My Life Had Stood -- A Loaded Gun - Historical Perspective

My Life Had Stood -- A Loaded Gun - Historical Perspective

This poem was written by Emily Dickinson. She was a religious woman, who grew up in the 1800's. She grew incredibly homesick after having left home for school, and upon her return grew to live in almost complete isolation. While it is not sure of an exact date when this was written, we know it was produced before she passed.

Some people say that this was her way of discovering within herself that writing was her "gun" and when the trigger was pulled, she felt alive. As though she had accomplished something of importance. Some people feel the "gun" and the gun going off, was her doing things in the name of God. Which would have made sense because of her religious background at the time. Women were relatively oppressed at the time, and feminists have grown to believe this was Emily's way of being everything but a woman. The gun was unladylike, harsh, and cold, unlike Emily herself. 

For being a religious, unemployed recluse, all of these analysis make sense for the time period she was in. She was very insightful on people, even though she had very little interaction with them. She however learned through observation not to judge a book by it's cover, and she herself was a book of many words and pictures. Way beyond her historical time frame.