Although she is also the author, Emily appears as a character in many of her own poems. Through these references to herself in her writing as well as the tone of her writing in general, readers of her work can get a good idea of what type of person she was. Emily was a very serious person, a loner, but also a person who considered deeply the effect of her actions on other people. It also seemed important to Emily that her life have some sort of meaning. This is seen through her Poem 919 where she writes that if she can help just one person, she will consider her life a success. It is also obvious through Emily's writing that she spends much time in a garden observing nature. For this reason her poems are often full of references to flowers, animals and sunrises. Much of her imagery contains references related to nature.