“Whenever a thing is done for the first time, it releases a little demon” (Dickinson, n.d.). At first glance, this statement by Emily Dickinson conveys a negative attitude towards the unique and the new. However, upon a second interpretation, this quote manages to perfectly encapsulate the very essence of the Romantic era as well as Dickinson's immense influence on the literary schools of thought of the time. This essay will discuss this influence in detail. First, a brief explanation of the Romantic Era and a definition of Romanticism will be provided for the sake of context. Next, the forces at work in the Romantic era will be explained with reference to several of Dickinson's poems.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayIn simple terms, romanticism is “the establishment of human life on a pure basis of feelings” (Sreedharan, 2004: 128). For the romantic, the medium of feeling or emotion did not replace the medium of thought. Instead, the medium of feeling was the medium of thought. Historical context is essential when talking about the Romantic era. At this time, the world and more particularly the literary community experienced a surge of freedom in terms of ideas and schools of belief. One of the most prominent schools of thought was the reaction to the rationalization of science and the rise of individuality in artistic works. Such themes are evoked in Emily Dickinson's Wild Nights (Dickinson, 1999), a poem written at a time when women's liberation, particularly women's sexual liberation, was very taboo. In the poem, the speaker fantasizes about the nights she would spend with her lover. Aside from the short poem's blatant sexual connotations which are conveyed by words such as "our luxury!" (Dickinson, 1999: 1: IV), Dickinson's work also testifies to the changes experienced by the intellectual community at the height of Romanticism. One of these changes is the rise of individuality and personal perspective in literary works. The lines “No more with the compass – No more with the map!” » (Dickinson, 1999: 2: VI-VII) suggest that the poet, like a representative romantic intellectual, charts his own path without the aid of literary works that preceded him. And Dickinson's personal writing style and unique use of grammar speak to the Romantic emphasis on experimentation. For example, his poetry makes extensive use of hyphens, as seen in lines such as “Rowing in Eden –” (Dickinson, 1999: 3:IX) and “Ah – the sea!” (Dickinson, 1999: 3: X) in Wild Nights. What could be interpreted as a simple pause is instead Dickinson expressing the speaker's apprehension at the almost infinite liberation (the sea) that awaits him. In addition to its emphasis on feeling and emotion, the Romantic era also influenced individuals to focus less on rational experience and instead turn their attention to aesthetic experience. A major element of this experience was a new interest in nature; Fittingly, references to nature and all its wonders can be found in almost all of Dickinson's poems. His use of the sea as a metaphor for personal liberation in Wild Nights, Wild Nights, is just one glaring example. But Dickinson's use of natural imagery does not stop with the environment. She used animal imagery extensively in her poems in order to convey her themes. A good example would be the figure of a tiny bird as a representation of the persistence of hope in his poem “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”.