UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Zephir, Coco
Dept./Program:
English
Year:
2012
Degree:
M.A.
Abstract:
This thesis is an attempt to better understand the history of the biographies of Emily Dickinson with particular focus on the poet's obituary written by Susan Dickinson. The first chapter: "Susan & Emily" explores how scholars portray Susan and Dickinson's relationship. The second chapter titled "The First Life" discusses the obituary itself to understand the personae Susan creates of the poet. Chapter three, "The Second Life," discusses the similarities between Dickinson's obituary and the prefaces written to both Poems by Emily Dickinson and Poems by Emily Dickinson Second Series, written by Higginson and Todd. Higginson and Todd use the obituary's framework to identify the poet in terms already defined by Susan. Susan's framework serves as a construction through which biographers understand the poet.