The Only News I Know

“Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson (1890)

One of Dickinson’s most famous poems, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” describes a highly metaphorical encounter between the female speaker and Death, personified as a gentleman who invites the speaker into his carriage. The poem’s portrayal of Death as a familiar and not entirely terrifying figure is typical of Dickinson’s poetry, and the poem’s treatment of metaphysical concepts like death, immortality, and eternity resembles “The Only News I know.”

“The Soul selects her own Society” by Emily Dickinson (1890)

In “The Soul Selects Her Own Society,” Dickinson personifies the human soul in order to discuss the often arbitrary nature of personal feelings and biases. The poem likely represents Dickinson’s own reasons for social seclusion and reclusivity, but it may also symbolically examine the nature of an arbitrary and cruel God that privileges certain people at the expense of others.

“This is my letter to the World” by Emily Dickinson (1890)

As a social recluse, Dickinson had little to do with the outside world, and as “The Only News I know” illustrates, she rarely experienced life beyond her own home. In “This is my letter to the World,” Dickinson addresses her poem or “letter” to that outside world that “never wrote” (Line 2) to or knew her.