Emily Dickinson's humor
This is an in-class writing assignment for my Literature 217 class.
Emily Dickinson is often thought to be a writer of melancholy; a depressed woman. However, I read some humor into a lot of her poems. "I Started Early, Took My Dog" is a good example. There is whimsical and fantastical imagery (Mermaids in the Basement, Dandelion's Sleeve) that is meant to be lighthearted, and the entire poem seems very conversational.
Also, "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" is a good example of a humorous poem. It still makes a statement, however the premise is comedic. The entire premise is also somewhat satirical and thus at least somewhat humorous, even if you are the butt of the joke. It's almost like a modern-day parody. It uses the voice of a child, "Don't tell! they'd banish us, you know!" which is amusing in itself. When was the last time you chuckled at a child just for being the cute, innocent creature it is? The imagery of "Frog" and "Bog" could also be thought of as funny due to its comparison of "most people" to a frog in a bog.
Perhaps Emily Dickinson was depressed. However, she had a very light and gay ( to use the archaic definition of the word ) disposition at times, enough to put it into her poetry. An aside: Try singing the words to her poems to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas." Since she went to church often in her young life, she often had a rhythm and meter that matched Protestant, or more specifically, Methodist,hymns, and that nowadays matches perfectly with that song.