Welcome to a treasure trove of profound wisdom and poetic insight from one of America’s most enigmatic literary figures, Emily Dickinson. Renowned for her unconventional life and unparalleled poetic talent, Dickinson remains a beacon of inspiration and intrigue in the realm of literature. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1830, Emily Dickinson’s life was shrouded in mystery, her reclusive nature often fueling speculation about her motivations and inner world. Despite the limited recognition during her lifetime, her poetic brilliance has since garnered immense admiration and reverence across the globe.
Exploring the depths of human emotion and the complexities of existence, Emily Dickinson’s poetry transcends time and speaks directly to the soul. Her verses, characterized by their brevity and profound depth, offer poignant reflections on themes ranging from love and death to nature and spirituality. With each carefully crafted line, Dickinson invites readers into a world of introspection and contemplation, challenging conventional notions of poetry and offering fresh perspectives on the human experience. Below, you’ll find a curated selection of Emily Dickinson quotes, ripe for exploration and interpretation. Whether you choose to savor them in their original form, adorn them on images, or embellish them with stylish fonts, these timeless words are sure to resonate deeply with you.
Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed. Emily Dickinson
I dwell in possibility. Emily Dickinson
To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. Emily Dickinson
How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude! Emily Dickinson
Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent. Emily Dickinson
God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him! The charms of the heaven in the bush are superseded, I fear, by the heaven in the hand, occasionally. Emily Dickinson
I had no portrait, now, but am small, like the wren; and my hair is bold, like the chestnut bur; and my eyes, like the sherry in the glass, that the guest leaves. Emily Dickinson
After great pain, a formal feeling comes. The Nerves sit ceremonious, like tombs. Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all. Emily Dickinson
Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation, and the exponent of breath. Emily Dickinson
He ate and drank the precious Words, his Spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, nor that his frame was Dust. Emily Dickinson
If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves and immortality. Emily Dickinson
Whenever a thing is done for the first time, it releases a little demon. Emily Dickinson
Tell the truth, but tell it slant. Emily Dickinson
Fortune befriends the bold. Emily Dickinson
Sisters are brittle things. God was penurious with me, which makes me shrewd with Him. One is a dainty sum! One bird, one cage, one flight; one song in those far woods, as yet suspected by faith only! Emily Dickinson
They might not need me; but they might. I’ll let my head be just in sight; a smile as small as mine might be precisely their necessity. Emily Dickinson
I do not like the man who squanders life for fame; give me the man who living makes a name. Emily Dickinson
Finite to fail, but infinite to venture. Emily Dickinson
Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough. Emily Dickinson
We were never intimate mother and children while she was our mother – but… when she became our child, the affection came. Emily Dickinson
Saying nothing… sometimes says the most. Emily Dickinson
I argue thee that love is life. And life hath immortality. Emily Dickinson
Parting is all we know of heaven, and all we need of hell. Emily Dickinson
I’m nobody, who are you? Emily Dickinson
Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door. Emily Dickinson
In such a porcelain life, one likes to be sure that all is well lest one stumble upon one’s hopes in a pile of broken crockery. Emily Dickinson
Morning without you is a dwindled dawn. Emily Dickinson
If fame belonged to me, I could not escape her; if she did not, the longest day would pass me on the chase, and the approbation of my dog would forsake me then. My barefoot rank is better. Emily Dickinson
I have a brother and sister; my mother does not care for thought, and father, too busy with his briefs to notice what we do. He buys me many books, but begs me not to read them, because he fears they joggle the mind. Emily Dickinson
Old age comes on suddenly, and not gradually as is thought. Emily Dickinson
Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell. Emily Dickinson
People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles. Emily Dickinson
Fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate. Emily Dickinson
They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse. Emily Dickinson
Truth is so rare that it is delightful to tell it. Emily Dickinson
Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality. Emily Dickinson
I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven. Emily Dickinson
Forever is composed of nows. Emily Dickinson
Where thou art, that is home. Emily Dickinson
I am growing handsome very fast indeed! I expect I shall be the belle of Amherst when I reach my 17th year. I don’t doubt that I shall have perfect crowds of admirers at that age. Then how I shall delight to make them await my bidding, and with what delight shall I witness their suspense while I make my final decision. Emily Dickinson
Dying is a wild night and a new road. Emily Dickinson
Nature is our eldest mother; she will do no harm. Emily Dickinson
The brain is wider than the sky. Emily Dickinson
A wounded deer leaps the highest. Emily Dickinson
That it will never come again is what makes life sweet. Emily Dickinson
A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day. Emily Dickinson
To love is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. Emily Dickinson
It is better to be the hammer than the anvil. Emily Dickinson
If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. Emily Dickinson
The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience. Emily Dickinson
Behavior is what a man does, not what he thinks, feels, or believes. Emily Dickinson
Luck is not chance, it’s toil; fortune’s expensive smile is earned. Emily Dickinson
I never had a mother. I suppose a mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled. Emily Dickinson
To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few. Emily Dickinson
Beauty is not caused. It is. Emily Dickinson
My friends are my estate. Emily Dickinson
There is no Frigate like a book to take us lands away nor any coursers like a page of prancing Poetry. Emily Dickinson
If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. Emily Dickinson