For someone known to not truly believe in God, Emily Dickinson relies on the biblical imagery. For instance, in Poem 310 Dickinson begins with the word Heaven in quotations, “Heaven.” The use for the quotations made the reading, for me at least, almost like she was mocking the idea of “Heaven.” she may believe in something after death, but the use of the quotations makes it seem as if she doesn’t fully believe in the “Heaven.” In the first stanza, Dickinson uses the quotations around “Heaven,” twice, both uses in reference to her inability to obtain it or rather her disbelief in the biblical “Heaven.”

In the next two stanzas, she describes her version of Paradise and feminizing it, “Her teazing Purples- Afternoons-.” Based on Dickinson’s letters to Sue Gilbert, I am assuming that she is not only feminizing her paradise, but that Sue is her “Heaven.” So, rather than believing in the biblical “Heaven,” Dickinson writes that being with Sue is her “paradise.” She also refers to the apple in the tree, both with a literal translation of being unable to actually reach the apple; making it unattainable, and a biblical translation of the forbidden fruit; a sin if obtained. Both could be in reference to her feelings for Sue as it is unaccepted in Dickinson’s society for such a relationship to occur.

Dickinson separates the poem into three stanzas, each with a separate purpose. The first, introduce the unobtainable. The second, the search for her “paradise.” And the final stanza, the description of her “paradise.” The deliberate separation made me read the poem as if it were a journey leading until I find “paradise.”

What do you think is Dickinson’s “paradise,”? Do you think it could be Sue, or do you think that it is feminized for another reason? What do you think about the biblical references in Dickinson’s poetry?

Mac’s CS for March 25th

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