Decoding Emily Dickinson, A Poet of Solitude and Nature in The Times of Covid 19: An Analysis of Dickinson's Life and Select Poems

Abstract

Nature has been a powerful force and a source of inspiration for manypractitioners of art, particularly for painters and poets. Being tired of thehumdrum of human existence these sensitive souls try to find solace in Nature. Nature has haunted the minds of many great poets like WilliamWordsworth, Robert Burns, Thomas Hardy, Sumitra Nandan Pant, SuryaKant Tripathi “Nirala” et al. The much acclaimed TranscendentalMovement stems from and is inspired by the tranquility and transcendencethat natural environs offer. The canvas of Nature poetry is enormous;whereas on the one hand Nature is shown as a caring Mother and a healer, itis also portrayed as a mysterious and at times as a raw, violent andmalevolent force on the other. The former face of Nature can be witnessed inthe poems of poets such as William Wordsworth, Robert Burnes, Sumitra Nandan Pant and 'Nirala', whereas the latter is depicted mainly in the poemsof Ted Hughes and Melville. One poet, or rather poetess in whose poems Nature features as an affirmation of life itself is Emily Dickinson. Dickinsonheld Nature to be more sacred and than the humanly constructed churchesand cathedrals.