Emily Dickinsons Capitalization and Punctuation - 1251 Words

The poetry of Emily Dickinson is one of the most recognizable of the 19th century. Dickinson’s poetry stands out because of its unconventional use of capitalization and punctuation. Her poems contain capitalized words which are not normally capitalized. Her poems are noted for the frequent use of the dash. Literary scholars have attempted to interpret Dickinson’s unconventional capitalization and punctuation. Some believe that it was merely part of Dickinson’s penmanship (Weisbuch 73). They therefore edit Dickinson’s poetry and publish them in standardized form. Others believe that the capitalization and punctuation were a conscious effort on Dickinson’s part. These scholars notice the little nuances of Dickinson’s dashes, such as whether†¦show more content†¦However, Dickinson is not consistent in her capitalization (Porter 140). She does not capitalize every single noun. As demonstrated above, the word â€Å"light† is not ca pitalized. Furthermore, Dickinson also capitalizes words which are not nouns, as seen in lines 4 – 6 of â€Å"He fumbles at your Soul†. The word â€Å"ethereal† is an adjective, but Dickinson chooses to capitalize it. He stuns you by degrees — Prepares your brittle Nature For the Ethereal Blow The capitalized words are the key words of the poem. They add weight to the lines, tipping the balance of the poetic rhythm. The reader is invited to ponder over their meaning and significance (Miller 59). The capitalization gives Dickinson’s poems concreteness and symbolism (Miller 58). The reader’s attention is drawn to these capitalized words. They form an image in the reader’s mind. For example, in the first example, the capitalized words are Slant, Winter, Afternoons, Heft, Cathedral, and Tunes. These words alone evoke the image of a cold and lonely day which burdens the heart like the heavy and mournful tones of an organ. Just words â€Å"Winter Afternoons† carry sensations of frigidness, bleakness, and loneliness. â€Å"Winter Afternoons† set the scene and describe the mood (Porter 141). The words â€Å"Ethereal Blow† strike the reader as an oxymoron. Ethereal implies something light, delicate, andShow MoreRelated Dickinson Vs. Whitman Essay1229 Words   |  5 Pagesschooling, Walt Whitman spent four years learning the printing trade; Emily Dickinson returned home after receiving schooling to be with her family and never really had a job. Walt Whitman spent most of his time observing people and New York City. Dickinson rarely left her house and she didnt associate with many people other than her family. In this essay I will be comparing Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Emily Dickinsons life differs greatly from the life of Walt Whitman, although they livedRead MoreEmily Dickinson and Walt Whitman: Dissimilar Poets Establish Unique Writing Style1682 Words   |  7 PagesEmily Dickinson and Walt Whitman both were American poets who lived in the 19th century who strayed from the traditional style of writing poetry and formed their own individual style of writing which became the unique American style of poetry. Their lifestyles and writing styles were extremely different, as they shared little in common. The dissimilarities in these two poets are in the way they composed their poems and possibly in the content of the poems. 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In her younger years Dickinson considered herself different because she was shy and sensitive (Emily Dickinson’s Life and Work). Dickinson and her younger sister Lavinia started theirRead MoreWe Grow Accustomed to the Dark...2215 Words   |  9 Pagesrecurring image in literature that evokes a universal unknown, yet is often entrenched in many meanings. A master poet, Emily Dickinson employs darkness as a metaphor many times throughout her poetry. In â€Å"We grow accustomed to the dark† (#428) she talks of the â€Å"newness† that awaits when we â€Å"fit our Vision to the Dark.† As enigmatic and shrouded in mystery as the dark she explores, Dickinsons poetry seems our only door to understanding the recluse. As she wrote to her friend T.W. Higginson on April 15, 1862Read MoreEssay about Nature in the Works of Emily Dickinson1368 Words   |  6 Pagesand stability in the human minds. Emily Dickinson is a naturalist poet that she wants the world to know that peace does exist in the human world and she wants to tell the world. Dickinsons poems are mostly written by nature, love, and death according to Anna Dunlap i n her analysis. Dickinsons sister, Lavinia, is the one who published Dickinsons work, on her first attempt the editor that was responsible was taking her sweet time. This editor had Dickinsons work for two years so Lavinia decidedRead MoreExamples Of Emily Dickinson748 Words   |  3 PagesEmily Dickinson: Ambivalence in Nature Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet from the mid-nineteenth century. She had lived reclusively with her parents, composing approximately 1,800 known works of poetry. When she tried to get some of them published, they were rejected for their strange punctuation and capitalization. Dickinson refused to change her writing style and eventually gave up on poetry. Only until four years after her death was all of her poetry discovered and published by a