Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was a reclusive American poet known for her distinct and unconventional style. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and lived most of her life in seclusion, producing approximately 1,800 poems, many of which were published after her death. Her work is noted by its use of unconventional punctuation, slant rhyme, and a thorough exploration of themes such as death, immortality, and nature. Despite her solitary personality, Dickinson's poetry has had an enduring influence on American literature, known for its innovative and meditative elements.
Introduction – The Soul Selects Her Society
“The Soul Selects Her Own Society” is a poem written by, Emily Dickinson, in 1862. The poem has three stanzas with four lines in each stanza. It engages the slant rhyme of ABAB in each stanza. Lines in this poem have two units. The poem presents a character that is the “soul” and another represented by “divine Majority.” The poem dramatizes the actions and effects of the “soul” on the “society.” In this poem, the main theme of the poem is exclusion, demonstrating aspects of rhyme, imagery, and great symbolism.
'The Soul', she said in one of her most famous poems, 'selects her Society. Then-shuts the Door-'. Emily Dickinson's sister, Lavinia tried to defend her sister’s snobbishness by arguing that she was not withdrawn or exclusive.
In Stanza 3, Dickinson believes that she is the only that can confirm her utter faith in the life of alienation. She has blind faith in the power of her mind because it can function independently without any external interference in her life of seclusion. The 'Valves of her attention' gives the soul the desired power of concentration. The use of the valves denies the possibility of any interruption and disturbance.
Interpretation and Critical Analysis
Autonomy of Soul
Dickinson’s poems, state that the soul enjoys an autonomous status. She is free to select her society not governed by the code of the external society/world. Her regal dignity is highlighted in her aloofness. She would choose 'One' from 'an ample nation'. Paradoxically her 'One is her divine Majority', For Dickinson, the soul is more important than the whole world. According to her, the soul never allows herself to be distracted from her desired goal.
Nature of Isolation
Emily Dickinson's isolation was a tactical withdrawal. She has waited for the right person who could match her academically. Dickinson found most persons unrewarding and easily expelled them from her self-selected society. She would interact with her neighbors to help with her thinking process. Her aristocratic sense of class consciousness and hereditary entitlement is evident in this poem in which Dickinson's grand speaker 'shuts the Door on all but the select few: "I've known her - from an ample nation-\ Choose One then - close the Valves of her attention-\ Like Stone'. The poem also implies that isolation is confinement, too. Valves seen as doors reinforce the poem's house imagery, while stones responsible for creating walls separate the soul from the world and this might give the prison-like feeling. Withdrawal from society is essential for Dickinson and it shows that negative identity is a logical consequence in a poem like 'The Soul selects her own Society'.
Soul's Isolation
Here the soul is seen as a divine being absorbed in her own selected society. It shows the autonomy of the poetic persona in the creative act. She prefers to choose one from others to exert her distinct individuality. This reinforces the idea that an individual is more important than the crowd. The poetess loves to be absorbed in her society to enhance her creative potential. It further suggests that the alternative one is unwanted there. She is indifferent to other visitors and even the humble soliciting of the emperor fails to divert her attention. The air-tight closing of the valves leaves no room for any subsequent intrusion and diversion. It finally shows that the soul never allows herself to be distracted from her single pursuit.
Use of Narrator
The poem 'The Soul Selects Her Own Society' is written not in the usual first person of her love poems, but in the detached and meditative third person figure of the first two stanzas, but the close examination shows that it is Dickinson herself, or the speaker of the poem, seen from a distance.
Themes
Some critics think that the theme of the poem is the union of the soul with the muse or with God, rather than with a lover. The idea of a spiritual union with a beloved person is more explicitly shown in several poems, but none is as brilliant as 'The Soul Selects' her society.
Exploration of the Mind
The poem glorified the power of voluntary isolation. The soul resides within a space symbolized by a door, gate, and mat. Being an exclusive study of the soul, the external world is kept outside.
Technique or Structure
The alternating short-long lengths of the poem's lines, concluding in the two-syllable lines of the last stanza, parallels well with the closing lines. Rich in sound effects, including alliteration, rhyme, and modulation of vowels, this is one of Dickinson's greatest successes in poetic technique.
Diction and Language
Dickinson makes use of domestic vocabulary which consists of door, low gate, and mat, and suggests her dwelling as not a grand palace but rather a simple house.
Use of Images
In the first stanza, the image of the closed door shows the utter finality of her choice. The image of valves closing like a stone adds to her loneliness and exclusiveness. They show the soul's invulnerable control. The image of the impenetrable, unfeeling stone reflects the soul's attitude toward other claimants for her affection. Her 'Mat' suggests her living a life of alienation as a nun.
Emily Dickinson is very selective in her choice of a companion. She prefers the company of a single person rather than a group of persons with whom she can interact in isolation. The poet stresses the exclusiveness of friendship, the highly selective quality of affection.
She is also highly selective in the choice of her society. She does not wish to have more than one or two companions in her isolation. She shows no desire to widen her circle of friends because it would make her isolation unbearable. Moreover, the unlimited company can damage her creative potential by disturbing her concentration of mind. The opening lines depict the soul's critical examination of the 'ample nation' for a suitable society. She has come of spiritual and emotional age and no longer needs to 'present' herself to the world. The soul is visualized as a divine queen in her society. Also, it is a society away from the traditional society.
In the second stanza, Dickinson is always in favor of forming a bond of friendship with one or two persons only. She feels more comfortable in a limited than an unlimited company. She is limited to owning her world which is isolated from the outside world.
The soul is indifferent to other visitors. She observes royal persons arriving in chariots, but she would not be fascinated even if an emperor expected her attention. It is not the status, kingly or divine, but the quality of the mind that can suit her creative urge. Dickinson's select company may represent people in general or prospective suitors.
In the last stanza, the shift to the first person shows Dickinson quietly reveling in the strength of her renunciation. The ample nation is everyone available to her. The chosen one is the beloved whose spirit she lives with or has perhaps taken into herself by the power of imagination. 'Valves of her attention' gives the soul the power of concentration. 'Stone' represents its complete rejection of the rest of the world. The last two lines intensify the idea of seclusion and concentration. The use of valves denies the possibility of any intrusion and distraction.
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