysis

When Dickinson started poetry, she found her voice and distinctive way of expressing her feelings about everything around her; however, the society of the time did not support female poets as the role expected of women was far from what Dickinson’s wanted it to be. At the time, women were expected only to occupy domestic affairs and be dependable on a husband without a legal or emotional existence of their own (Medhkour 9). According to the The Lady’s Token: or Gift of Friendship, published in 1848, “only with domestic affairs-wait till your husband confides to you those of a high importance-and do not give your advice until he asks for it.” In the first stanza of “They Shut Me Up in Prose,” we can acknowledge how the society of the 19th century is trying to control Dickinson’s will as she might be the speaker of the poem:

They shut me up in Prose –

As when a little Girl

They put me in the Closet –

Because they liked me “still”   –

In the first line of the first stanza, the speaker makes an emphasis how “They” are trying to lock her in prose, the prose being a boring, dull, and conventional ruling she is against, quite different from poetry, which in this poem is trying to be represented as a celebration of originality, freedom, and individuality. The second line starts with the speaker getting an epiphany from when she was “a little girl” and compares to her current situation. The third and fourth lines express how “They,” which is the authority, locks the speaker in the closet as a cruel punishment because she would not be “still.” This punishment explains how “They” are trying to confine her energy and freedom for not being well-behaved, alluding to Dickinson’s circumstances with society as she was not allowed to be a poet. Then, in the second and third stanza, the poem takes an interesting shift:

Dove freeing itself from imprisonment

 

Still! Could themself have peeped –

And seen my Brain – go round –

They might as wise have lodged a Bird

For Treason – in the Pound –

Himself has but to will

And easy as a Star

Look down opon Captivity –

And laugh – No more have I –

The second stanza’s first line starts strong with “Still!” where the sarcasm can be immediately sensed. The speaker continues to explain how pointless trying to restrict her is, though she is being confined physically; her mind is always free and cannot be contained by walls (Walker 57). In the third and fourth lines of the second stanza, the speaker implies to how ludicrous “They” are; a bird obviously cannot be locked up for treason. “What makes it even more bizarre is the fact that birds sing melodious tunes. The metaphor for poet suggests that shutting up beautiful language makes just as much sense as imprisoning a bird for committing a crime against a king” (Medhkour 10). Finally, in the last stanza, the speaker continues with the bird example, expressing how easy it is to escape imprisonment. From the view the bird gets from above, it looks down at its would to be captors and laughs at them. The distinct perspective of the speaker, which is higher than “Theirs,” are the wings that are keeping her above and setting her free from the confinement being put on her. However, like the bird she had escaped it already.   The poem explores the themes of restriction and seclusion against an individual who does not believe or share the same beliefs as the surrounding community. Individuality is the ideology of being self-reliant and unique, making us different from one another as we will have different needs, rights, goals, and morals. Unfortunately, when individuality is taken away because of culture, religion, or in this case, society's expectations of all women behaving and acting in the same way, the sense of self is lost as the group (women) must act like one. As a result, different ideas or perspectives that go against the ideal beliefs of the community will be labeled as outrageous, atrocious, or even insane, and the person challenging the ideals will be separated from the group and labeled as demented. Emily Dickinson embraced the seclusion she was getting from society for being a woman trying to publish poetry and began to disappear from social life. This was the time in her life she was fully dedicated to her writing to the point Dickinson would only speak with visitors through a door instead of face-to-face. According to the essay Redefining Domesticity: Emily Dickinson and the Wife Persona, published in 2015:  

“At first glance, the way Dickinson shut herself up in her bedroom seemingly contradicts this poem’s message. She chose four walls over the usual concept of freedom. Nonetheless, this poem exemplifies Dickinson’s choice. The prison was outside of her room—her walls kept things out, not her in. Her room was where her mind could “go round” and be free of captivity, because that is where she wrote poetry. It is the place where “I” finds precedence over “They.” She chose to not publish traditionally because “They” would “shut [her] up in Prose” or force her to write poetry that was an “acceptable” subject for women or more regular in syntax, stanza, and rhyme as was the style of the time” (Medhkour 10).

In brief, the poem “They Shut Me Up in Prose” honors the liberty Emily Dickinson achieved from society. Even though Dickinson was lacking in contact, she was her true self; she explored her individuality and did what she liked the most, write poems. Society could not stop her from writing, as she wrote over 1,800 poems in her lifetime. Her mind and ideas were always free, not obeying the restrictive social conventions because it is laughably powerless compared to the power of one’s mind (Little, 2021). Emily Dickinson is the perfect example of a feminist poet revolutionary in a patriarchal society.

Glossary

Bird, n.

1. Mortal being; transitory creature; [fig.] angel; spirit; essence of a dead loved one.
2. Fowl; winged creature; warm-blooded vertebrate with feathers; member of the class Aves.
3. Quick-moving creature; [fig.] feeling; emotion; sentiment; affection.
4. Nestling; hatchling; chick; baby fowl; [fig.] child; offspring.
5. Whistler; [fig.] informer; reporter; gossiper; messenger; secret-bearer; tattle-tale.
6. Nesting creature; [metonymy] melody; song; tune; [fig.] happiness; hope; joy; good tidings.
7. Far-flying creature; [fig.] explorer; navigator; sailor; mariner.
8. Creature used in sacrifices and offerings; [fig.] Savior; Christ; (see Leviticus 12:8).
9. Communicative creature; [fig.] thought; idea; intelligence.
10. Singing creature; [metaphor] poet; minstrel; author of lyric verse.
11. Phrase. “Patriarch's bird”: Noah's dove; the dove that Noah sent forth from the Ark to look for land after the flood (see Genesis 8:8-12).
12. Phrase. “Blue Bird”
13. Phrase. “Humming Bird”

Brain, n.

1. Imagination; cognition; sensory perception; cognition; center of emotion.
2. Cerebrum and cerebellum; master organ of the body; terminus of the central nervous system; soft viscus mass within the skull; center that enables various human functions, abilities, capacities, connections, and sensations.
3. Memory; mind; remembrance; recollection; mental awareness.
4. Intelligence; understanding; consciousness; center of thought; seat of the soul.
5. Intellect; reason; logical capacity.
6. Nucleus; core; kernel.

Captivity, n.

1. Bondage; slavery; thralldom; imprisonment; servitude; subjection; state of being controlled; [fig.] embodiment; incarnation; mortality; (see Ephesians 4:8).

Closet, n.

1. Chamber; cupboard; wine cabinet.
2. Small room; storage place; [fig.] body; mind.
3. Compartment; [fig.] area of the brain.

Laugh, v.

1. Bubble; gurgle; chuckle; chortle; chirp; guffaw; giggle; make mirthful noises.
2. Express joy; project gaiety; be cheerful, pleasant, or lively.
3. Phrase. “laugh at”: mock; scorn; deride; ridicule; treat with some degree of contempt.

Lodge, v.

1. Enclose; confine; detain; imprison; incarcerate.
2. Place; plant; set to grow.
3. House; host; board.
4. Stay; rest; abide; find a place in.

Might, n.

1. Bodily strength; physical power.
2. Strong force.
3. Ability.
4. Strength in mind and body.
5. Supernatural power.
6. Strength of affection.

Upon (opon), prep.

1. On; using; standing upward with.
2. On; in contact with; at the point of.
3. Affecting; opposing; up against; grating on.
4. During.

Peep, v.

1. Arise; awake; begin to appear; emerge from concealment.
2. Watch carefully; observe secretly; look through a small opening.

Pound, n.

1. Prison; jail; detention facility; holding place for impounded animals; enclosure for confinement of stray creatures.

Prose, n.

1. Ordinary language; uninspired expression; unimaginative discourse; dull, commonplace words.

Star, n.

1. Heavenly body; shining points of light in the night sky; [plural] Milky Way; stellar display.
2. Celebrity; genius; great one; special person; selected individual.
3. A general term for a point of light in a constellation.
4. Wish; miracle; special phenomenon; beautiful thing; signal of hope; dream to come true.
5. Small meteorite; shooting star.
6. Lesser light; smaller celestial being; less prominent but nevertheless worthy of heaven.
7. Sparkling entity; glittering orb.
8. Reflection; glimmer.
9. Lofty goal; unreachable object.
10. Director; guide; heavenly map; divine guidance.
11. Polar center; central point in the heavens around which other heavenly bodies move.
12. The United States flag; the red, white, and blue emblem of the independent government in North America.
13. Six-pointed symbol [*]; pointed punctuation mark in a text; [fig.] heavenly being; splendid multi-faceted person who has left mortality but leaves a hint of eternal life.
14. Saint; righteous person; being of great renown.
15. Bright orb; glowing point of light; distant object in the night sky.
16. Phrase. “border star”: evening planet on faintly visible on the horizon at sunset; [metaphor] frontier newspaper in Missouri in the mid-1800's.
17. Phrase. “Morning Stars”: pre-mortal choir; female singers who rejoiced when the Lord laid the earth's foundations; daughters of God who sang for joy when the world was created (see Job 38:4-7).
18. Phrase. “the Morning Star”: Venus; the second planet from the sun in Earth's solar system; the star-like planet that appears in the east just before dawn; [fig.] the Lord; the resurrection of the dead (see Revelation 2:28, 22:16).
19. Phrase. “Star of Bethleem/Bethlehem”: astrological phenomenon; extremely bright body of light that appeared in the sky at the birth of Jesus (see Matthew 2:1-10).
20. Phrase. “the northern star”: polar center; Arctic view of the sky; compass point in the heavens around which other heavenly bodies move.

Still, v.

1. Appease; assuage; placate; satiate; silence.
2. Occupy; engage; busy; captivate; engross.
3. Suspend; efface; disperse; dissolve; evanesce; cause to disappear; make to vanish.

Treason, n.

1. Perfidy; act of betraying; attempt to overthrow the authority; subversion against one to whom allegiance is owed.
2. Disloyalty; infidelity.
3. Disclosure; revelation that betrays identity.
4. Treachery; deception.

Wise, n.

1. Seer; most intelligent person; one who usually possesses great discernment.

Activities

Let's write a poem! Just take a piece of paper and a pencil and start writing about a moment in your life, any! Just think about how you feel, where you were, what smelt like. It does not have to be perfect! After you have your first draft, let's shorten it and try to think of different words to express the same or deeper feelings. Instead of "love," you can use colors like "red," and instead of "passion," you can use objects like "fire." You can also use metaphors and compare emotions like "Love is like a rollercoaster" or "This passion is like a burning sun."

You can also go to Poem Generator and generate your own poem with your own specifications.

Further readings

• “I’m nobody! Who are you?” [1]
• “I dwell in possibility” [2]
• “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” [3]
• ““Hope” is the thing with feathers” [4]

• “I felt a funeral, in my Brain” [5] 
• “The Soul selects her own Society” [6] 
• “The Heart Asks Pleasure First”
• “I died for Beauty – but was scarce” [7]

References

Habegger, A. (2023, May 11). Emily Dickinson. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emily-Dickinson

Hallen, Cynthia, ed. Emily Dickinson Lexicon. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 2007, http://edl.byu.edu/index.php.  

Little, Margaree. "They shut me up in Prose –." LitCharts LLC, January 21, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2023. https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/emily-dickinson/emily-dickinson-they-shut-me-up-in-prose.

Medhkour, Yousra. Redefining Domesticity: Emily Dickinson and the Wife Persona. 2015. University of Toledo, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1418939861.

Pinckney, C. (Ed.). (1848). The Lady's Token: or Gift of Friendship. Nashua, NH: J. Buffum.

Walker, N. (1983). Emily Dickinson and the Self: Humor as Identity. Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, 2(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.2307/464206