"Heaven is what I cannot reach," wrote Emily Dickinson in one of her many poems. Again and again, we see the same theme in his works. Her time period was one that emphasized the need for women to fulfill a role as specified by the teachings of the Bible. Emily Dickinson's poetry reflects her deep desire to know God, but not in the way everyone around her would like; she fears the limiting effects Christianity would have on her life and writes about these fears and desires in a way that leaves readers wanting to know more. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Without a doubt, his early life stimulated the questions and confusion we see in his poems. Dickinson grew up in a wealthy, wealthy family in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she grew up as a devout and humble Christian woman. Her father, Edward Dickinson, tried to keep her away from any study of books that would taint her education and Christian values. However, this may have unleashed a rebellious streak that led her to question those beliefs her family held dear. The idea of ​​the docile, domestic life that her parents had promised her would be her future pushed her to withdraw from society. Aside from medical visits, Dickinson never left her father's house and refused most visitors (Meyer). Alone in her room or wandering the grounds, Dickinson's mind must have been full of ideas and her pen must have flown across the page to jot them down on any scrap of paper she could get her hands on. The poem “‘Heaven’ -is what I cannot reach!” by Dickinson is a show of frustration and perhaps longing for a “paradise.” He begins the poem with an allusion to Tantalus, the man who was punished with low fruit and water just out of reach (ll. 2-3). that Heaven is just out of reach for her may be an indirect reference to the inability to understand or grasp the concept of heaven, or that she is so close to reaching her personal heaven, but can't seem to reach it Since she is gone against her parents' religious teachings, Dickinson may think that Heaven will be denied her. Her use of hyphens throughout the poem is rather confusing, although I believe she uses them in place of commas " could refer to the beautiful colors that sometimes reflect on clouds struck by sunlight, ephemeral and unattainable (Meyer l. 5). Dickinson can see heaven but is unable to reach it. The "land" she seeks is her " interdict", is forbidden to her (Meyer l. 6). Her happiness is hindered by her family and society's need to conform to her feminine duties. His sense of individualism distances himself from anything that might limit his ability to grow both intellectually and spiritually. Dickinson strives for "Heaven," but he appears to be fooling her with a "gullible - bait" and she is repelled by the "Conjurer" - perhaps God (Meyer ll. 8-12)? The “Conjurer” could also be her father, who “conjured” her to life and therefore disdains her lack of interest in conforming to the whims of society. So, not only is she unable to reach her paradise, but she also feels mocked by the powers that be, including her father. Academics who have read his works are convinced that his views on God and Christianity were both painful and bitter. Scott Pett, a student at Georgia State University, has written extensively about the religious connotations present in "Dickinson's 'Heaven' Is What NotI can reach!" In his thesis he observes: The connection between “Heaven” (in quotes) and Paradise (without quotes) is the speaker's ability to locate them – the difference is his ability to experience only one. The former requires that the speaker speaks “reaches” beyond its reach, meaning that the Heaven of religious institutions, being unattainable, is not Heaven at all. The idea that Dickinson held the Christian version of Heaven to be unattainable might explain why he eschewed traditional views of God. and practices surrounding religion. An English professor at Brooklyn College sums this up well: Although she once came close to converting, she never heard God's call, a lack that caused her considerable anxiety and pain: “It is a dangerous time for anyone when meaning loses meaning. of things and Life is straight – and punctual – yet no signal comes [from God].” His attitude towards God in his poems ranges from friendliness to anger and bitterness, and He is sometimes indifferent, other times cruel. (Melani) Dickinson seeks heaven, God. All of her friends and family have had the wonderful experience of having a relationship with the Almighty, but for her it never happened. Confusion and bitterness must have raged within her as she watched others achieve what she could not. The cruel God who mocks and scorns his desire to know him fuels his poetry. Pett noted that "heaven takes one of two forms in Dickinson's poems and letters, although he often uses the same word to describe each: heaven as a place and heaven as an idea or experience." Dickinson manages to take full advantage of the ambiguity of the term in her poems, refusing to clarify within them what she means, and perhaps making the poem all the richer for it. The poem "Some keep the Sabbath by going to church" seems quite ironic regarding the way others worship God. In it Dickinson talks about the Christian Sabbath. While “some” go to church, the speaker spends the Sabbath at home in her garden, a rather unconventional place to deliver a sermon (Meyer ll. 1-2). He has "a Bobolink for a chorister-- / And an orchard, for a dome (Meyer ll. 3-4). Instead of a choir, the speaker hears the song of a black bird called Bobolink. He worships God under the branches of trees instead of under the dome of a church Some might even suggest that the word "Dome" is a synecdoche for the Christian church as a whole In addition to hearing the Bobolink (or perhaps still referring to the bird), the speaker has a singing sexton, normally the bell ringer, as described in lines 7 and 8. “Some keep the Sabbath in surplice” (Meyer l. 5) The speaker is referring to the fact that worshipers wear formal clothing, while she “. he simply wears [his] wings" (Meyer l. 6). He compares himself to a bird, so by wings one can only assume that he means his everyday clothes (or perhaps angel wings, considering the end of the poem ) Another interpretation of his wings could be the common belief that those who are saved are granted wings in death. In line 9, the speaker says, “God preaches, a well-known priest. The tone of this line seems ironic, as if people normally don't notice. The orator, therefore, prefers to hear a message from God that is not spoken through the lips of a priest. By being in nature, listening to the birds and life around her, the speaker gains a deeper meaning. At the end of the poem in lines 11 and 12, the speaker says, “instead of getting to heaven, finally… / I'll go there, all the time.” In this the meaning is clear: where people try to go to Heaven all their lives by going toChurch, the speaker claims to be already in Heaven. Dickinson's claim that she already exists in Heaven, despite her disdain for normal Christian values ​​and her lack of a relationship with the Lord, may be more of a defensive boast than truth. Fear is evident in Dickinson's "He fumbles at your Soul." This poem appears to be one that describes the conversion process. Although Dickinson never converted, her friends and family must have been great examples of what God did in their lives and how they were affected by it. According to Dickinson, God “scalps your naked soul” when someone experiences conversion (Meyer l. 12). This brings to mind brutality and vulnerability, as if He is taking something from the convert. Furthermore, the use of the word “Paws” in line thirteen does not reflect the traditional, gentle God of Christianity, but instead gives the reader an image of a beast, such as a bear or a wolf. The fear surrounding these two lines shows that Dickinson may have been afraid of the God that her family professed was in control of the world and her life, as well as her inevitable death. The simile used at the beginning of the poem suggests that God "plays" with our souls before taking them as His own. Melani talks about it: "Dickinson uses the simile of a musician's playing to describe God's conversion technique." This technique appears to start slowly, according to Dickinson. Using the same simile, God acts like a pianist, starting a song with an introduction before entering the actual song. Early in the conversion, the person likely meets someone who has a calling from the Lord, who then invites the newcomer to join them for a prayer or religious service; an introduction to His Word. After this introduction, God begins to work in his life so that the person sees something or has an experience that he can only explain through an act of God; preparation for conversion. “It stuns you gradually – / Prepare your frail nature / For the ethereal blow” (Meyer ll. 4-6). The “Ethereal Blow”, obviously, is the spiritual blow of conversion. "The blows of God are spiritual; therefore the blow of the hammers (of the piano) is ethereal. (The meaning of ethereal used here is celestial or heavenly)" (Melani). Eventually, when the soul is more docile to His will, God takes it, providing an intense encounter with the Holy Spirit as the person is fully converted to faith. God "acts - One - imperial - Lightning" and the soul is finally His. Dickinson's search for answers continues in "My Time Had Come for Prayer." In it, he seeks direct communication with God, perhaps desperate for confirmation of His existence or simply wanting to experience Him as his family members did. "His House was not - no sign of it - / Near the Fireplace - nor near the Door - / I could deduce his Residence -" (Meyer ll. 9-11). Despite his prayers, Dickinson is unable to reach him, to contact him. He searches for it, but finds nothing but “heavenly barrenness,” as Pett stated, “thus inducing in the speaker a state of adoration for the absence of God in the fifth stanza…Adoration replaces prayer as the decisive link with the spiritual kingdom" : The Silence complied – Creation stood still – for me – But awed beyond my charge – I worshiped – I did not “pray” – (Meyer ll. 17-20) In finding the place where God it should be but isn't, Dickinson is amazed rather than disappointed. In this Pett says that the final lines of the poem illustrate that the inability to communicate with God does not necessarily mean a “failed religious identity.” Dickinson found his religiosity in discovering the absence of a.