Emily Dickenson’s Lyrical Talent :The Range of Her Moods in Her Poetry

Introduction

Emily Dickinson was pre-eminently a lyric poet. Her output of lyrics is indeed amazing. Her lyrics cover a wide range of subjects, such as love, pain and suffering, death, nature, etc. The range of her moods in these lyrics is also very wide - from ordinary joy to a feeling of ecstasy, and from mild regret to deep despair. There is hardly any mood that does not find expression in these poems.

Lyrics loaded with Thought

A lyric may roughly be defined as an emotional and imaginative expression. It is essentially an expression of ideas, though these expressions are charged with emotion. No poem deserves to be called a lyric if the idea is not emotionally expressed. Her lyrics are loaded with thought. Miss Dickinson's lyrics are deficient in another important requirement also. Many of her poems are jarring, discordant. She cared more for a sharp, vivid, and forceful expression of her thought than for the aesthetic quality of words. The most conspicuous feature of her lyricism is its intensity. It is the depth of feeling that lends to her lyrics a high quality.

The intensity of her love lyrics

Miss Dickinson's lyrical intensity can be illustrated through a random selection of her poems. A large group of her love poems center around the ritual of marriage. Intensity of feeling is the keynote of these poems, also the betrothal in heaven becomes an obsessive image with her. Her two finest poems on the earthly-heavenly marriage are "Title Divine is Mine" and "Mine-by the right of the white Election." Both these poems show an intensity of feeling. Another poem, "The Love a Life can show Below," is an effort to catch a glimpse of supernal beauty. All these poems show that Miss Dickinson's force as a love poet is strongest when she imbues physical passion with religious feeling. 

Emily Dickinson

The intensity of pain and suffering in her lyrics

Miss Dickinson wrote numerous poems that dealt with human suffering and pain, covering a wide range of painful experiences. In her poetry, she often depicted the moment immediately following a near-disaster. One of her most impressive artistic achievements and perhaps her finest poem about pain is "After great pain, a formal feeling comes." Additionally, some of her most exceptional lyrics on death focused on the sensations experienced by the dying person, or the physical experiences as the soul leaves the body. Her most popular poem on the subject of death begins with "Because I could not stop for Death," which explores the impact of death on human beings. All of these poems dealing with the themes of suffering and death are marked by a remarkable intensity of feeling and a sincerity that gives them the unique Dickinsonian stamp, representing the pinnacle of lyricism in American poetry.

The intensity of her Nature lyrics

Miss Dickinson wrote numerous nature poems, some of which have become famous. One of her most celebrated works is "A Route of Evanescence," which effectively conveys the sensation of a ruby-throated hummingbird's whirling flight and sudden disappearance. In another poem, she uses an arresting conceit and striking imagery to compare the sunrise and sunset to leaping leopards, stating, "Blazing in gold and quenching in purple, leaping like leopards to the sky."

In the well-known poem "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass," she expresses the awe and terror inspired by encountering a snake. Through a series of artistic progressions, she develops the image of the snake into a symbol of the unknown. The snake's preference for primitive swamps suggests its Biblical association with evil and desolate places. The concluding stanzas contrast the poet's love for the rest of nature with the fear that this creature inspires. Throughout these poems, intensity is the defining quality.

Conclusion

Emily Dickinson's lyrical talent is undeniable, as she demonstrates a remarkable ability to convey a wide range of emotions through her poetry. Her nature poems evoke a sense of wonder and awe at the beauty and power of the natural world, while her more introspective works delve into complex emotions such as love, longing, and despair. Dickinson's ability to capture the essence of these moods and emotions continues to resonate with readers today, making her one of the most celebrated poets in American literature.

   Ardhendu De