psychoanalytic

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

~refers to the literary criticism or literary theory which, in method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of pychoanalysis

~argues the literary texts, like dreams, express the secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author

~seek evidence of unresolved emotions, psychological conflicts guilt, ambivalence, and so forth.

THERE'S A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT - Emily Dickinson

There's a certain slant of light,

On winter afternoons,

That oppresses, like the weight

Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;

We can find no scar,

But internal difference

Where the meanings are.

None may teach it anything,

'Tis the seal, despair,-

An imperial affliction

Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,

Shadows hold their breath;

When it goes, 't is like the distance

On the look of death.

CRITICISM:

Before anything else, let us all know who Emily was.

Emily Dickinson lived in New England during the American Renaissance period. Her contemporaries were many of the Transcendentalists, such as Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe. Although she insisted that she did not read the famous works of her contemporaries, many scholars contend that her poetry contains elements of Transcendental thought. 

Very little is known about her personal life. Dickinson was somewhat of a recluse. She apparently never married, but there is evidence that she once had a male lover. She lived with her sister in their family’s ancestral estate and loved tending to her flower garden. Dickinson loved little children and her elderly neighbors. For birthdays and other special occasions, she would give her friends and neighbors a bouquet from her garden, along with a personalized poem she had written just for them. There is also evidence that she was a devout Christian most of her life, but that at some point, she may have briefly lost her religious faith. Later, she seems to have found it once again. 

Much as been written about Dickinson, but many scholars focus on her mysterious lifestyle, rather than her poetry. This is unfortunate because Dickinson left us a wealth of poetry. She was a prolific poet, but never published any of her works during her lifetime. She was, however, in contact with the editor of the prestigious Atlantic magazine, which is now called the Atlantic Monthly. They corresponded for many years, and he apparently gave her many tips on improving her poetic skills; however, there is really no evidence that she applied his teachings by revising any of her works. 

After Dickinson died, her sister was putting away some of Emily’s personal belongings in the attic. There, she found, much to her amazement, hundreds of poems that her sister had written and tucked away in old jacket pockets, dresser drawers, and boxes. They were all neatly folded into small squares, bundled together, and tied neatly with pretty ribbons. Although Dickinson never tried to publish her poetry during her lifetime, she apparently believed that they had worth, and that others may find joy in reading them after her death. After the discovery, Dickinson’s sister contacted the editor that Emily had been corresponding with, and together, they compiled and published the first collection of her poems.

It is obviously that the speaker of the poem was grieving for someone's death. The poem shows how the speaker blamed God for letting His children have a disease that can cause a person's death and the speaker eventually lost the faith in God.

Emily Dickinson had lost her faith to God but seemed to find it once again.

The poem and Emily's life reflect to each other,  Emily wrote this poem during the time she had lost faith in God. The poem showed how she blamed God for having such a disease. 

It contained the feelings Emily felt during that time she lost her faith.