EMILY DICKINSON

EMILY DICKINSON

1830-1886

Emily Dickinson is regarded as one of America’s quintessential poets of the nineteenth century. She lived an introverted and hermetic life, and published very few of her poems in her lifetime. Her output, 1789 poems in all, were published posthumously. Her poetry is characterised by unconventional capitalisation and extensive use of dashes, along with unusual imagery and lyric style.

S.T.COLERIDGE

S.T.COLERIDGE

1772-1834

S.T. Coleridge was imaginative even as a child. He studied at Cambridge. In 1797, he met Wordsworth; the two belonged to the first generation of Romantic poets. Coleridge was responsible for presenting the supernatural as real and Wordsworth would try to render ordinary reality as remarkable and strange. Byron, Shelley and Keats belonged to the next generation of Romantic Poets. The genesis of this poem was a vision seen by Coleridge in a trance-like state of mind. He tried to capture its essence but an interruption caused an irreparable break in his poetic flow.

WILLIAM BLAKE

WILLIAM BLAKE

1757-1827

William Blake was a poet, painter and engraver. He abhorred the rationalism and materialism of his times. What he saw and painted were human beings beset with evil, yet striving for the divine within them. Blake’s lyrics appeared in two sets of volumes: Songs of Innocence (from which The Divine Image has been chosen) and Songs of Experience (from which The Human Abstract has been taken) representing the two contrary states of the human soul. Most of the poems in the first volume have counterparts in the second.

JOHN MILTON

JOHN MILTON

1608-1674

John Milton began writing poetry at the age of ten. After finishing his formal education at Cambridge, he read almost everything available in Latin, Greek, Italian and English. He was appointed Latin Secretary where he worked so hard that eyestrain, from years of late night reading, caused him to become totally blind at the age of forty- five. In the final years of his life he wrote (through dictation) Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.

JOHN DONNE

JOHN DONNE

1572-1631

John Donne was representative of the metaphysical poets of his time. He set the metaphysical mode by vibrancy of language and startling imagery, and a preference for a diction modeled on direct utterances. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic (later he converted to Anglicanism), and was Dean of St. Paul’s Church till his death. The total effect of a metaphysical poem at its best is to startle the reader into seeing and knowing what he has not really noticed or thought about before. Like all Donne’s poetry this poem too reflects an emphasis on the intellect and wit as against feeling and emotion.

BI SHU-MIN

BI SHU-MIN

Born 1952

Bi Shu-min has been serving her country, China, as a doctor for over twenty years. She also has a Master’s degree in literature from the Beijing Teacher’s College. Bi Shu-min is one of the best known writers currently working in China. Her works have been translated into many languages. She has won innumerable literary awards both in China and in Taiwan. ‘One Centimetre’ is a fine example of a mature artist working at the height of her powers.

JOSEPH CONRAD

JOSEPH CONRAD

1857-1924

Joseph Conrad, born of Polish parents in the Russian Ukraine, began a seafaring life in 1874. He learnt English at the age of 21, and in 1886 became a British citizen. His famous works include The Nigger of the Narcissus (1898), Lord Jim (1900) and Nostromo (1904). His greatest skill lies in his capacity to evoke an atmosphere through careful attention to detail. He uses the method of story within a story to convey his sense of the inexplicable inner character of life and the shifting quality of the mind. All Conrad’s characters suffer from a sense of isolation.