Emily Dickinson: A Pictorial Artist

Every poet, painter or artist has his own vision towards life. But as far as it is about Emily Dickinson’s vision towards life, it is penetrating, pinching and peculiar. The reason may be her poetic genius was for her self satisfaction of her soul and poetic insight. Poetry for her was not a matter of only the expression of poetic genius but she wanted to relieve the burning genius within herself. No doubt Keats and Wordsworth are the landmark in the history of English poetry for their sensuous pictorial art. Certainly, Emily Dickinson does not stand far from them. No less than Keats Emily Dickinson has a peculiar vision to observe objects quite minutely. She possesses her definite place in English poetry for her keen and meek pictorial description. Association with imagination and aesthetic value in the process of composition characterizes her art. She is a poet painter. Many of the images are so vivid that they suggest a definite picture to our mental eye. The natural association of literature and painting is a clue to her poetry. In the pictorial quality of her verse, heightened by the fact that she used the fine as well as trifil objects for validating her experiences. Pictorial art is not only to communicate ideas, feelings, emotions, thought etc. but also to keep record of culture, tradition and change in social conditions. The different areas where pictorial art is used or known are – painting, sculpture, religion, philosophy, logic, mathematics, ‘Tantra’ myths and poetry. Pictorial art is a reality contained within the nature of things. Pictorial art reflects both Divine transcendence and Divine immanence. It refers to both, the universal aspect of creation, and the particular aspect of tradition. The entire journey in nature and divinity (God) is a journey in pictorial art, in which one is constantly aware of the highest reality within things. Pictorial art is an outcome of the sensation and the impact which an artist feels or catches on his sensibility. Any phenomenon which may be a routine for a laymen or a passer-by can afford a high aesthetic pleasure to the poet or artist. It is so because the imaginative faculty of that artist is uplifted and grown up. His creative impulse compels him to reproduce it in his own way. The one single side can afford different impulses according to the different sensibilities of different artists. So, there is the variety in art and poetry. The same sunrise, trees, birds, clouds, flowers and even rivers may be described differently by the different artists according to their mental state. Each romantic poet described nature, but with each, the description was different. All of them have their different individualities in picturising nature. The word ‘poetry’ is taken from the Greek Word ‘Poiesis’. Its meaning is a “making” or “creating”. Thus, poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for it’s aesthetic and evocative qualities together with the apparent meaning. Poetry may well be defined as the art of telling untold truth. A good poem truly lies somewhere beyond mere words. Poems are an act of discovery, and require immense effort to be written, and to be understood. A poem is something unique to it’s composer. Discussing pictorial art in poetry is one of the most significant modes of comprehending and expanding pictorial art. Outcome of poetry helps artist to give expression to his ideas and abstract thoughts. His colourful feeling have no bar to be explored in a better way. Indian classical music and it’s ‘Ragas’ are the best examples to clarify the urge of man to put nature and it’s reality into poetical pattern. ‘Raga’ in it’s primary sense is a combination of notes which creates a mood such as joy, gaiety, yearning. ‘Raga’s’ wives are called ‘Raginis’ certain ‘Ragas’ are to be sung only in certain seasons while others are sung only at a particular time of the day. This selection of particular ‘Raga’ in particular season and time of day was due to pictoriety prevailed in wide nature. Ancient Musicians did so to enhance the originality of ‘Ragas’ and to make them more authentic in description of time and nature about which they are being sung through the ‘Raga’. Pictorial art is quite obvious in Indian classical music. Pictorial art is a language much easier to learn and understand in order to express the spiritual reality. Pictorial art attempts to capture the three dimensional structure of a scene. Even more than this, the poet fills the time sequence as the fourth dimension. The artist’s goal is to convey his message about the world around us as well as a glimpse about the working of his mind and the soul. As for a painter, the pictorial clues are abundant in nature for his working on canvas with colours and brush. So, also for a poet, they are ample for him to portray them in word-picture on his imaginative canvas. The real scenic phenomena form different visions from artist to artist. Sometimes, the artist gets away with nature’s real colours and shades, perspective or a line for demarcation or discontinuity in a landscape. Yet in spite of this difference the phenomenal unity and integrity exists. Thus, the pictorial pieces of different artists tell us a great deal about the variety in the working of the mind and the vision of the artist. The pictoriality of nature is expressed with colourful and sensuous words and icons by offering us a glimpse into the code of his thought and vision metaphorically, figuratively and symbolically. The special images with lights and shades do offer three dimensional pictures to a reader. There are many characteristics of pictorial art. To compose an excellent work of pictorial art, these characteristics perform a very important role. There characteristics works as a tool to give a perfect impact and effect on expression of the feelings and emotions of the artist. The first and basic characteristic of the pictorial art is its figurative quality the second characteristic of pictorial art is its perceptibility. This implies that something which is intrinsically invisible ideal or transcendental is made perceptible in the picture and is in this way given objectivity. The third characteristic of pictorial art is its innate power. This implies that the picture has a power inherent within it that distinguishes it from being mere a scene or sight. This characteristic is the most important of all as it gives the picture and the reality which it has almost lost in its ordinary usage. Words, colours, shapes and shades become symbolic in character. The usage of words, colours, shapes and shades is intrinsically invisible and is intended to bring out by the artist. In this course of evolution, the technical adaptation of a painter in this process is according to use of his free will like as in poetry the metaphor, imagery, symbolism with contrast and manipulation of language. Finally, the fourth characteristic of pictorial art is its acceptability. This implies that the feelings, emotions, thoughts, imagination, sense of beauty in all human beings are supposed to be granted by one – another. Emily Dickinson draws her pictures with apt and accurate words in place of a brush. But her pictures have convincely all the qualities of a picture that can be drawn on a canvas beautifully. She uses words precisely and spontaneously penetrating. Pictorial art is a medium through which she, as an artist expresses her feelings, emotions, sentiments, ideas, imaginations. Pictorial art is an effective source by which she conveys her message and brings into limelight various crucial problems of human heart and perpexilities of mind. Beauty of each object of nature and abstract ideas is like a product that she sells best. Her chief commitment to poetry was self-revelation. She constantly evoked the epiphany of the self through pictorial art to make it the focal point of her poetry.