I deeply enjoy Allen Tate's poetry. I've read very little of his criticism, but was just recently drawn to this essay he wrote in 1928. He places her both inside and outside historical context, specifically somewhere between Emerson and Hawthorne. But like Harold Bloom, he likens her mind to Shakespeare's. Anyway, it is a marvelous essay as much for the writing as the ideas and the insights on Dickinson. Remember, in 1928 he wouldn't have known about many of Dickinson's best poems!
Read and enjoy!
Thanks!
ReplyDelete"Her seclusion was the fulfillment of her life. All pity for Miss
ReplyDeleteDickinson's "starved life" is misdirected. Her life was one of the deepest, one of the richest ever lived out on this continent. She is one of the few Americans who have realized themselves."
Thank you for posting this quote. Made me go back to the article.
DeleteCitation for Tate's 1928 essay:
ReplyDeleteEmily Dickinson
by Allen Tate
The Outlook, August 15, 1928, pp. 621-623
Thanks, Larry
Delete