Emily Dickinson was a nineteenth century poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in American literature. Although she possessed talent for words, she was unlucky in her love life, often driving men away with her quick wit and innovative ideas. Her rough experiences led her to write many poems that had a feminist outlook. An example would be poem 1072 where Dickinson challenges women in the nineteenth century to consider an alternative life that strays from gender roles of society. Throughout the poem, there are a few references to religion with gender roles. Dickinson starts off her poem strong with, “Title Divine—is mine!/” where she declares herself as a sacred person. In line three, she continues with “Acute Degree—conferred on me—/”, expressing the pain that has been granted to her since “Acute” means a degree measuring less than ninety, which indicates feelings of …show more content…
As a woman who lived independently, Dickinson detested the outcome of women who were married in her generation. She describes the fate of a woman’s life as a process of being “Born—Bridalled—Shrouded—/”. “Bridalled” is a clever pun that combines the words “Bridal”, concerning a bride, and “Bridle”, a headgear used to control a horse. This line is a metaphor for how women in her age are raised solely to be married off and serve their husbands for eternity, losing all taste of freedom. Near the beginning of her poem, she writes, “Royal—all but the Crown!” mentioning the value women should enjoy, but can not due to the missing head wear, the “Crown”, which symbolizes someone of high status. Instead, the “Crown” is replaced by a horse bridle that constricts free movement, correlating with her bridal/bridle pun, symbolizing a woman’s lack of freedom in a patriarchal