If you have seen the film A Quiet Passion write a brief review of the film saying how it has opened your eyes to the kind of poet Emily Dickinson was.

The film A Quiet Passion is a visual depiction of the life of an iconic American poet, Emily Dickinson. Unrecognized for her writing during her life, Dickinson was a prolific poet who had fewer than a dozen works published while she was alive. The first volume of her poetry was published four years after her death in 1886. Starring Cynthia Nixon, the film pays homage to Dickinson and her profound influence on 19th century American literature. Set in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, the film is a recount of her life as it has been documented and captures the essence of the woman behind the poetry. The powerful sentiments of her works are prevalent throughout the film and Dickinson is portrayed as a strong-willed, opinionated, defiant and captivating woman with a mindset ahead of her time with. 

Unlike her mother, who represented the passive wife of a domineering husband, Dickinson was provocative in her expression and would often challenge societal standards and gender conventions. She was unafraid to acknowledge topics of injustice such as the realities of the civil war and slavery. Undeniably a revolutionary writer she was unafraid to press for truth, challenged the social norms and was immersed with matters of the soul. Dickinson lived a reclusive life yet she wrote with such conviction, insight, and wisdom about relevant themes including nature, love, pain, marriage, suffering, God, religion, death and immortality.  

The portrait of her life captures the sensitive, vulnerable, inspiring and authentic poet who sits in the candlelight, alone with only her thoughts, as the rest of the world sleeps. Her art is in her ability to project her thoughts, emotions, struggles, and sadness as she experienced loss, grief and isolation. The delicately voiced poems recited throughout the film connect the viewer to her emotional state in the passage of time.

A Quiet Passion illustrates the reality, truth and life experience which inspired the innovative words and poems the world has come to love. This film amplifies my personal appreciation, not only for the beautifully crafted poems, but also the author’s personal struggle, internal afflictions, and challenges which she had to overcome. It is fair to say that Emily Dickinson had a unique point of view and was one of the first feminists of her time.

Work Cited

Image sourced from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/a-quiet-passion-and-the-fate-of-the-furious