Or, discuss Emily Dickinson as a poet of nature.

Or, discuss Emily Dickinson’s treatment of nature.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) writes about nature in a very personal way. Sometimes she feels happy and excited when she looks at nature. Sometimes she feels sad, quiet, or thoughtful. She becomes a poet who understands every mood of nature. Here, we will see how Dickinson shows both joy and melancholy.

Joyful Nature: “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” (1861) shows Dickinson’s happiest and brightest response to nature. The speaker imagines herself drinking a special “liquor.” This is not any kind of alcohol or drink. Instead, she becomes drunk on the air, the dew, and the beauty around her. She says she is

“Inebriate of air…

And Debauchee of Dew –.” 

This means she is drunk on the pure air and the morning dew. The bees or butterflies drink from the flower’s nectar for a short time and then stop. Unlike them, the poet wants to drink forever. Her love for nature has no limit. She says,

“I shall but drink the more!”

She will keep on enjoying the beauty of nature even when the insects are done. This is pure joy. Nature becomes a world of celebration. Dickinson shows that simple things like air, dew, flowers, and summer make a person feel free and alive. This poem proves Dickinson’s Romantic side, where nature brings joy and happiness.

Calm and Thoughtful Nature: In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” (1890), Dickinson’s response to nature becomes softer and more thoughtful. Nature does not give joy here; instead, it helps tell the story of life and death. In this poem, she takes a slow carriage ride with Death. Death behaves like a polite gentleman. As they move together, nature appears. She writes:

“We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –”

First, they pass a school where children play. This scene shows childhood. Then they pass fields of “gazing grain.” This suggests the vitality of adulthood. Finally, they pass the setting sun, which feels like the last stage of life.

Nature is calm and beautiful in these scenes, but it also feels serious. The sun going down reminds us that human life also comes to an end. Even her clothes cannot protect her from the cold evening dew. By the time they reach the grave, which looks like a “Swelling of the Ground,” nature becomes a quiet symbol of eternity.

In this poem, nature is not joyful. It is gentle, mysterious, and eternal. This shows Dickinson's thoughtful and melancholic side, where nature becomes a partner to death and spiritual journey.

Dark and Disturbing Nature: “I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain” (written in 1861) shows the darkest side of Dickinson’s nature response. Here, we do not see outside nature. The poem focuses on her inner mind. But Dickinson still uses natural images like sound, space, and silence. These images create a disturbing atmosphere.

The story feels like nature turning frightening. The “Service, like a Drum” beats like thunder inside her head. The “Boots of Lead” move heavily as if crushing her soul. Soon, all of heaven (the sky) becomes a huge “Bell,” and she becomes an “Ear.” It shows how overwhelming the world feels. This nature shows the mental collapse of the poet. In the end, she loses her sense of reason and drops down and down. This melancholy and fear show Dickinson’s modern side. Nature becomes a symbol of mental collapse and deep sadness.

All Shades of Human Feeling: In the first poem, nature is a joyful drink. In the second, nature is a calm guide toward eternity. In the third, nature becomes a frightening echo of the mind’s suffering. Through these shifts, Dickinson shows all shades of human feeling—happiness, peace, fear, and loneliness.

To sum up, Emily Dickinson’s nature poems move through many emotions. She celebrates nature’s beauty. She also shows deep sadness and fear. These different moods prove that Dickinson is a special nature poet, one who sees both the joy and the melancholy hidden inside the natural world.