An undated letter from Emily Dickinson to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, ca. 1880.

Dear Friend, -- No “sonnet” had George Eliot. The sweet acclamation of Death is forever bounded.

There is no trumpet like the tomb —

The Immortality she gave

We borrowed at her grave.

For just one plaudit famishing,

The might of human love.

Beautiful as it is, its criminal shortness maims it.

Citation Information
Dickinson, Emily, “Emily Dickinson letter to T.W. Higginson,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/8554e9eee6046e276bdfdea56e95869d.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of Amherst College Archives & Special Collections via Digital Commonwealth.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
  • the author's purpose
  • historical context
  • audience