Though I would much rather write about how Emily Dickinson’s poems often seem to go along to the tune in the theme song of “Gilligan’s Island,” it would be rather hard to reason why this was because of the fact that the television show came on much, much later than when Dickinson’s poems were published. Instead, I shall write about how many of her poems could be read to “Amazing Grace” which is much easier to relate to Dickinson because it was most defiantly around when Dickinson was writing her poems.
I do not find it all that surprising that a common tune in her poems was a hymnal because of her family background. She was raised in New England by wealthy Calvinists. It is no stretch to say that since her father was a Calvinist, she was also one, due to the fact that women had little freedom, even in the choice of their religion. Given the fact that she grew up hearing this hymnal, it comes as no surprise that she uses it to base some of her poems off of in terms of rhythm. It was something that she was very familiar with and one that many people would also be familiar with. This allowed for more people to enjoy her poetry because they would be able to read it to a tune that they heard all of the time when they went to church.
The ability to read literature to a beat or rhythm also allows the writer to impart more meaning and feeling without adding any more words. I can see how this would appeal to Emily Dickinson because she was a writer that was very concerned and careful how she worded things so that all of the feeling she was trying to express would come out in a meaningful and eloquent way. By choosing “Amazing Grace,” she gives the poem more of a smooth and mellow feeling while different tunes could help her express everything that she is trying to get across to the reader.
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