Emily Dickinson
Subtitle: daughter of prophecy
By: Beth Maclay Doriani.
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Amherst, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 230
Subjects: Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886 -- Religion; Women and literature -- New England -- History -- 19th century; Christian poetry, American -- History and criticism; Sermons, American -- History and criticism; Women -- New England -- Religious life; Prophecies in literature; Authority in literature
Description: How do women, historically excluded from the role of preacher because of their gender, gain authority to assume a prophetic voice? What rhetorical strategies can empower the woman who would claim the role of prophet?

In this book, Beth Maclay Doriani looks at the ways Emily Dickinson addressed these questions in the context of patriarchal nineteenth-century New England. She explores some of the central strategies Dickinson used to claim both poetic and religious authority and to join the ranks of the self-proclaimed prophets of her day - literary figures like Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman, as well as a host of preachers and other popular orators.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-224) and indexes.