Knowledge Bank

For decades, scholars have believed that Emily Dickinson viewed herself as "above economics." Yet, nearly 300 of her 1,800 poems employ the language of economics and engage in explorations of value. By reading her poems in the context of the 19th century American economy and the social rhetoric surrounding it, we see that Dickinson's poetry doesn't place itself above economics at all, but reveals the interesting ways in which we use economics to make decisions.