Motives of Life, Death and Nature in the Poems of Emily Dickinson and her Contemporaries: a Comparative Analysis of Poetic Motives and Symbolism

Student: Kseniya Ikonnikova

Educational Programme: Philology (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2024

Emily Dickinson is usually compared to Walt Whitman, one of her most famous contemporaries. However, her poetry has never been studied in the context of 19th-century American women's poetry. This work is devoted to a comparative analysis of the poetic symbols of Emily Dickinson in comparison with the works of Helen Maria Hunt Jackson and Sarah Helen Whitman. The study suggests that Emily Dickinson uses unique symbols in her poetry compared to her contemporaries, reflecting her distinctive style. The research is based on selected works on the topics of life, death and nature. The main focus of the study is on comparing the symbols associated with these themes.

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