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Celebrated for her eloquent, concise, and deceptively simple verse, Emily Dickinson introduced an exciting new world of innovation in rhyme, meter, and metaphor. Over 100 of Dickinson's best-known, best-loved poems appear here, including "Because I could not stop for Death," "Hope is the thing with feathers," "I heard a fly buzz when I died," "I'm nobody! Who are you?" and "My life closed twice before its close."
This Dover edition is specially designed for those who need or prefer large print and meets the standards of the National Association for the Visually Handicapped.
This Dover edition is specially designed for those who need or prefer large print and meets the standards of the National Association for the Visually Handicapped.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
24 people are currently reading
359 people want to read
About the author
Emily Dickinson
1,551 books6,826 followersEmily Dickinson was an American poet who, despite the fact that less than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime, is widely considered one of the most original and influential poets of the 19th century.
Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.
Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.
A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/emily-di...
Dickinson was born to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Most of her friendships were therefore carried out by correspondence.
Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when Lavinia, Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent. Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.
A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/emily-di...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 20, 2020
I want to put the most important part of my feedback here right upfront.
I am not a poetry reader, or lover.
I do, as a writer, however, like to venture outside of my usual reading comfort zone for the sake of experimenting.
Emily Dickinson’s poetry was captivating. It made me think, made me research some critics commentary to compare what I though to their opinion. This book of poems took me months to finish, as I savored it one poem at a time.
Some were easier to understand and some were very convoluted with multiple meanings. Many of the poems are sad. Very sad. Many touch on death, and some in such a subtle way that I didn’t even understand that was what Emily was talking about until I’ve read some commentary on the poem, went back to read it and there is was. Voila.
I don’t think these are the kinds of poems you just pick up and read in bulk, but with a bit of scotch and a comfy lazy boy, it was quite a contemplative adventure.
I enjoyed my time with this book, although it’ll probably be awhile before I pick up another book of poems.
Roman
I am not a poetry reader, or lover.
I do, as a writer, however, like to venture outside of my usual reading comfort zone for the sake of experimenting.
Emily Dickinson’s poetry was captivating. It made me think, made me research some critics commentary to compare what I though to their opinion. This book of poems took me months to finish, as I savored it one poem at a time.
Some were easier to understand and some were very convoluted with multiple meanings. Many of the poems are sad. Very sad. Many touch on death, and some in such a subtle way that I didn’t even understand that was what Emily was talking about until I’ve read some commentary on the poem, went back to read it and there is was. Voila.
I don’t think these are the kinds of poems you just pick up and read in bulk, but with a bit of scotch and a comfy lazy boy, it was quite a contemplative adventure.
I enjoyed my time with this book, although it’ll probably be awhile before I pick up another book of poems.
Roman
February 16, 2011
Emily Dickinson was a master. She played around with words to show their potential and poetic ring.
" As children bid the guest good-night,
and then reluctant turn,
My flowers raise their pretty lips,
then put their nightgowns on.
As children caper when they wake,
Merry that it is morn,
My flowers from a hundred cribs
Will peep, and prance again. "
Just like this poem, I'm sad to say good bye to this book, but I will always come back to them.
" As children bid the guest good-night,
and then reluctant turn,
My flowers raise their pretty lips,
then put their nightgowns on.
As children caper when they wake,
Merry that it is morn,
My flowers from a hundred cribs
Will peep, and prance again. "
Just like this poem, I'm sad to say good bye to this book, but I will always come back to them.
October 5, 2025
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
January 19, 2024
I am always torn about using the star system to review an author’s life work, especially when poets like Emily Dickinson wrote simply for herself with no thought for personal fame or acclaim.
If I were smarter, I believe I would appreciate her poetry more. Her poetry is thoughtful, precise, and oftentimes deeply moving. Other times, her rhyme scheme left me unsatisfied.
I hope to memorize a few of my favorites and will continue to come back to her work, and perhaps in the future I will more fully appreciate her talent.
If I were smarter, I believe I would appreciate her poetry more. Her poetry is thoughtful, precise, and oftentimes deeply moving. Other times, her rhyme scheme left me unsatisfied.
I hope to memorize a few of my favorites and will continue to come back to her work, and perhaps in the future I will more fully appreciate her talent.
June 17, 2016
I was drawn to this collection by the format: short lines, short stanzas, short poems, and simple titles and rhymes. Her personal history is also impressive. She wrote these for herself, without a thought of publishing them. However, with a few exceptions, I didn’t care for the poems – too obscure—the words, or sentences, the poems themselves.
Three poems I did like:
If I can stop one heart from breaking/I shall not live in vain/If I can ease one life the aching/Or cool one pain/Or help one fainting robin/Unto his nest again/I shall not live in vain.
The pedigree of honey/Does not concern the bee/A clover, any time, to him/is aristocracy.
The bustle in a house/The morning after death/Is solemnest of industries/Enacted upon earth/The sweeping up the heart/And putting love away/We shall not want to use again/Until eternity.
Three poems I did like:
If I can stop one heart from breaking/I shall not live in vain/If I can ease one life the aching/Or cool one pain/Or help one fainting robin/Unto his nest again/I shall not live in vain.
The pedigree of honey/Does not concern the bee/A clover, any time, to him/is aristocracy.
The bustle in a house/The morning after death/Is solemnest of industries/Enacted upon earth/The sweeping up the heart/And putting love away/We shall not want to use again/Until eternity.
April 9, 2021
First sentence: Success is counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed.
Premise/plot: This poem collection features some of Dickinson's poems originally published in Poems (1890) and Poems, Second Series (1891). It was edited by her two friends Mabel Loomis Todd and T.W. Higginson. There are four books: "Life," "Love," "Nature," and "Time and Eternity." Most of the poems are short.
The Mystery of Pain
Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.
It has no future but itself,
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.
My thoughts: I read this in one sitting. It is a book that I've seen about the house for as long as I can remember but have never read. It has my mom's name in it; but if she has been a lover of poetry, she's kept it a pretty good secret.
I like some poems some of the time. Poetry isn't my go-to genre. There are poets that I do tend to love. But more often than not, poetry just doesn't move me, move me like it's supposed to do.
There were definite phrases in some of her poems that nudged me, that made me think. But usually by the end of the poem, I was like I *thought* for a brief flash I was getting the poem and understood it, but then I blinked and lost it.
I think this collection does showcase some of her most famous poems.
Premise/plot: This poem collection features some of Dickinson's poems originally published in Poems (1890) and Poems, Second Series (1891). It was edited by her two friends Mabel Loomis Todd and T.W. Higginson. There are four books: "Life," "Love," "Nature," and "Time and Eternity." Most of the poems are short.
The Mystery of Pain
Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.
It has no future but itself,
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.
My thoughts: I read this in one sitting. It is a book that I've seen about the house for as long as I can remember but have never read. It has my mom's name in it; but if she has been a lover of poetry, she's kept it a pretty good secret.
I like some poems some of the time. Poetry isn't my go-to genre. There are poets that I do tend to love. But more often than not, poetry just doesn't move me, move me like it's supposed to do.
There were definite phrases in some of her poems that nudged me, that made me think. But usually by the end of the poem, I was like I *thought* for a brief flash I was getting the poem and understood it, but then I blinked and lost it.
I think this collection does showcase some of her most famous poems.
January 6, 2018
I read this book for a 2018 reading challenge. I'm weird and only like most poems randomly here and there instead of an entire book full of them.
My favorite part of this little book was the introduction and learning more about Emily Dickinson herself. I had no idea that she was such a recluse and that most of her poems were published after her death.
Don't get me wrong, the poems are good, just a full book of them isn't my cup of tea. Poem lovers would enjoy it immensely, I believe.
My favorite part of this little book was the introduction and learning more about Emily Dickinson herself. I had no idea that she was such a recluse and that most of her poems were published after her death.
Don't get me wrong, the poems are good, just a full book of them isn't my cup of tea. Poem lovers would enjoy it immensely, I believe.
May 22, 2025
I've never met an Emily Dickenson poem I disliked. She is my favorite poet and certainly deserves her place among the finest American poets.
July 4, 2019
Each time I read a collection of Emily Dickinson’s poetry, she rises higher in my estimation. When I first read her poetry, I perceived her as a nonsense writer; next as a somewhat skilled poet, then as a master wordsmith, and now – now, as a woman who dripped her soul out in ink. Her works prove that it is not necessary to mingle widely with the world to understand the human condition – it only requires that we probe deeply into our own spirit, for in each of us lies all the passions, hopes, loves, and despondencies of the human race. In Emily Dickinson's poetry these emotions are acknowledged and catalogued as straightforwardly as a physician might document limbs and organs.
Her greatest skill was in taking an emotion or experience and stripping it down to its essence, then expressing that essence in deft imagery. Her words reflect universal experiences as discovered in particulars. Her words rivet life – and death.
Dickinson’s poems are often morbid or introspective, and so are not likely to be well understood by younger readers. It’s often been said that a reader can take no more away from a book than he brought in the first place, and I believe that to be especially true of Dickinson’s writings. The more mature and emotionally experienced the reader, the more Dickinson’s words will resonate.
Conclusion. To say that a collection of poems is absolute poetry may sound redundant. But I describe it thus in the same way that I might describe the rippling muscles of a springing lion – there is a perfection that lies in both that cannot be expressed by any other words. They are true poetry.
Her greatest skill was in taking an emotion or experience and stripping it down to its essence, then expressing that essence in deft imagery. Her words reflect universal experiences as discovered in particulars. Her words rivet life – and death.
Dickinson’s poems are often morbid or introspective, and so are not likely to be well understood by younger readers. It’s often been said that a reader can take no more away from a book than he brought in the first place, and I believe that to be especially true of Dickinson’s writings. The more mature and emotionally experienced the reader, the more Dickinson’s words will resonate.
Conclusion. To say that a collection of poems is absolute poetry may sound redundant. But I describe it thus in the same way that I might describe the rippling muscles of a springing lion – there is a perfection that lies in both that cannot be expressed by any other words. They are true poetry.
November 16, 2019
This little volume, which was given to me as a present, is near and dear to my heart. I've circled back to it again and again throughout the years.
There are some poems that I enjoy more than others in this volume. Particular standouts include "The Chariot" and "I never saw a moor," both of which I'd bookmarked ages ago. There are others, of course, but those two immediately come to mind.
There are some poems that I enjoy more than others in this volume. Particular standouts include "The Chariot" and "I never saw a moor," both of which I'd bookmarked ages ago. There are others, of course, but those two immediately come to mind.
April 14, 2018
A lot was packed into a tiny book. Confusing and also intelligent, depressing and also inspirational, relatable and also not. Some poems I re-read several times because I appreciated them so much, some because I had no clue what Emily was saying. Glad I read it though.
July 17, 2018
Such beautiful words.
April 19, 2020
These are outstanding.
March 3, 2025
There were some interesting and thought-provoking poems in this work, some of which I have saved for later review, but overall I found many of the poems to lack a consistent rhythm and flow. A poem might start with a certain pattern in one stanza that was abandoned in a later stanza without a clear purpose for doing so. I also felt Emily's poems often suffered from something I've seen from other poets and also many popular songs: a lack of clarity. I get that poetry is not as straightforward as prose (generally speaking) and uses more figurative language, but I think much is lost when a reader is left wondering what a poem is actually talking about. An author's intent behind a writing should be clear, and readers should not feel they have to create or impose their own meaning on a text to derive value from it.
June 2, 2024
I read through this collection pretty quickly, having put it down for a few days after having read the preface. Once I started reading the actual poems I practically sped through. Overall I enjoyed the collection, there were a few that stood out to me but the nature section had me wanting to retire to a cottage in the country side and become a hermit myself.
April 16, 2025
I was pleasantly surprised, I really liked this collection! I usually do not like poetry— I famously just Do Not Get It, but I'm trying to dip my toe into it more, and I'm glad I did with Dickinson! I would try to read a few at night, and there were always two or three that really stuck out to me. Great collection!
December 27, 2021
really lovely stuff that made me feel like i can actually ~get~ poetry and also made me think that nature is really fucking cool and every single tiny detail about any kind of life can be described in some creative or beautiful way
July 11, 2022
Favorite poems of Emily Dickinson✨
Emily’s poems are so beautifully well written. I read about her in school and her life story was very inspirational and she got me into poetry. All her poems have a powerful message and I’m get soo attached to her poems. Definitely a worth the read!
5/5✨🌈
Emily’s poems are so beautifully well written. I read about her in school and her life story was very inspirational and she got me into poetry. All her poems have a powerful message and I’m get soo attached to her poems. Definitely a worth the read!
5/5✨🌈
September 17, 2022
Book I.
Life.
VI.
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his best again,
I shall not live in vain.
Life.
VI.
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his best again,
I shall not live in vain.
May 16, 2024
I liked the book, but I think I will be coming back and reading it again. It seems like a book you read and re-read, each time going through something else sticks with you. Part of the time spent reading it, I felt almost dumb, I wish I knew more of the words in the poems.
January 24, 2018
I have never too much cared for poetry and had doubts that I would make it through an entire book full of it, but I did enjoy this little book; the shorter poems especially.
February 5, 2021
Antes de leerla me creía incapaz de escribir poesía. Ahora veo que se pueden crear versos hermosos a partir de la cotidianidad.
February 11, 2021
I really enjoyed Emily Dickinson's Poems and will need to find another collection of them soon! Or read them again :)
March 3, 2021
simply lovely
October 8, 2021
I really like that explain some lessons of love and who to be aware who’s in your life I also liked that it uses life situations to bring a lesson
Read
January 6, 2022Poetry varies too much for a rating.
January 25, 2022
I don’t read poetry much. I had heard a few of these read before reading this. I found this collection nice but a bit dreary. Some of the nature poems were quite good.
Read
December 31, 2022putting this book in my chest cavity to carry around with me.
September 15, 2023
wanted to try poetry, but It wasn’t for me
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews