Emily Dickinson Quiz

She was born in 1830 and lived in Massachusetts. She died at age 55.

She often found herself engrossed in the natural world and especially plants -- she was known as an active gardener for much of her life.

Higginson, editor of Atlantic Monthly, published a plea for new writers to submit their work. Emily sent him four poems, and it started a lifelong mentorship and friendship.

She met her primary editor only twice in her life. That probably suited Higginson, who found Emily's intensity overwhelming.

Her father was a prominent politician who served in Congress, and her brother was an attorney.

After briefly attending a seminary school, Dickinson retreated to a reclusive lifestyle in which she rarely saw other people, thus the nickname Queen Recluse.

Because her father was so well-known and well-connected, people stopped by at all hours of the day, and Dickinson was expected to play a role in this social circus, something she clearly was not cut out for.

She wrote nearly 2,000 poems, but fewer than 12 were published during her life.

Dickinson assembled her poems into handmade, handwritten fascicles, slender volumes of carefully organized work.

Dickinson's poems are strewn with dashes meant to control the flow of her work. She used dashes in strange, unique ways, sometimes even making vertical dashes.

Dickinson defied religious norms and grew more distant from her religious childhood as she grew older.

Newton was a young attorney who worked for Dickinson's father. He introduced young Emily to new poets that she learned to appreciate.

She may have been a recluse who wrote dark poetry, but she wore almost nothing but white. Only one of her dresses survives.

Dickinson fell in the "without hope" category, summing up her feelings about religion in general.

She frequently employed the use of trimeter, in which lines consist of three iambic feet (an iamb is a foot containing an unaccented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable).

Emily was appreciative of his insights and incorporated some of his advice into her work. She even credited him with saving her life once, although no one was quite sure what that meant.

The brown Newfoundland dog was named Carlo, after the dog that appeared in "Jane Eyre," one of her favorite books.

Carlo lived to the ripe old age of 17, long enough to leave a lasting mark on Emily's life. Carlo made numerous appearances in her work and in her letters.

Dickinson explored all avenues of the mind, and the inconclusive nature of many of her poems leaves readers to explore their own minds as well.

Even though she rarely encountered kids, Dickinson enjoyed children. In true Queen Recluse nature, she would lower treats to children using a rope and basket dangling from a second-story window.

She was not keen on housework and was used to servants doing most of the family chores. Emily was, however, quite skilled at baking.

She withdrew to the point that she would speak to some visitors without even opening the door, all the better to shorten their conversations.

She would press flowers and send them along with her writing. In one instance she claimed that they enjoyed the flowers more than her poems.

She died from kidney disease. At the end of her life she was no longer really editing or organizing her work.

Her first volume wasn't published until 1890 … four years after she died. The last volume was published in 1955.

Her father died from a stroke, and her mother's stroke left her disabled. Emily was left to help care for her mother, with whom she had a distant relationship.

Dickinson became so reclusive that she never left the property. She didn't set foot off of the lawn in the last 20 years of her life.

A careful researcher used physical evidence to reassemble the handwritten packets that the poet created. In 1981, he published a volume of poems in the correct order.

Some critics were bemused; others seemed to like her work. In the 20th century, critics began to see Dickinson as a visionary artist and she is now regarded as one of the best literary minds in history.

Emily had ordered her sister to burn most of her letters, which is exactly what happened. The lost letters may have helped scholars understand many unanswered questions about Dickinson's life.