Dickinson's_Relationship_with_Religion

Dickinson’s relationship with religion “Dickinson never made a formal declaration of faith” (Ford 37); she was never known to adopt her family’s religious beliefs. Biographers suggest that she did not believe in God, nevertheless God is mentioned throughout much of her poetry. Although she may or may not have been religious, she is very well versed in religious diction showcasing it in poems like “The Bible is an antique Volume-“. Dickinson uses her poetry to explore her thoughts as well as societies thoughts on religion and faith. Despite the opinions of historians and biographers, Dickinson’s poetry suggest she is conflicted in terms of her own spirituality or personal religious beliefs. In poem 324, “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church-“ (pg.66), Dickinson investigates her desired place to worship. As she states some people enjoy spending their day of worship in a church listening to the Clergyman speak, where as Emily would prefer to spend her time among nature. She is able to feel spiritual by having “a bobolink for a Chorister” “ and an Orchard, for a dome”. Dickinson preferred not to spend a short time praising god to make it to heaven in the end, she favored to live her life as if everyday was heaven and spend her time worshiping among nature. Although she didn’t feel the need to worship in a traditional way some might infer she still felt a connection with God. Conversely, “No Other can reduce” (pg.228) delves into Dickinson’s thoughts on the present life and the after life. Dickinson suggests that nothing can make life seem more insignificant then realizing that someday it will end and if we place too much value on our present life that means were not thinking enough about the next life. She sums up life as “Our single competition” for “Jehovah’s Estimate”. “I know that He exists” (pg.71) truly highlights Dickinson’s conflicting thoughts on religion. The poem begins with a statement, “I know that he exists”, it delivers a sense of knowing and security and yet she immediately takes it away with the second line. “Somewhere – in Silence” questions the comfort of knowing instilled by the first line. God enters into a game of hide and go seek, “He has hid his rare life” “From our gross eyes”. There is an idea of playing, which implies two willing participates with rules and then there is also an idea of ambush, which is much more forced. God is not something that can be seen, and should god prove to not exist at the time of death would the search seem like a waste of life' Would the game turn out to be a cruel joke' The poem begins with absolute certainty and moves to absolute agony. It can be suggested that this poem is an internal “war” with religion played out. Dickinson suggests if you have faith, there is no need for evidence. On the other hand “Those-dying then” (pg298) puts forth the idea that it is better to believe in something then nothing at all “Better an ignis fatuus then no illume at all”. God’s hand being amputated is intentional with the act of healing in mind. Although in this poem Dickinson has formally resigned her belief of god, she still insists that we all believe in something. As Thoreau said, “Any truth is better then make believe”. In spite of the fact that this poem shows Dickinson pulling away from god she is still filled with belief in something. Again, this accents her conflicting thoughts toward religion and God. Throughout poem 315 “He fumbles at your soul” (pg61), Dickinson analyzes the relationship between god and humans through music. “He” refers to God in this poem, and our soul is the “keys to his piano”. Dickinson uses an art like music to infer that God’s art is “playing” with humans. As the poem continues the verbs get gradually worse: fumbles, stuns, deals, and scalps. The use of “brittle nature” and “naked soul” implies weakness, defenselessness and the act of being exposed. In the penultimate line the introduction of “Paws” creates the image of playing with your food before killing it, it ends the poem with an animalistic feeling. Dickinson shows a hurtful, spiteful God that most people at that time could not have begun to imagine. In “ “Faith” is a fine invention” (pg20) Dickinson compares faith against science. The word faith is placed in quotation marks, which suggests that Dickinson wanted us to think of Faith as a concept. Emily proposes that Faith is wonderful until we are in a time where things are unclear and then we need to take a closer look into the situation. Microscopes imply science, medicine and are used to see items we can’t with our naked eye. Dickinson suggests that she requires something more substantial then faith in a time of need, she does not trust in God at these times. It may not be so much that Emily Dickinson did not believe in God but that God had left her in disbelief. One could argue that Dickinson was astounded by the brutal and unforgiving nature of life. On the other hand it could be said that Dickinson also sees the beauty in nature and relates this aspect to God. Through these themes Dickinson struggles with her religious beliefs. Works Sited Dickinson, Emily. Final Harvest: Emily Dickinson’s Poems. Boston: Little, Brown, 1961 Ford, Thomas W. Heaven Beguiles the Heaven Beguiles the Tired: Death in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson. University,AL: University of Alabama press, 1966.