The Utter Pain of Depression What kind of pain is so powerful that it "swallows substance up?" Poem Explication Read my explication of this poem here.

Memory The word "memory" is found in 25 of Dickinson's poems, including "There is a pain - so utter," and 35 of Dickinson's letters. While most of us might think of a memory as a pleasant thing, I found that many of Dickinson's references to word included negative connotations. Lexicon Exercise Read my lexicon exercise here.

Manuscript History "There is a pain - so utter" was not published until 1929, when it underwent major editing. In addition to changes in wording, the dashes and irregular capitalization were removed, resulting in a very different poem from Dickinson's original manuscript. In 1955, Johnson restored this poem to a much more accurate transcription. Manuscript Study Read my manuscript study here.

GrolierClub.org Bibliography Click on the link below to view my bibliography. Bibliography

Image courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/images/emily_springweb.jpg

Heaven Below: The Divinity of Nature Did Dickinson group her poems in her fascicles for a specific purpose, such as theme, chronology, or aesthetics?Our group studied fascicle 24 in order to look for common threads and patterns, and we came up with some interesting findings. After examining these poems via poem clusters, transitions, and word choice, our group decided that Dickinson views nature as divine and matchless and the human world as imperfect and disappointing. Collaborative Group Handout Read our findings on Fascicle 24 here. My Reflection on Fascicle 24 Read how my poem, "There is a pain--so utter--," fits into fascicle 24.

Was Emily Dickinson depressed? "There is a pain--so utter--" exhibits a deep knowledge of the disease. Image courtesy of http://artemismoon.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/depression2.jpg

Letter 432: Elizabeth Holland Emily Dickinson maintained a 33-year friendship with Elizabeth Holland, who was married to a prominent editor. Dickinson's correspondence with Holland demonstrates a deep bond and a warm relationship, one where Dickinson could truly express herself through her writing. What does Emily Dickinson mean when she states her father is asleep in "the masked Bed-in the Marl House?" Read my transcription of this letter to find out. Read my letter transcription here.

"Thousand Yard Stare" Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome--a Pain so Utter We know that Dickinson wrote "There is a pain--so utter" during the Civil War. Is it possible that the horror-stricken faces of returning and wounded soldiers were an inspiration for this poem? Is the pain she describes here the pain of post-traumatic stress syndrome? Linking Exercise Read my explanation here.

Poem Explication Revision I revisited my first assignment, the explication, in order to consider my experience with this poem since the first week of class. I found that in addition to some phrasing changes, I wanted to add a section about the dashes. This short, eight-line poem contains twelve dashes. What purpose do they serve in this poem? Explication Revision Read my explication revision here.

Reflections I will admit that I was skeptical about focusing on one of Dickinson's poem for the entire six-week summer course. Even though I have had some experience with Dickinson in the past, I wondered at how I would find enough to say about one eight-line poem. What I found is that I couldn't say enough about my poem; the layers kept revealing themselves. The projects and methods used in this course not only made me a better student, but also a better teacher. Please click on the link below to read my full reflection. Course Reflection