The poem I had been hungry all the years describes an individuals

yearning to regain a sense of belonging within society. She describes

herself as being hungry, an extended metaphor for desire for
inclusion in society. The persona describes themselves as trembling,
the kinesthetic imagery indicating her apprehension as she approaches
a table, a representation for society, and the imagery of the curious
wine and ample bread are food that can satisfy her metaphorical
hunger. This is supported by the fact that Dickinson became a recluse
after the death of a close friend in 1850 and avoided social contact, but
the poem also suggests that Dickinson had an urge to belong again in
society. The diction of the adjective curious suggests that the food is
unfamiliar and strange, suggesting this she has never experienced a
connection with society. Her lack of belonging is further empathized
that she looked in windows for wealth, symbolizing the window as a
barrier between her and society, expressing her sense of
disconnection. The diction of wealth suggests that Dickinson believed
belonging in society was a positive experience, despite the fact she
barely had any contact with society and even spoke through doors
rather than face to face. linking sentence-

Emily Dickinsons desire for acceptance is contrasted through

epigrammatic form in her poem This is my letter to the world. In the
opening lines she declares This is my letter to the world, the use of
first person creating a personal voice and is a metaphor the persona
depends on to make an attempt to grasp a sense of belonging.
Dickinson symbolizes society as The world through a synecdoche and
the use of the metaphor That never wrote to me , relying on the high
modality of never to suggest that she tried to reengage with society,
but it refused to acknowledge her. This is contradicted by the fact that
Dickinson retreated from society and refused contact with anyone
other than her sisters, encouraged by the death of many of her family
members. This poem suggests that she attempted to connect with
humanity but was rejected back into seclusion. The lack of acceptance
of the persona is evident through her hurt tone and the diction of
never wrote, a metaphor for societys refusal to allow her a sense of
belonging within society. -Linking Sentence-

Emily Dickinsons poem I had been hungry all the years highlights her
sense of belonging with nature rather than with humanity. She
expresses that she did not know the ample bread was so unlike the
crumb, relying on the metaphorical juxtaposition of the ample bread
and crumb to convey how her experience of belonging contradicted
her original thoughts. She expresses metaphorically that The birds
and I had often shared the crumbs in Nature dining room, the
personification of nature highlighting her sense of belonging with
Nature and her preference to remain hungry rather than dislocated in
society As a berry of a mountain bush transplanted in the road,
highlighted through the use of a simile. Dickinsons spiritual context is
evident in the poem, as she retreated from society she became
entranced by the beauty of Nature, which served as a comfort for her
in times of death. In the last line she relies on the paradox The
entering takes away to symbolize how she no longer feels a need to
belong with society. Linking sentence-

Dickinsons achievement of a sense of belonging is evident in the

poem This is my letter to the world. In the second stanza, her hurt
tone shifts to a positive one as she personifies Nature through the
oxymoron tender majesty. The gentle diction of tender reveals her
personal connection with nature and the powerful diction of majesty
expressing Nature as her kingdom and place of belonging. Her change
of tone in the second stanza is evident as she describes Nature as
tender majesty, in which the diction of tender reveals a sense of
compassion and majesty expresses Nature as her kingdom. Nature is
a motif for belonging in the text, mirroring her personal life, as she led
a life of confinement but had a strong appreciation and connection for
Nature and its purity. Her connection with Nature is further emphasized
as she personifies her in Her message is committed to hands I cannot
see in which she expresses through the metaphor that she will try to
educate the countrymen, a metonymy for society, of Natures
teachings. This is further enhanced through the diction of hands, a
metonymy for God, conveying Nature as almighty and powerful,
indicating her respect. -Linking Sentence-