Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, and died there some fifty-five years later on May 15, 1886. She grew up in a house called the Dickinson Homestead which was large and surrounded in meadow. There, Emily made her poems and got ideas for them. In the next few paragraphs I will be stating how Emily Dickinson's life experiences effected her poetry. .
Amherst was a farm-based community that grew in Emily's lifetime from about 2700 to about 4200 inhabitants. Contemporary American authors and a large amount of popular and sentimental literature became popular in this isolated town. This is probably one reason why Emily Dickinson was inspired to write poetry. .
In 1840, Emily Dickinson attended Amherst Academy and finished there in 1847. While a student there, Emily showed a great deal of love towards writing. She wrote imaginatively for school publications and intense letters to friends and classmates that show what kind of person she is, especially in her reluctance to embrace Christ.
While Emily was in college, she witnessed many deaths and became very depressed because of it. Emily leaned toward a man named Benjamin Newton, a Unitarian and a law student in her father's office, for help. Newton discussed many things with Emily such as literature, ideas, and religion. Newton also praised her early poetic efforts, which also inspired Emily to write poetry.
Once Emily started writing poems, they were mostly based on her life experiences. Almost all of her love poems express how love ensures suffering, particularly loss. I think that Emily wrote these poems because she was referring to her personal experiences. One example of how Emily Dickinson went through suffering because of her love was with her brother's wife, Susan Gilbert. Emily was always close to Susan but once Susan married Austin, Emily's brother, Susan and Emily's relationship became very close, maybe even sexual.
