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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 page essay that contrasts and compares the way that Emily Dickinson's "The Soul Selects Her Own Society" and Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" picture the relationship between the self and the outside world. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khssssom.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
to the greater outside world. Dickinson defends her right to choose with what and with whom she will associate. Whitman, on the other hand, is more concerned with establishing his
connections to the outside world. His relationship to the rest of the humanity serves as part of the way in which he defines who he is. Dickinsons poem provides a
rationale for her introspective, secluded lifestyle, while Whitmans verse offers the reverse of this stance. It is because of poems such as The Soul Selects that Dickinson is thought
of as a poet of seclusion, as the verse is about selectivity. Dickinson firmly insists that she has the right to choose what she allows into her heart and mind.
She makes her selection, "from an ample nation" (line 9) and then closes down "Like Stone" (line 12). Dickinson is adamant that the choice is hers and hers alone.
She is "unmoved," even if an "Emperor" should be the one kneeling on her mat requesting entrance. As this suggests, Dickinson emphasizes the importance of solitude in her creative process.
She must remain in control and be selective of what influences her in order to be true to herself. Dickinson, speaking in the third person, indicates that she has previously
selected one thing (one person, one book, she is not specific) and close her attention to all others. However, the "Soul" is not permanently sealed off, as closed values,
are--after all-- only the values of attention and can be reopened. The past perfect tense that Dickinson uses in the final stanza -- "Ive known her" -- suggests that she
has done this before in the past. Therefore, the use of the present tense in the first stanza may indicate that this is simply one of a series of selections.
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