Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was born in Massachusetts in 1830 to an established family who had migrated to North America during the Puritan Great Migration. Emily grew up in Massachusetts and attended Amherst College, which her grandfather founded. Although she was a good student, she missed long periods of class because of illness and depression. This emotional state can be found in many of her poems, including Death is like the Insect. Emily never married and spent most of her life secluded with her sickly mother, caring for her. She did most of her writing during the long stretches of seclusion on her family farm, The Homestead. The few poems written by Emily that were published during her life were altered and edited to adhere to contemporary styles and standards. When Emily Dickinson died in 1886, very little of her work had been seen by the public. The first major release of her work after her death was in 1890. Death is like the Insect followed in a later volume in 1896. When the first volume of her works was published in 1890, there were mixed reviews. The publisher who wrote the preface to the compilation wrote that her work was "incomplete and unsatisfactory." Emily Dickinson's emotional state can be clearly seen in the poem and may be a reflection of her depression. Death is like the Insect is a premonition of her own death and displays the futility of the constant struggle to hold on to life. (1) |