Early Life
Emily was Born on 10th December, 1830, in the town of Amherst (50 miles from Boston, centre for education, based around Amherst College) Massachusetts. Her family was well known for educational and political activity; their house known as “The Homestead” or “Mansion” was often used as a meeting place for distinguished visitors. Emily’s father, an orthodox Calvinist, lawyer and treasurer of the local college, was strict and keen to bring up his children in the proper way. His strictness was expressed through his censorship of reading materials. As a young child, Emily was able to create many original writings of rhyming stories, delighting her fellow classmates.
Young Age
Emily was educated at Amherst Academy (1834-47), where she studied French, Latin, history, geology, botany, and philosophy. In 1847 Emily left for South Hadley, to attend the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Emily was a bright conscientious student. However, her studies were often interrupted by ill health. After a persistent cough developed, her father decided to bring her back home. All in all she spent at seminary less than a year. Around 1850 she started to compose poems - "Awake ye muses nine, sing me a strain divine,/ Unwind the solemn twine, and tie my Valentine!" she said in her earliest known poem, dated March 4, 1850. It was published in Springfield Daily Republican in 1852. …
