Faith God And Skepticism In The Poetry Of Emily Dickenson
Emily Dickinson employs the theme of faith in some of her poetry, but it is not an unquestioning faith. Her writing reveals the strength of her convictions, but also calls into question the beliefs of others. Dickinson not only scrutinizes other people, but the need for a church at all. While it is not directly stated, the overall mood of the poetry is that it is necessary to question certain aspects of religion in order to understand one’s beget relationship with God.
In her poem “‘Faith’ is a stunning invention,” Dickinson calls attention to the friction between science and religion. She states that it is a “heavenly invention/For Gentlemen who peek!” (Dickenson 1-2). The tone of these two lines is a mocking one. It is all well and good to have faith when one takes things at face value, but said faith can be shaken upon closer inspection of the world. People rarely believe that anything is as it seems, and proof of any sort is demanded. This is where the “microscopes” advance into play (Dickinson 3). To Dickinson, faith and fact have divided the nation and herself. One school of thought attributes anything and everything in nature to God, while the other takes a more clinical approach.
The poem also talks about the duality of faith, and with duality comes hypocrisy. The “splendid invention” is the façade of piety to draw attention away from, or cover up completely, inappropriate behavior (Dickinson 1). Those that flaunt religion in such a way are quick to find fault in others, and quicker to condemn the actions of others to again draw attention away from themselves. The “emergency” Dickinson mentions is when this particular brand of faith is called into question, prompting others to retrieve their “microscopes” for the inspection of the soul (3-4).
The poem “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church” follows this theme of religious skepticism, but it is directed toward the church establishment itself rather than personal faith. The mood of the poem is one of self-satisfaction. Dickinson seems rather proud of herself for maintaining a relationship with God outside of the confines of organized religion. She has developed an institution of her own, using nature as her guide. She walks readers through each of her replacements: “a Bobolink for a chorister/and an orchard for a dome” (Dickinson 3-4). To her, there are no better substitutes for a so-called house of God than His own creations. There is no need for a clergyman to preach of God’s existence when it is evident in everything that humans interact with.
The pomp and circumstance of church proceedings seems to disgust Dickinson on some level. She scoffs at the idea of formal clothing and clerical uniform by saying that she “just [wears her] wings” (Dickinson 6). In the book of Matthew, chapter 11, verse 28, Jesus says “Come unto me all who are heavy laden.” This means that anyone and everyone is welcome in church just as they are. They need not adorn themselves or wear anything special because it won’t garner them any more of God’s favor.
Dickinson follows this passage very closely, coming before God just as she is, and does not fright being looked down upon for doing so. Instead, one gets the feeling that she pities those who put on saintly airs and fancy clothes; those who judge church a place to see and be seen rather than a place of sacrament and worship.
With this line of thinking, Dickinson is careful not to allow herself to feel superior to those she pities, because that would make her as hypocritical as they are. Instead, the end of the poem feels confident and serene: “So instead of getting to Heaven, at last/I’m going, all along” (Dickinson 12). One can almost see Dickinson nonchalantly shrug her shoulders as she speaks these lines. There is a sense that she is grand happier cutting out the “middle man” of the church clergy to forge a truly personal relationship with God. Not going to an actual church doesn’t make her any less Christian, nor does it make her more of one. Rather, it makes Dickinson reflect more upon her faith and convictions so that she can more fully understand God’s intention for her and her course through life.
“The Brain- is wider than the Sky” returns to the debate between science and religion, but not in such a malicious manner as seen in “Faith is a fine invention.” Instead, Dickinson merely suggests that there are some things that humans must accept on faith because science is incapable of explaining them; in this case, the human brain. There is a feeling of wonder in the poem as Dickinson describes the power of imagination and the absorbing of knowledge.
When she compares the brain to the sky, she says “[the] one the other will contain/With ease” (Dickinson 3-4). This suggests that the power of imagination is endless and is effortless to control. One can sit at home and with no struggle imagine a perfect blue sky a stormy one. For Dickinson, to be able to fit something so vast as the sky into something so miniature as the brain is tantamount to a miracle. Imagination is something that science can neither prove nor disprove, so it is a stamp of God’s existence and power over humans.
The comparison of the brain to the ocean is equally impressive, saying that the brain will “bear [it]/As Sponges-Buckets-do” (Dickinson 8). This is a testament to the brain’s power to gain, and retain, knowledge. Though, the comparisons to sponges and buckets seem inadequate to the proper capabilities of learning. The word “buckets” seems like an attempt to find a better comparison; because buckets can most certainly contain more water than a simple sponge, it seems a better simile for the brain, yet it still falls woefully short.
But why stop at buckets? Why didn’t Dickinson go on to compare the brain to bathtubs or swimming pools? Perhaps she wanted to keep the poem a concise length, or she wanted to sustain the comparisons from getting ridiculous and difficult to grasp. Sponges and buckets are common household items and easier for most readers to catch and relate to the lofty idea Dickinson is attempting to convey.
The last comparison Dickinson makes is the most remarkable: “The Brain is just the weight of God” (9). It seems a rather radical claim to make, saying the brain is equal to God, though it’s not entirely out of the limits of reason. Nothing science had produced then, or has produced now, has come cessation to the complexity and power of the human brain. It truly is a marvel, and may be proof of a higher power.
Dickinson’s poetry does not engage a side in the debate between fact and faith. Rather, it presents arguments from both sides and implores the reader to come to his or her own conclusion. She also uses her poetry to gain an inner dialogue with herself about the place of her own relationship with God and how she can improve upon it, with or without the use of science. It is rather anti-climactic, to not come to a conclusion at all, let alone one that supports either argument, but the vague directions that the poems point readers to force the audience to contemplate their own faith.
Works Cited
Dickinson, Emily. “‘Faith is a fine invention’, ‘Some keep the Sabbath going to Church,’ ‘The Brain-is wider than the Sky.’” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol. C. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 80, 81, 88. Print.
New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2006. Print.
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