Table of Contents
Introduction 9
Chronology 13
Chapter 1 Background on Emily Dickinson
1 The Life of Emily Dickinson Ruth Miller 17
2 Death and Dying Surrounded Emily Dickinson Alfred Habegger 25
3 Dickinson's Obsession with Death John Cody 34
Chapter 2 Death and Dying in Emily Dickinson's Poetry
1 Death and Dickinson's Quickened Imagination David Porter 42
2 Dickinson's Connection of Death to Time Clark Griffith 48
3 Representation and Personification of Death in Dickinson's Poetry Thomas H. Johnson 59
4 Dickinson Affirms Vitality in Life and Death Robert Weisbuch 70
5 Dickinson's Gothic Poems Challenge Social Order Joan Kirby 80
6 Dickinson's Depiction of the Bereaved Is Varied Paul Ferlazzo 89
7 Death's Implications in a World Without Meaning Wendy Martin 96
8 Frost as Death in Dickinson's Poems Patrick J. Keane 103
9 Dickinson Explored Death Unflinchingly Bettina L. Knapp 112
10 The Freedom in Death and the Uncertainty of Immortality Jane Donahue Eberwein 123
Chapter 3 Contemporary Perspectives on Death and Dying
1 The Idea of "Stages" of Grief Is a Myth Russell Friedman John W. James 133
2 The Death of a Loved One Can Lead to Renewal Darlene F. Cross 140
3 Facing Death Puts Life into Perspective Randy Pausch 146
4 Western Approaches to Death Are Unnatural Maurice Abitbol 152
For Further Discussion 161
For Further Reading 162
Bibliography 163
Index 167