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Emily DickinsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Dickinson wrote and sent the poem “Whose cheek is this?” to her friend and sister-in-law Sue sometime within the 1850s. Because it is unclear exactly when the poem was written, it is therefore difficult to ascertain whether one historical event influenced the poem’s production over another. Many significant national and world events took place between 1850 and 1860. For example, in 1851 the Christiana Riot took place in Pennsylvania. In 1854, Britain and France entered the Crimean War against Russia. Pre-Civil War unrest began in Kansas on November 21, 1855, and on March 6, 1857, the Dred Scott Decision declared that black individuals could not be American citizens. December 2, 1859 marked the hanging execution of abolitionist John Brown (McNamara, Robert. "Timeline from 1850 to 1860." ThoughtCo., 2021). There were certainly events developing or occurring that could have inspired Dickinson’s poem focusing on the fading of life into death.
One can also assess this text through the historical lens of patriarchy. Leading up to the 1850s when Dickinson’s poem first appeared, women’s rights were gradually increasing: “By the early 1800s, women were ready to branch out from their families and make an impression on the world. Numerous women’s organizations were formed, some social, but many bound on doing social work” (Donnaway, Laura.
By Emily Dickinson
A Bird, came down the Walk
A Bird, came down the Walk
Emily Dickinson
A Clock stopped—
A Clock stopped—
Emily Dickinson
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
Emily Dickinson
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Emily Dickinson
"Faith" is a fine invention
"Faith" is a fine invention
Emily Dickinson
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Emily Dickinson
Hope is a strange invention
Hope is a strange invention
Emily Dickinson
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
Emily Dickinson
I Can Wade Grief
I Can Wade Grief
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
Emily Dickinson
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
Emily Dickinson
If I should die
If I should die
Emily Dickinson
If you were coming in the fall
If you were coming in the fall
Emily Dickinson
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
Emily Dickinson
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Emily Dickinson
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Emily Dickinson
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Emily Dickinson
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
Emily Dickinson
The Only News I Know
The Only News I Know
Emily Dickinson