038 biography emily dickinson

(1830-1886)

Who Was Emily Dickinson?

Emily Dickinson left school as a teenager, eventually living a reclusive life on the family homestead.

After her death, however, when people discovered the incredible amount of poetry that she had written, Dickinson became celebrated as one of America's greatest.

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in in Amherst Massachusetts.

Have students read the biography of Emily Dickinson and then identify characteristics they learned from the reading.

Generally considered among the greatest American poets, Emily Dickinson has been read, studied, and admired by generations of literature.

It is a spiritual autobiography that tells the story of an enchanted observer who says who he is at every opportunity and claims what he loves.

There, she secretly created bundles of poetry and wrote hundreds of letters. Due to a discovery by sister Lavinia, Dickinson's remarkable work was published after her death — on May 15, 1886, in Amherst — and she is now considered one of the towering figures of American literature.

Early Life and Education

Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Her family had deep roots in New England. Her paternal grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was well known as the founder of Amherst College. Her father worked at Amherst and served as a state legislator. He married Emily Norcross in 1828 and the couple had three children: William Austin, Emily and Lavinia Norcross.

An excellent student, Dickinson was educated at Amherst Academy (now Amherst College) for seven years and then attended Mount Holyoke Female Se