The Letter by Emily Dickinson (1894)
This poem explores the theme of love and loss through a letter written to someone who has died. The speaker reflects on their relationship with the deceased, acknowledging the pain of separation but also finding solace in the memories they shared. The tone is melancholic yet introspective, with a focus on the emotional weight of grief.
By Emily Dickinson · First published 1894 · Genre: Poetry, Romantic, Epistolary · 279 words
First lines
"GOING to him! Happy letter! Tell him -- Tell him the page I didn't write; Tell him I only said the syntax, And left the verb and the pronoun out.
Tell him just how the fingers hurried, Then how they waded, slow, slow, slow; And then you wished you had eyes in your pages, So you could see what moved them so.
"Tell him it wasn't a practised writer, You guessed, from the way the sentence toiled; You could hear the bodice tug, behind you, As if it held but the might of a child; You almost pitied it, you, it worked so.
Tell him -- No, you may quibble there, For it would split his heart to know it, And then you and I were silenter.
What this Textopian page supports
The Letter is listed on Textopian as a poem by Emily Dickinson, dated 1894 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Emily Dickinson
- Date: 1894 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Romantic, Epistolary, Modernist
- Length: 279 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Letter by Emily Dickinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Letter?
- How does this poem by Emily Dickinson fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Poetry first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- Meditations In A Cemetery by Maxwell Bodenheim
- To I Heed Not That My Earthly Lot by Edgar Allan Poe
- Feast by Edna St Vincent Millay
- Love And Death by Lord Byron
- With A Flower by Emily Dickinson
- Pretty Love I Must Outlive You by Edna St Vincent Millay
Genres
- Poetry — The work is structured in verse form, utilizing poetic devices such as meter, rhyme, and imagery.
- Romantic — The themes revolve around love and longing, expressed through the metaphor of a letter conveying emotions.
- Epistolary — The poem is framed as a letter, with direct address and communication to an absent recipient.
- Modernist — The poem exhibits characteristics of modernist literature, such as fragmented syntax and introspective themes.
Tags
Poetry · Letter · Epistolary · Nature · Death · Love · Loss · Solitude · Mortality · Existentialism · Philosophy · Spirituality