A wounded deer leaps the highest

A wounded deer leaps the highest. – Emily Dickinson

I came across this quote by accident. I was doing some research for some coursework for English and I accidently clicked her name when it came up in the search bar. I knew very little about her, other than the fact she was an American poet. I had never been very much intrigued by poetry until about a year ago when I had to study an anthology for school and I feel as though It was that which opened my eyes to the possibility of poetry, and quite simply, its beauty. So when I saw her name flash up on my laptop screen I couldn't resist but do a little research.

One specific insight that I found particularly devastating was that she wasn't recognised within her own time. She lived a somewhat reclusive life but was able to write many poems and letters in secret. I think this is why this quote of hers resonated with me in such an emotional way. She could have considered herself to be leaping 'the highest' with the situation she was in. She didn't allow her reclusiveness to stunt her imagination and although I am not sure of the context of this statement I cant help but theorise that she was reflecting the ideas of her own life on to it.

Something else that I took an interest in was Dickinson's achievement in school. She is reported to have been an excellent student and the reason for her departure from school is unknown. There are a few theories as to why, one of which being her emotional state not allowing her to continue with her studies, another saying that she was pulled out of school by her father. Both of these reasons appear to me to be apt enough excuses to view Dickinson's life as being mirrored by the meaning of this quotation.

After doing some reading about her life I decided I would read some of her poetry. I found this one, entitled "If I can stop one heart from breaking" incredibly interesting.:

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain ; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.

Dickinson was never a member of a church or religious organisation which was quite non-contextual and shocking for the times in which she lived (1800s.) I thought that this poem that provided a moral lesson to us couldn't therefore have been heavily influenced by religious views. This progressive idea of what we should consider the right thing to do in order to 'not live in vain' strays far from religious influence and shows us that even at such a reverently reliant time, she probably viewed right and wrong as something separate from what can be taught from the holy books.

I fear that Emily Dickinson will become one of my most inviting forms of procrastination - I envisage myself researching her any spare chance I get for the distant future. I hope to become much better acquainted with her work because so far she has proved to be a great interest to me.

So to finish this post with a quote seems only apt, and when I came across this one I fel

l in love (pardon the pun) with how genuinely beautiful it was;

Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality.