Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1830. Her father, Edward Dickinson, was a prominent lawyer in Amherst and a well respected trustee of Amherst College (Blankenship 576). Emily Dickinson was educated at Amherst Academy and, for only a single year, at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) under Mary Lyon (Hart 224). Emily Dickinson was considered to be a high-spirited and energetic young woman until her withdrawal from society in 1850. After her withdrawal, …showed first 75 words of 218 total…

…showed last 75 words of 218 total…poetry from the rest of the world. The two types of religions present in Emily Dickinson's life, Puritanism and Transcendentalism, had great influence over her poetry. Puritanism allowed Dickinson to remain grounded in her faith of God, while Transcendentalism permitted her to release herself from limiting conceptions of humanity which enabled her to view herself as an individual with an identity. To understand the complexities of Dickinson's works, her relation to religion must be examined.