Emily Dickinson is America's most beloved poet, even though her life and poetry are enigmatic even after 150 years of her death. This seminar will examine some of the 'theories of interpretation' concerning her poetry, e.g., Puritanism and Transcendentalism, against the background of her tragic life experiences and consider the nature of the poetry itself. The reading for the seminar is George Frisbie Whicher's 'This Was a Poet: A Critical Biography of Emily Dickinson.'