Emily Dickinson’s Poetic Reading of Greek Mythology

Abstract

Emily Dickinson’s relation to Greek antiquity is an interesting topic in the sense that it shows how she responds to the ancient world. In fact, she makes direct references to Greek antiquity in 20 of her poems. Her specific reference to Greek mythological characters is much less frequent, but the poet powerfully advocates selfhood and identity in relation to them. She employs several mythological figures such as Prometheus, Amphitrite, Memnon, Midas, Jason, and Orpheus in her poems. When she refers to each mythic character, she reinterprets their roles in relation to her poetic world. She doubts, rejects, transforms, and identifies with Greek mythological characters. She is not so much overshadowed by mythological figures but challenges them to claim her unmistakable selfhood and identity. In other words, she appropriates mythological figures for the purpose of creating her poetic world. Her emphasis on her own selfhood and authority leads her to create her own mythic world. This essay aims to give a clearer picture of how Dickinson reads and interprets Greek mythology.