Belonging_Representation

Dear Sir/ Madam 29/1/11 On behalf of the English Syllabus committee, I am writing to you to explain and justify the committee’s decision to include Emily Dickinson’s poems in the area of study – ‘Belonging’. In her poetry, Dickinson does not offer a simple distaste of belonging or a deep love for reclusion. Rather, through her poems This is My Letter to the World, I had Been Hungry All the Years and What mystery pervades a well, Dickinson presents the seemingly paradoxical perception that a person may both belong to and be alienated from society and nature. As an understanding of the subjective, transient nature of belonging is central to a student’s understanding of the area of study, particularly the realisation that ‘perceptions and ideas of belonging, or not belonging vary’, Dickinson’s representation of the paradoxical link between belonging and alienation is enormously beneficial for study. Firstly, Dickinson’s poems demonstrate a sense of affinity with humanity. In This is my letter…, Dickinson’s choice of positive vocabulary in the last two lines, such as ‘love’, ‘sweet countrymen’ and ‘tenderly’, imply at the very least a desire for connection. In the phrase, ‘for love of her, sweet countrymen, judge tenderly of me’, Dickinson’s persona suggests that a common affection for nature offers a sense of connection and implores those who ‘share her country’ to consider this as a basis for kindness to her. Through her choice in words, value is given to belonging.’ In What mystery pervades a well, a more sombre value is given to belonging through the final stanza: ‘to pity those that know her not is helped by the regret, that those who know her know her less, the nearer that they get.’ In this example, the paradox of greater but lesser knowledge is used to draw connection between those – such as Dickinson’s persona – who know nature and those who do not. The conclusion is drawn that there is closeness between all people because of the unfathomable enigma that is nature. This conclusion in itself is at odds with what was said in This is my letter…, for now it is both ‘love of’ and ‘lack of knowledge’ of nature that brings about affinity. This shows, in further paradox, that Dickinson sees connection between people in both their joint connection with and alienation from nature. Secondly, and in seeming contradiction with the above, Dickinson’s poems demonstrate feelings of distinct alienation from mankind. ‘This is my letter to the world, that never wrote to me’ claims Dickinson in This is my letter. The use of personal pronouns such as ‘me and ‘my’, the absolute use of ‘never’ and the metaphor of the letter suggest a complete absence of returned communication, leading to a deep sense of personal alienation. The inclusion of ‘This is my letter’ suggests that attempts on the persona’s part have been made and rejected, highlighting a distinct barrier to belonging and emphasising the persona’s truncation from ‘the world’ – all society. In referring to society as ‘the world’, Dickinson immediately distances herself from the reader, who identifies with world, creating a sense of guilt and enriching the atmosphere of alienation. A further sense of absolute isolation is created in I Had Been hungry when Dickinson –using food as a metaphor for food and belonging – writes, ‘Nor was I hungry’. The metaphor not only demonstrates a strong sense of alienation , but the complete denial of the importance and value of belonging. Yet contrast this statement with the phrase ‘ I had been hungry all the years’ and the sense of belonging discussed above. Unless I had been hungry all the years was to act as a final, absolute creed of reclusion, it is clear that Dickinson’s poems give value to both belonging and alienation, despite their contrasting identities. Thus belonging to people may be identified as subjective in Dickinson’s poems. This paradox makes Dickinson’s poems both useful and excellent for HSC study. The same may be said for the perceptions of belonging to and alienation from nature. Dickinson’s poems display the possibility of both an intimate relationship with and a deep sense of truncation from nature. This paradox, similar to Dickinson’s perceptions of interpersonal relationships, may best be seen in her poem What Mystery Pervades a Well. The paradox may be seen in the phrase ‘whose limit none have ever seen, but just his lid of glass.’ The majesty of the well, ‘whose limit none have ever seen’ – implying awe, but distance – is juxtaposed with the common imagery of ‘a jar’, suggesting closeness. Ironically, while it is said that only the lid of glass may be seen, glass may in fact be seen through, again juxtaposing distant majesty with insight and belonging. While the well demonstrates the wonder of nature, it also shows the taming of that depth in a man-made common object. The personification of grass, sedge and sea, all referred to as ‘he’- e.g. he is floorless- demonstrates association. Yet in the penultimate stanza, nature is described as a ‘stranger’, associated with a ‘haunted house’ and a ’ghost’. Word choice is clearly used to create a sense of alienation. The paradox of human relationship with nature is described in the final two lines: ‘that those who know her know her less, the nearer that they get.’ Belonging and alienation co-exist. Deeper belonging results in deeper alienation. This is just as true a summary for Dickinson’s portrayal of human relationships. In conclusion, the paradoxical nature of Dickinson’s poems makes them complex, engaging and ideal for HSC study. The poems encapsulate both belonging and alienation and demonstrate that perceptions of belonging – even in reference to the same relationship- may be vastly different. I warmly commend Dickinson’s poems to you and your colleagues as a fine portrayal of the Area of Study – ‘Belonging’! Yours Sincerely, Nicholas O’Neil (President, English Syllabus Committee)