Evaluating in Context

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1		In this article, the Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Galway Kinnell acknowledges Emily Dickinson's profound impact on American poetry, and he discusses her poem, "I heard a fly buzz". In what way might "I heard a fly buzz" be defined as a desire for "knowledge of the unknowable"? Do you agree with Kinnell's assessment of Dickinson's genius?



2		Here is an online exhibit called "To Go Its Way in Tears: Poems of Grief," which puts Dickinson in the company of other poets dealing with the subject of grief in their work. Read the poem by Dickinson selected for the exhibit and compare it to "I heard a Fly buzz." What connections can you make? How are the other poets in the exhibit similar to Dickinson? How are they different?



3		Read this article about Emily Dickinson's early publishing process. What did the article contain that you did not know before? What use could you make of such an article in a paper about Dickinson?

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