"A Solemn Thing—It Was—I Said" (Poem 271)

Marcia Falk (Essay Date 1989)

SOURCE: Falk, Marcia. "Poem 271." Women's Studies 16, nos. 1-2 (1989): 23-7.

In the following essay, Falk interprets poem "271" as a chronicle of self-discovery in which the narrator rejects the role of bride or nun.

In the first publication of Emily Dickinson's poem # "271" (in 1896, ten years after Dickinson's death), the poem was entitled "Wedded" by the editors. The editorial assumption that this passionate lyric was intended as a paean to marriage is typical of the way Dickinson's work and life have been treated by the critics until recently. It is much to the credit of feminist scholars in the recent past that readers have begun to see the poet and the poetry on their own terms...