Mysticism in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson: A Theological Interpretation

Jamal Subhi Nafi',Randa Hashem Abu Hilal,Farah Rasheed Jayousi

doi:10.21533/epiphany.v11i1.282

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to analyze the poetry of Miss Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) in order to reveal the extent of mysticism in it, and it focuses on the concept of theology. Mysticism involves a deep, almost obsessive, concern with such problems as death, the existence of the soul, immortality, the existence of God and heaven, salvation or redemption, etc. The critical approach was used to analyze some of Dickinson’s major poems. A glance at her poetry reveals that it shows an extreme preoccupation with the effect of death and explores various themes such as the nature of the soul, the problem of immortality, the possibility of faith and the reality of God. The researchers also tried to reveal the internal and external influences that shaped Dickinson’s poetry. The paper concluded that the theme of death was inexhaustible for her. If her poetry seldom became “lyrical,” seldom departed from the colorless sobriety of its bare iambics and toneless assonance, it did so most of all when the subject was death. Although Dickinson’s poetry contains some mystical elements, mystical poetry, in the traditional sense, at least, is not her special poetic gift.

Highlights

1.1 What is Mysticism?Mysticism involves a deep, almost obsessive, concern with such problems as death, the existence of the soul, immortality, the existence of God and heaven, salvation or redemption, etc
Pickard (1967) is of the view that “death and heaven were the objects of constant speculation with Miss Dickinson, almost to the point of obsession, but her speculation was not that communion with the Divine which the mystic longs for” (p. 16)
Her speculation was imaginative and entirely based upon sensory experience. Such thoughts are found in “Great Streets of Silence Led Away,” “I Went to Heaven,” “I Died for Beauty,” “Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers,” “Ample Make This Bed,” and “What Inn is This,” as well as many others

Summary

Introduction

1.1 What is Mysticism?Mysticism involves a deep, almost obsessive, concern with such problems as death, the existence of the soul, immortality, the existence of God and heaven, salvation or redemption, etc. According to Clements (2012, as cited in SaavedraCarballido, 2015) Mysticism is “through which one sheds or suppresses the rational mental constructs that form, organize, and distort immediate experience, in order to experience the world without mediation.”. In this way, Mysticism can be connected to the unconscious and subconscious. A glance at the themes of Miss Dickinson’s poetry, according to Sherwood, (1968), reveals an extreme preoccupation with the effect of death, the nature of the soul, the problem of immortality, the possibility of faith, and the reality of God. Miss Dickinson had a bad experience with death since she was young. This experience is best illustrated by the words of Chunyan

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion