The Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman

America

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1. Read, interpret, evaluate, appreciate, and respond to a variety of poems. (academically prepared)2. Relate literary works to historical periods. (academically prepared)3. Relate literature to personal experiences and Catholic identity. (spiritually oriented)4. Develop and improve formal and creative writing skills. (academically prepared)5. Develop and improve vocabulary usage, grammar, and spelling (academically prepared)6. Prepare and deliver oral presentations based on topics and works studied in class. (globally concerned)7. Effectively communicate using verbal and nonverbal language. (academically prepared)8. Create and present artistic, musical, and dramatic interpretations of selected topics and works studied in class. (academically prepared)9. Use technology to enhance learning.

(academically prepared)

This unit addresses the following Language Arts Standards of the Archdiocese of Agana:RLA.O.11.1.0 -research, analyze, and evaluate the historical, cultural, political and biographical influences on literary works.RLA.O.11.1.04 -apply appropriate reading strategies necessary for a successful literary experience, to gain information and perform an assigned task: paraphrasing, questioning, analyzing RLA.O.11.1.05 -analyze characteristics of author’s intended audience, purpose, style, voice and technique through the use of reasoning, evidence and literary/character analysis.RLA.O.11.1.08 -analyze and evaluate a variety of texts according to content, structure, purpose, organization of text, and tone.RLA.O.11.1.12 -evaluate persuasive language and techniques in literature and informational texts for intent, purpose, and effectiveness.

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

American Literature - Unit 4

Activity'4.1'+'IntroductionDownload(or(print(the(introductory(notes(for(this(unit.

• Meet(Emily(Dickinson

• Literary(Terms((slant(rhyme,(common(meter,(paradox,(

Dickinson's(use(of(punctuation,(free(verse,(catalogue(structure)

• Meet((Walt(Whitman

• Unit(Vocabulary

DUE'DATE:

Activity'4.2'+'The'Belle'of'Amherst1. Read(“Emily(Dickinson,(1830–1886”and(“The(Publication(of(

Dickinson’s(Poetry”(

2. Read(Dickinson’s(poem(“Success(is(counted(sweetest”(and(

"Water,(is(taught(by(thirst"((HANDOUTS)(and(participate(in(the(

class(discussion.(

3. Be(prepared(for(a(short(quiz(on(Dickinson's(life(and(times.

DUE'DATE/QUIZ'DATE:

Activity'4.3'+'Learning'Through'LackingWrite(a(six\(line(poem(that(explains(how(the(lacking(of(one(thing(

teaches(another.(Use(Dickinson's("Water,(is(taught(by(thirst"(as(

your(inspiration.(Rhyme(scheme,(punctuation,(and(line(length(will(

be(based(on(the(original.(Students(will(be(responsible(for(]illing(in(

their(own(words.((TYPED)(

DUE'DATE:

Activity'4.4'+'Letter'to'EmilyRead(Handout(One:(Emily(Dickinson(and(the(Victorian(“Woman(

Question.”(Consider(the(relationship(between(her(poems(on(

success(or(fame(and(the(changing(opportunities(for(women(during(

the(nineteenth(century.

Read(Dickinson’s(poems(“They(shut(me(up(in(Prose(–,”(and(“I(dwell(

in(Possibility(–,”

DUE'DATE:

Fact vs.

Fiction

FACT: Emily Dickinson was born at the Homestead on December 10, 1830, and died there on May 15, 1886, at the age of 55. FICTION: Emily Dickinson never left her house or lived anywhere else other than the Homestead her entire life. FACT: Emily Dickinson never married. FICTION: Dickinson never received a marriage proposal. FACT: Emily Dickinson was a middle child. She had an older brother and a younger sister. FICTION: The poet was a spinster who did not like children.

Dickinson'Quiz'1'+'Be(prepared(for(a(quiz(on(the(]irst(four(selections(by(Emily(Dickinson

Activity'4.5'+'Dickinson's'Figurative'LanguageRead(“‘Hope’(is(the(thing(with(feathers(–,”(“There(

is(no(Frigate(like(a(Book,”(and

Identify(the(opening(comparison(in(Dickinson’s(

poems(“‘Hope’(is(the(thing(with(feathers(–”(and(

“There(is(no(Frigate(like(a(Book.”(What(

correspondence(exists(between(hope(and(

something(with(feathers(in(the(]irst(poem,(and(

between(a(ship(and(a(book(in(the(second?(

Song'Similes'and'Music'MetaphorsMusic(is(poetry,(so(it(is(not(surprising(that(many(

poetic(devices(can(also(be(found(in(many(popular(

songs.(Compile(a(list(of(24(lines(from(various(

songs.(Twelve(lines(should(contain(similes(and(

twelve(lines(should(contain(metaphors.(Include(

the(title(of(the(songs.(

DUE'DATE:

Activity'4.6'+'Dickinson'on'Death1.(Read(Dickinson’s(“I(heard(a(Fly(buzz\(when(I(

died”(and(“Because(I(could(not(stop(for(Death”(on(

pp.(396\397(and(participate(in(class(discussion.(

2.(Answer(Check(Your(Comprehension(1\3(and(

Critical(Thinking(1\4(on(p.(397((Quiz).((((((((((((((((((((

Due'Date'/'Quiz'Date:

Activity'4.7'–'Slant&Rhyme'Rap'or'Jingle'Working(in(small(groups,(write(a(short(rap(or(

jingle(using(Slant(Rhyme.(The(rap/jingle(should(

be(at(least(8(lines(long.(All(groups(will(be(

required(to(present(their(piece(in(front(of(the(

class.

Performance'Date:

Activity'4.8'+'Emily'and'EternityRead(“Faith,”(“Some(keep(the(Sabbath(going(to(

Church,”(and(“Of(God(we(ask(one(Favor”(by(Emily(

Dickinson.(How(does(Dickinson's(view(compare(

and(contrast(with(your(own(religious(views?(

Type(a(1\2(page(essay(comparing(and(

contrasting(Dickinson's(views(on(religion(with(

your(personal(religious(views.(Your(essay(must(

have(at(least(4(paragraphs((intro,(body(with(

comparisons(and(contrasts,(and(conclusion).(

Each(body(paragraph(must(use(at(least(one(

direct(quotation(from(any(of(the(three(poems(in(

this(activity.(Properly(introduce(and(explain(your(

quotations.(Use(at(least(2(vocabulary(words(from(

any(of(the(previous(units.(Your(essay(must(be(

typed(and(double\spaced(with(one\inch(margins.(

Use(Times(New(Roman(or(Cambria(font.

Due'Date:

Dickinson'Quiz'2'+'Be(prepared(for(a(quiz(on(the(poems(from(Activities(4.5(and(4.8.

"I dwell in possibility . . ."Emily Dickinson

Activity'4.9'+'A'New'Voice'EmergesRead%Whitman’s%“I%Hear%America%Singing”%on%p.413%and%be%prepared%for%a%short%quiz%on%the%poem.Due'Date:

Activity'4.10'+'Modern'VoicesRead%“I,%too”%by%Langston%Hughes%on%p.%419,%and%"To%Walt%Whitman"%by%Angela%de%Hoyos%on%p.%420.%

Whitman%described%the%varied%"voices"%he%heard%in%America's%workforce.%What%voices%would%we%hear%in%modern%America%or%Guam?%Write%a%modern%version%of%this%poem%as%a%direct%response%to%Whitman's%poem.%Echo%lines%from%the%original%poem%and%utilize%free%verse%and%catalogue%structure.%Include%at%least%one%vocabulary%word%from%the%current%unit.%(TYPED)Due'Date:

Final'Test%R%All%selections%by%Dickinson%and%Whitman,%all%vocabulary,%literary%terms,%and%background%informationTest'Date:

Unit%4%ProjectOral'Interpretation'(Individual)Dress(up(as(Emily(Dickinson.(Memorize(and(recite(10(of(Dickinson’s(poems(in(front(of(the(class.(

Consider(the(meaning(of(each(idea,(image,(and(punctuation(mark.(Make(arrangements(for(someone(to(

record(your(performance(and(give(me(a(digital(copy.

Musical'Interpretation'(No'more'than'2'people)Set(7(of(Dickinson’s(poems(to(music.(Consider(the(poem's(use(of(rhythm(and(tone.(Choose(music(that(

]its(the(moods(of(the(poems.(Memorize(and(perform(the(songs(in(class.(Make(arrangements(for(

someone(to(record(your(performance(and(give(me(a(digital(copy.

Whitman'Poetry'Slam'(Individual)Write(a(poem(in(free(verse,(at(least(30(lines(in(length.(Choose(one(of(the(following(themes:(SUCCESS,(

HOPE,(DEATH,(FAITH,(WOMEN'S(RIGHTS,(FREEDOM,(or(NATURE.(The(poem(must(include(at(least(2(

vocabulary(words(from(this(UNIT(and(one(from(each(of(the(previous(units((5(total).((The(poem(MUST(

BE(PERFORMED(in(front(of(the(class(with(the(tones,(expressions,(and(gestures(characteristic(of(Slam(

Poetry.(You(MUST(memorize(and(rehearse(your(piece.(You(will(perform(in(front(of(the(class.(A(typed(

copy(of(your(poem(must(be(submitted.(Make(arrangements(for(someone(to(record(your(performance(

and(give(me(a(digital(copy.

Mural!(Group'of'4)!"!Only!one!group!per!block!may!do!this!project!(SERIOUS!ARTISTS!ONLY)Work!with!a!group!to!create!a!mural!illustrating!all!12!of!the!workers!described!in!"I!Hear!America!Singing".!Original!artwork!only.!See!Mrs.!Fitzgerald!for!details!on!dimensions.!Fill!the!entire!space.!Divide!the!work!evenly.!

DUE'DATE:

"I celebrate myself and sing myself. . ."

Walt Whitman

Emily&Dickinson,&183021886!Used%with%permission%of%the%Emily%Dickinson%Museum!!

Emily!Dickinson,!the!middle!child!of!Edward!and!Emily!Norcross!Dickinson,!was!

born!on!December!10,!1830,!in!the!family!house!(called!the!Homestead)!on!Main!

Street!in!Amherst,!Massachusetts.!

!

The!crowded!house!and!Edward’s!growing!legal!and!political!career!soon!called!for!

new!quarters,!and!when!Emily!was!9!years!old,!her!family!purchased!a!house!on!

what!is!now!North!Pleasant!Street!in!Amherst.!Close!to!her!older!brother!Austin!and!

younger!sister!Lavinia,!Dickinson!had!a!fond!attachment!to!the!house!on!Pleasant!

Street.!Domestic!duties!like!baking!and!gardening!occupied!her!time,!along!with!

school,!church!activities,!reading!books,!learning!to!sing!and!play!the!piano,!writing!

letters,!and!taking!nature!walks!to!collect!wild!flowers!that!she!pressed!into!an!

album!called!her!“herbarium.”!

!

Dickinson’s!formal!schooling!was!exceptional!for!a!girl!in!the!early!nineteenth!

century,!though!not!unusual!for!girls!in!Amherst.!After!a!short!time!at!an!Amherst!

district!school,!she!attended!Amherst!Academy!for!about!seven!years!before!

entering!Mount!Holyoke!Female!Seminary!(now!Mount!Holyoke!College)!in!1847.!

She!stayed!at!the!Seminary!for!one!year,!the!longest!time!she!ever!spent!away!from!

home.!

!

In!Dickinson’s!early!twenties,!writing!became!increasingly!important!to!her.!Letters!

to!her!older!brother!Austin!reveal!a!growing!sense!of!“difference”!between!herself!

and!others:!“What!makes!a!few!of!us!so!different!from!others?!It’s!a!question!I!often!

ask!myself”!(April!21,!1853).!This!sense!of!separation!became!more!pronounced!as!

she!grew!older!and!her!poetic!sensibilities!matured.!By!1855,!the!family!returned!to!

the!Homestead,!where!Dickinson!had!her!own!upstairs!room!and!developed!her!

passion!for!gardening.!That!same!year,!Edward!Dickinson’s!service!in!the!House!of!

Representatives!brought!the!poet!to!Washington,!DC—one!of!her!only!trips!away!

from!Amherst.!

!

Although!Emily!Dickinson’s!calling!as!a!poet!began!in!her!teens,!she!came!into!her!

own!as!an!artist!later,!during!a!short!but!intense!period!of!creativity!that!resulted!in!

her!composing,!revising,!and!saving!hundreds!of!poems.!That!period,!which!scholars!

identify!as!1858—1865,!includes!many!passionate!love!lyrics!and!three!poetic!

letters!to!the!mysterious!person!she!calls!“Master,”!and!overlaps!with!the!most!

significant!event!of!American!nineteenth^century!history,!the!Civil!War.!

In!her!early!thirties,!Dickinson!underwent!treatments!for!a!painful!eye!condition,!

now!thought!to!be!iritis—sensitivity!to!light.!While!under!the!care!of!Henry!W.!

Williams!for!seven!months!in!1864!and!six!months!in!1865,!she!boarded!with!her!

cousins,!Frances!and!Louisa!Norcross!in!Boston.!

!

!

!

After!these!visits!and!treatments,!Dickinson’s!lifestyle!further!developed!into!the!

one!that!we!mythologize!today—a!more!reclusive,!quiet!existence.!Although!she!

rarely!ventured!beyond!the!Homestead,!she!did!entertain!several!significant!

visitors,!including!the!famous!essayist!and!social!reformer!Colonel!Thomas!

Wentworth!Higginson,!whom!she!finally!met!in!1870!after!a!long!correspondence!

when!he!visited!her!at!home!in!Amherst.!

!

Dickinson’s!adult!life!was!marked!by!the!illness!and!death!of!friends!and!loved!ones,!

including!her!father,!who!died!in!1874,!and!her!mother,!in!1882.!Her!friendship!with!

Judge!Otis!Phillips!Lord!resulted!in!a!marriage!proposal!that!she!turned!down!in!

1882;!he!died!two!years!later.!The!poet!became!ill!herself!shortly!after!her!eight^

year^old!nephew!died—as!she!wrote!to!a!friend!late!in!1883,!“The!Crisis!of!the!

sorrow!of!so!many!years!is!all!that!tires!me.”!She!remained!in!poor!health!until!she!

died!at!age!55!on!May!15,!1886.!She!was!buried!four!days!later!in!the!town!

cemetery,!now!known!as!West!Cemetery.!

!

The&Publication&of&Dickinson's&Poetry!!

By!the!time!Emily!Dickinson!was!35,!she!had!composed!more!than!1,100!concise!

and!powerful!poems!that!astutely!described!the!nature!of!love!and!art,!pain!and!

grief,!joy!and!loss,!the!idea!of!heaven!and!the!beauties!of!earth.!She!recorded!about!

800!of!these!in!small!handmade!booklets!(sometimes!called!“fascicles”),!very!private!

“publications”!that!she!shared!with!no!one.!

!

Dickinson!did!share!a!portion!of!her!poems!with!family!and!select!friends!whose!

literary!taste!she!admired.!Her!sister^in^law,!Susan!Dickinson,!received!more!than!

250!poems!throughout!the!two!women's!forty^year!friendship;!and!to!Thomas!

Wentworth!Higginson,!her!cherished!correspondent!(and!editor!after!her!death),!

Dickinson!sent!about!100!of!her!finest.!The!few!poems!published!in!newspapers!

during!her!lifetime!were!altered!and!printed!anonymously—apparently!without!her!

prior!consent.!In!1863,!her!most!prolific!year,!she!wrote!“Publication!–!is!the!

Auction!/!Of!the!Mind!of!Man!–.”!During!her!life,!most!of!her!poems!were!known!

only!to!their!author.!

!

After!her!death!in!1886,!Dickinson’s!sister,!Lavinia,!found!a!chest!of!poetry!in!

Emily’s!bedroom.!According!to!R.!W.!Franklin,!this!previously!unread!“mass!of!

manuscripts”!contained!“forty!fascicles,!ninety^eight!unbound!sheets,!and!seven!or!

eight!hundred!individual!manuscripts.”!In!1890,!the!family!published!the!first!

volume!of!Emily!Dickinson’s!poetry,!which!met!with!surprising!success:!it!went!

through!eleven!editions!in!two!years.!Other!editions!followed,!all!with!Dickinson’s!

original!words!and!punctuation!either!altered!or!omitted.!Harvard!University!

acquired!the!rights!to!Dickinson’s!work!in!1950.!In!1955,!Thomas!H.!Johnson!

published!the!first!edition!of!Dickinson’s!collected!poetry!that!was!faithful!to!the!

poet’s!original!manuscripts.!

!

!

Success is Counted Sweetest Success is counted sweetest By those who ne'er succeed. To comprehend a nectar Requires sorest need. Not one of all the purple Host Who took the Flag today Can tell the definition So clear of Victory As he defeated--dying-- On whose forbidden ear The distant strains of triumph Burst agonized and clear!

- Emily Dickinson !

!

Water, is taught by thirst Water, is taught by thirst. Land—by the Oceans passed. Transport—by throe— Peace—by its battles told— Love, by Memorial Mold— Birds, by the Snow. - Emily Dickinson!

Emily Dickinson and the Victorian “Woman Question”When Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792, women were still confined by law and custom to the domestic, “private” sphere, in contrast to the professional, “public” sphere of men. By the time Queen Victoria took the throne of England in 1837, this so-called “woman question”—what is a woman’s proper place in society?—was hotly debated by many politicians, theologians, educators, and writers.

A king in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Princess” (1847) succinctly summarizes the viewpoint of many Victorians: “Man for the field and woman for the hearth: / Man for the sword and for the needle she; / Man with the head and woman with the heart, / Man to command and woman to obey.” Yet women were denied basic liberties even in the domestic sphere. For example, women had no legal rights to their own children until 1839 when Parliament passed the Custody of Infants Act, allowing a divorced mother to obtain custody. It took until 1882 for the Married Women’s Property Act to pass, giving women the right to keep pre-existing land and money in their own names.

Throughout the nineteenth century, the proper education for women in England and America comprised music, languages, art, and needlework. An important milestone came in 1837 when Mount Holyoke College was founded in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and the school’s principal, Mary Lyon, decided to teach her female students traditionally “masculine” subjects such as mathematics, botany, theology, rhetoric, logic, chemistry, and astronomy. This pioneering

opportunity in women’s education enabled Emily Dickinson to receive a uniquely privileged education. This successful “experiment” also led several universities to open their doors to women or create colleges especially for them, although women sometimes could not earn formal degrees.

The “woman question” was especially pointed in literary circles, where women remained subordinate in the mid-nineteenth century. In England, writers Charlotte Brontë and Mary Ann Evans used pen names—Currer Bell and George Eliot, respectively—to avoid public censure for the radical ideas and passionate heroines described in their novels, especially Jane Eyre (1847) and The Mill on the Floss (1860). Greater barriers existed for female poets, since the genre of poetry traditionally belonged to men. A notable exception to Victorian prejudice against women writers was Elizabeth Barrett Browning, whose life and poetry deeply influenced Dickinson. In Barrett Browning’s radical verse-novel, Aurora Leigh (1857), the poet-heroine refuses to renounce her artistic ambition, when the man she loves expects her to give up her writing to become his helpmeet.

In America, it was even harder for women writers to publish and succeed. The young United States was slower to address women’s rights than England. In an age that looked down upon women “scribblers,” and as the daughter of parents who did not fully understand her intellectual pursuits, Dickinson may have composed such poems as “I dwell in Possibility –” and “They shut me up in Prose”—both written in 1862—to express her own frustration.

HANDOUT ONE

16 THE BIG READ National Endowment for the Arts

They Shut Me Up in Prose They shut me up in Prose -- As when a little Girl They put me in the Closet -- Because they liked me "still" -- Still! Could themself have peeped -- And seen my Brain -- go round -- They might as wise have lodged a Bird For Treason -- in the Pound -- Himself has but to will And easy as a Star Abolish his Captivity -- And laugh -- No more have I -- - Emily Dickinson I dwell in Possibi l i ty I dwell in Possibility-- A fairer House than Prose-- More numerous of Windows-- Superior--for Doors-- Of Chambers as the Cedars-- Impregnable1 of Eye-- And for an Everlasting Roof The Gambrels2 of the Sky-- Of Visitors--the fairest-- For Occupation--This-- The spreading wide my narrow Hands To gather Paradise— - Emily Dickinson !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!difficult or impossible to attack, challenge, or refute!2!a roof having a shallower slope above a steeper one on each side!

“Hope”'is'the'thing'with'feathers'2'!!

“Hope”!is!the!thing!with!feathers!2!

That!perches!in!the!soul!2!

And!sings!the!tune!without!the!words!2!

And!never!stops!2!at!all!2!

!

And!sweetest!2!in!the!Gale1!2!is!heard!2!

And!sore!must!be!the!storm!2!

That!could!abash2!the!little!Bird!

That!kept!so!many!warm!2!

!

I’ve!heard!it!in!the!chillest!land!2!

And!on!the!strangest!Sea!2!

Yet!2!never!2!in!Extremity,!

It!asked!a!crumb!2!of!me.!

!

2!Emily!Dickinson!

!

“There'is'no'Frigate'like'a'Book”'!

There!is!no!Frigate3!like!a!Book!!!

To!take!us!Lands!away,!!!

Nor!any!Coursers4!like!a!Page!!!

Of!prancing!Poetry!–!!!!

This!Traverse5!may!the!poorest!take!!!!!!!!!!

Without!oppress!of!Toll!–!!!!

How!frugal6!is!the!Chariot!!!

That!bears!a!Human!soul.!

!

2!Emily!Dickinson!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!A!very!strong!wind!2!to!cause!to!feel!embarrassed,!disconcerted,!ashamed!3!a!warship,!generally!lighter!than!a!destroyer!4!a!swift!horse!5!a!route!or!path!across!or!over!6!economical;!thrifty!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!Having!good!sense!2!North!American!songbird!3!choir!singer!4!ecclesiastical!garment!5!church!caretaker!6!to!shut!someone!away!7!to!tell!someone!off!

AGiannell

AGiannell