Emily Dickinson

In my mind, Emily Dickinson’s poetry is definitely simply deceptive. If I were to write poetry that was eight lines long, there is no way it would ever be taught in an American Literature classroom years later. Emily Dickinson, however, was able to write poetry that allows each student in our class to speak for five minutes on one poem alone. There needs to be a lot packed in to each poem for that to be a possibility. Each poem has different interpretations and meanings with each line.

                Even though there are multiple meanings and interpretations, each poem is relatively easy to read. There are not many words that will trip you up. When Dickinson is assigned for a class, you can feel the entire class exhale with relief. The poems are easy and fun. If someone wants to read them simply for enjoyment, I think that it is possible. You can read Emily Dickinson without diving in to the depths of every single meaning. That is why she is simply deceptive. Her simple style and short poems and easy rhyme schemes could lead her readers to believe that her poetry is not all that deep. However, when you dive into her poems, you see how deep they really are. Dickinson includes allusions from mythology and geography. She also likes to throw in a capitol letter in places they should not be. I don’t know what her reasoning is for this, but multiple teachers and professors have been unable to answer me when I ask about it, so I would have to say she is being deceptive. I don’t think it really matters if you think Emily Dickinson is simply deceptive or deceptively simple. Either way you decide to read her poems is a way to enjoy her poetry and learn from it.