Group Four's
Anthology
Compiled By Camilla
Asplen, Connie Bartlett,
Melissa Rae Gers and
Michelle Rauch
Selection Criteria:
Our dearest Emily Dickinson was the demiurge of a world based entirely on
emotion, thought, and the words inspired by both. Her poetry details the
creation of life and the pain of death, each one beautifully described and
delicately handled by Dickinson's pen. The poems converge to paint life
in itself; although the poems can be viewed separately and maintain
beauty, one must take a broad sampling to understand the importance of
Emily's life experience. Our group decided that the typically
anthologized poems do not fulfill their duty in exposing the full spectrum
of Dickinson's life. In fact, the anthologized poems are probably quite
sick of being bound together, and we don't feel that their modern effect
is as dramatic as some of Emily's lesser known little girls (or, um,
poems).
After our group established that continually anthologized poetry
was not going to make it into our collection (unless it was absolutely
essential, of course), we decided that whatever poems we did choose had to
fall into a life cycle pattern: from the innocent exploration, and the joy
of new life and childhood to the less innocent exploration of temptations
of adolescence and sexual, intellectual, and spiritual awakening to
intimacy and mature relationships, then a disillusionment with faith,
love, and intimacy slowly moving toward self-acceptance and embracing of
vocation (as a poet and a person) to the multiple faces of death that
Dickinson explores. We decided to pick the poems that we felt placed
themselves into these categories better than the others, and then organize
them. We broke down the selected poems into four sections: Spring
(childhood), Summer (adolescence), Autumn (disillusionment), and Winter
(death). We chose the top five Dickinson poems from each category, and
viola! We have the best anthology you haven't read.
Selected Poems:
Spring: Childhood innocence.
. .
#76: Exultation is the going
#454: It was given to me by the Gods -
#520: I started Early - Took my Dog -
#677: To be alive - is Power -
#1099: My Cocoon tightens - Colors tease -
Summer: Intellectual, sexual, spiritual
awakening. . .
#162: My River runs to thee -
#251: Over the fence -
#190: He was weak, and I was strong - then -
#339: I tend my flowers for thee -
#446: I showed her Heights she never saw -
Autumn: Intellectual, sexual, spiritual
disillusionment. . .
#139: Soul, Wilt thou toss again?
#315: He fumbles at your Soul
#351: I felt my life with both my hands
#435: Much Madness is divinest Sense -
#469: The Red - Blaze - is the Morning -
Winter: Self-acceptance in the face of death.
. .
#144: She bore it till the simple veins
#241: I like a look of Agony,
#449: I died for Beauty - but was scarce
#816: A Death blow is a Life blow to Some
#1670: In Winter in my Room
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