Emily Dickinson’s poetry is often described as “experimental because the way she writes her poems are much like lyrics. I believe her work is described this way because it is her intentions to keep the readers off their toes, filling them with endless desire to read. Also, in the introductory, it mentions that she spends most of her life within the confinement of her home, therefore, it is her poetry that she writes that connects most deeply with the outside world. With poems like song, the meanings are exemplified to a degree that readers can feel the intensity of her thoughts.

Dickson’s work does indeed have a similar poetic style like Keats. She draws on the themes like death, nature, death, love and faith. In “Bright Stars” written by Keats, he’s describing his feelings towards the girl whom he loves almost to death, and in Dickinson’s poem 258 she writes

“Heavingly hurt, it gives us-

We can find no scar

But internal difference,

Where the meanings, are-

She seems to be troubled with emotion thought. In the introductory it also mentions that “some of her work reflects on the pain of unrequited love.” Which is precisely why there is that close resemblance to Keats work.

In the poems, the uses of line break, capitalization and dashes contributes to confusion while reading but at the same time generates a striking thought. Her poems have abrupt interruptions to exaggerate her sudden thoughts. It helps the reader visualize the scenario and can possibly emphasize with what she felt while writing her poems.

After seeing the handwritten version, my  experience was not affected. The only thing that boggled my mind for a moment was while reading “Amherst – Amherst Manuscript # 633 – The day she goes – asc: 13428 – p. 1” I notice that some of her letters are more exaggerated than some in previous. For example her S and T is much larger. So I do suppose that she’s putting some emphasis in certain aspect of her work while writing, which is something we can not see if we don’t see the handwritten version.