Poetry of Emily Dickinson

The central stanza weights the meaning in that direction for the pausing `Chariots ' and kneeling `Emperor ' certainly suggest further suitors being rejected because of the chosen One , rather than the lures of the society that might distract her from her art . On the other One can be God as suggested by the capitalization and by the fact that her choice is possible only at spiritual maturity (divine Majority . Deeper meaning of the poem however , would reveal that it is not about love or friendship . It has to do rather , with the spiritualization

of not another person she selects and takes dominion over all the other aspects of the speaker 's identity . Underlying the entire drama is the conception of the Soul as Queen her regal qualities are suggested by the term `Divine Majority

Change in Her Reputation

Her popularity changed with the passage of time . She was never recognized in her own life but her reputation as a genuine poetess increased posthumously . First critic who recognized and acknowledged her poetic genius was William Dean Howells , who as early as 1891 wrote about her If nothing else come out of our life but this strange poetry , we should feel that in the work of Emily Dickenson , America , or New England rather , had amaze a distinctive addition to the literature of the world (Howells , 318 ) Another critic wrote "The world will not rest satisfied till every scrap of her writings , letters as well as literature , has been published " Her reputation went down after the massive critical applause and celebration in 1890s as critics referred to her poetry as "bare , bleak and fragmentary " rhyme of the Amherst phantom . Thomas Bailey Aldrich , a poet and novelist , severely criticised her style and expression as early as 1892 . He wrote

It is plain that Miss Dickinson...