The Familiar Stranger: Reimagining Death in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry

This paper embarks on an exploration of the nuanced and evolving representations of death within 19th century American poetry with special focus on Emily Dickinson's poetry. The paper will incorporate historical contextualization shedding light on the broader socio-cultural landscape that influenced poetic expressions of death. Poetry is greatly influenced by the cultural and social background of the poet as well as his personal experiences. Dickinson lived a life of seclusion, where she rarely had face to face encounter with friends or acquaintances, as she preferred communicating through letters. Her seclusive lifestyle gave her ample time and space to reflect on various aspects of life. Dickinson's spiritual background is reflected in her religious beliefs, which forms the basis of her fascination with the theme of death. She lived incessantly in its presence and was always conscious of its nearness and inevitability. She uses concrete images to portray death and gives it human and nonhuman attributes as part of her quest to comprehend it. The present study aims to elucidate how Dickinson's portrayal of death diverges or aligns with the work of her peers.