Emily Dickinson: Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts.

She attended Mount Holyoke emale Seminary in South Hadley, but only !or one year. "hrou#hout her li!e, she seldom le!t her home and $isitors were !ew. "he %eo%le with whom she did come in contact, howe$er, had an enormous im%act on her %oetry. She was %articularly stirred by the &e$erend 'harles (adsworth, whom she !irst met on a tri% to )hiladel%hia. He le!t !or the (est 'oast shortly a!ter a $isit to her home in 18*0, and some critics belie$e his de%arture #a$e rise to the heartsick !low o! $erse !rom Dickinson in the years that !ollowed. (hile it is certain that he was an im%ortant !i#ure in her li!e, it is not clear that their relationshi% was romantic+she called him ,my closest earthly !riend., -ther %ossibilities !or the unre.uited lo$e that was the sub/ect o! many o! Dickinson0s %oems include -tis ). 1ord, a Massachusetts Su%reme 'ourt 2ud#e, and Samuel 3owles, editor o! the S%rin#!ield &e%ublican. 3y the 18*0s, Dickinson li$ed in almost com%lete isolation !rom the outside world, but acti$ely maintained many corres%ondences and read widely. She s%ent a #reat deal o! this time with her !amily. Her !ather, Edward Dickinson, was acti$ely in$ol$ed in state and national %olitics, ser$in# in 'on#ress !or one term. Her brother, Austin, who attended law school and became an attorney, li$ed ne4t door with his wi!e, Susan 5ilbert. Dickinson0s youn#er sister, 1a$inia, also li$ed at home !or her entire li!e in similar isolation. 1a$inia and Austin were not only !amily, but intellectual com%anions !or Dickinson durin# her li!etime. Dickinson6s %oetry was hea$ily in!luenced by the Meta%hysical %oets o! se$enteenth7century En#land, as well as her readin# o! the 3ook o! &e$elation and her u%brin#in# in a )uritan 8ew En#land town, which encoura#ed a 'al$inist, orthodo4, and conser$ati$e a%%roach to 'hristianity. She admired the %oetry o! &obert and Eli9abeth 3arrett 3rownin#, as well as 2ohn :eats "hou#h she was dissuaded !rom readin# the $erse o! her contem%orary (alt (hitman by rumors o! its dis#race!ulness, the two %oets are now connected by the distin#uished %lace they hold as the !ounders o! a uni.uely American %oetic $oice. (hile Dickinson was e4tremely %roli!ic as a %oet and re#ularly enclosed %oems in letters to !riends, she was not %ublicly reco#ni9ed durin# her li!etime. "he !irst $olume o! her work was %ublished %osthumously in 18;0 and the last in 1;<<. She died in Amherst in 188*. =%on her death, Dickinson6s !amily disco$ered !orty handbound $olumes o! nearly 1,800 %oems, or ,!ascicles, as they are sometimes called. Dickinson assembled these booklets by !oldin# and sewin# !i$e or si4 sheets o! stationery %a%er and co%yin# what seem to be !inal $ersions o! %oems. "he

handwritten %oems show a $ariety o! dash7like marks o! $arious si9es and directions >some are e$en $ertical?. "he %oems were initially unbound and %ublished accordin# to the aesthetics o! her many early editors, who remo$ed her unusual and $aried dashes and re%lacin# them with traditional %unctuation. "he current standard $ersion o! her %oems re%laces her dashes with a standard ,n7 dash,, which is a closer ty%o#ra%hical a%%ro4imation to her intention. "he ori#inal order o! the %oems was not restored until 1;81, when &al%h (. ranklin used the %hysical e$idence o! the %a%er itsel! to restore her intended order, relyin# on smud#e marks, needle %unctures, and other clues to reassemble the %ackets. Since then, many critics ha$e ar#ued that there is a thematic unity in these small collections, rather than their order bein# sim%ly chronolo#ical or con$enient. "he Manuscri%t 3ooks o! Emily Dickinson >3elkna% )ress, 1;81? is the only $olume that kee%s the order intact. Poem Success is Counted Sweetest Success is counted sweetest 3y those who ne6er succeed. "o com%rehend a nectar &e.uires sorest need. 8ot one o! all the %ur%le Host (ho took the la# today 'an tell the de!inition So clear o! @ictory As he de!eated77dyin#77 -n whose !orbidden ear "he distant strains o! trium%h 3urst a#oni9ed and clearA Summary: "he s%eaker says that Bthose who ne0er succeedC %lace the hi#hest $alue on success. >"hey BcountC it BsweetestC.? "o understand the $alue o! a nectar, the s%eaker says, one must !eel Bsorest need.C She says that the members o! the $ictorious army >Bthe %ur%le Host D (ho took the !la# todayC? are not able to de!ine $ictory as well as the de!eated, dyin# man who hears !rom a distance the music o! the $ictors.