The Garden and Gaol in I Tender My Flowers for Thee

Abstract

Emily Dickinson, one of the American literature pioneers in the 1830s, produced over 1700 poems featuring natural images throughout her entire life. Her thought-provoking poem I Tender My Flowers for Thee reflects a sharp contrast between ideal and reality, which has caught scholars’ attention and inspired in-depth interpretation of her works. Therefore, under the guidance of Embodied-cognitive linguistics, the paper studies the botany-related terms in I Tender My Flowers for Thee, explores deep connotation beneath simple images and dives in Emily’s garden as well as her gaol. It is found that the images exert a pivotal role in expressing her complicated feelings and values, rendering a distinctive perspective in the comprehension of Emily Dickinson’s poetry.