KEEPING THE SABBATH

Although virtually unknown as a poet during her life, today Emily Dickinson is well known for her religious non-conformism, one of the major themes of her over 1,800 poems. While many of her poems deal with death, Dickinson was more interested in what lay beyond physical death. She spent her life seeking out answers to the eternal questions about what happens after one dies, calling immortality her "Flood Subject.' While she went through periods of faith, she always returned to uncertainty. She wrote one friend that she was always hoping to "hear the bells" but that they never rang for her. Her father, a pillar of the church community and a prominent politician, loved her enough to let her be although we know through Dickinson's poetry that he never really understood her. She did not generally attend church with her family as an adult, instead spending a good deal of time in her garden. Question - In what way does this poem indicate Dickinson's unwillingness to conform to the Christian religious practices of her day? Do you think this makes her a non-believer? Explain why or why not and cite the poem for support. Link to poem, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/1828                                                            

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