The Poetry of Dickinson and Whitman

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson 's place in history has affected many aspects of social . Dickinson 's writing touched on many issues that were very important to the life and development of Dickinson 's persona such as religion , war , psychosis , and love . Dickinson 's insight into these issues has been the source of the majority of the interest in her work . In the poem 564 Dickinson centers on the physical building of churches as a problem with her understanding of God . Within this poem Dickinson tells the reader that the deification of the man

made houses of worship also distract from one 's understanding of God

The line God grows above - so those who pray / Horizons - must ascend ' illustrates Dickinson 's idea that limiting one 's view , as in focusing on a building rather than God himself , would hinder one 's ability to see God . Dickinson goes on to clarify , succinctly , her feelings on the worshiping of God through churches : His house was not - no sign had He / By Chimney - nor by Door / Could I infer his Residence - / Vast Prairies of Air ' Dickinson tells the reader that nothing tangible or built by the hand of man has been seen by God as His house

Dickenson contends that there is a separation between praying and worshipping . The churches used by the people around Dickinson are used to worship ' and show the action of belief . Whereas praying is the only way to reach ' God and prove one 's heart as a believer

In the poem numbered 1499 , Dickinson again questions the physical place worship by calling insecure the Physiognomy ' of the Calvinist theology . Dickinson begins this poem by acknowledging the temporality of the human visage : How firm Eternity must look / To Crumbling men Dickinson obviously feels that the face value ' of religion is passing and worthless . She felt that the eternality of action and the long lasting effects of true faith were far more important and worth while

The questions raised by Emily Dickenson within her poetry , echoes the problems that people have had with religion for ages - where does the truth about God reside ? Dickenson wanted to find a peace that accompanied the acceptance of God however her exposure to the Calvinist Puritans stifled that . Her distain and mistrust from the sect resounded throughout her life and her poetry

Though not all of her poetry maintained such as hard line rejection of Puritan ideals , the ones selected here illustrate her desire to find something else , outside of the Calvinist dogma that better explained to her the nature of God

It has been suggested that [the] contradictions in Emily Dickinson [`s poetry] were due to her dual nature , which made her at once a pagan and a sincerely religious woman (Voigt 193 ) This constant pull within her life , caused Dickinson to struggle throughout her lifetime with her desire to loved by God , and her inability to accept the blind faith that accompanies devotion to religion

In poem numbered 315 , for...