The Beauty of Amherst (1976) by William Luce (Summary)
When talking about the poets of the 19th century, one name that certainly comes up is “Emily Dickinson.” There is no denying that she was a very innovative poet of her time but everyone would agree that she was an insensitive woman. Describing her life through words doesn’t make it much easier for us, but seeing her life flash across the screen, right in front of our eyes, is something different.
“The Beauty of Amherst” was a 1976 play depicting the life of Emily Dickinson, using all available documents to highlight her life, her relationships with other people, the moments of pain and joy she encountered. The play is 90 minutes long and was a live broadcast of a one-woman performance, so the only star in the entire play was “Julie Harris” who played Emily Dickinson’s character and the others in the construction site.
As the play begins, the audience is invited to Dickinson’s home, Emily is seen as a fifty-year-old woman, who still has the innocence and vibe of a little girl. The discussion of her special black cake recipe is interrupted when Emily takes a trip down memory lane and tells her about her life, introducing herself as a poet, that she has ambitions to write poetry under her own name. her. She informs the audience that she has versed and published seven poems under an anonymous name. As Emily begins to speak, she seamlessly drifts in and out of her past, she doesn’t hesitate to familiarize the audience with all of her family members. As she brings back memories, her previous life is revealed like an open book. She slowly brings up each member of her family, she talks about her brother Austin with great enthusiasm and sympathy, her sister Lavinia is described as taking care of her like an older sister should, Emily shows mixed expressions towards her father, and lastly she seems being secretive with her mother, only expresses sketchy details about her.
As the play draws to a close, Emily expresses her unfinished goal in life to have her verses read under her own name and spread her words to people all over the world. Emily also states how Professor Higginson’s critical analysis of her poetry broke her heart, but she didn’t give up hope for her. When the play comes to an end, she invites the audience to visit her at another time to listen to her poetry and even comment on the black cake recipe.
This movie has really stood out and provided a perfect portrayal of a really responsive Emily Dickinson. Emily has written approximately 1,500+ poems and to showcase all of her poetry in one film would not be humanly possible. However, The Belle of Amherst has done enough justice to give audiences a full account of the nature and character of Emily Dickinson, her past endeavors, her family and friends, and shows her as a woman still determined who still waiting to write even more. poetry, this time under her own name.
Emily Dickinson, who was born on December 10, 1830, was the granddaughter of Samuel Dickinson, a man who founded Amherst College. So, it is very clear that she came from a learned family, she is described as a very civilized girl, Emily at an early age showed that she liked the “moosic”, it is what she called the piano at a younger age. that she had a particular endowment. As Emily grew up she was introduced to the verses of William Wordsworth, Benjamin Franklin Newton, a good friend of her father, was the man whose influence led Emily into the field of poetry and led to her career in it, she always spoke of Newton as his mentor
In her poetry, Emily brought together many themes, including flower gardens, where she is seen immersed in a dreamland, a fantasy. These poems were the actual expressions of her emotions, many of her poems were addressed to a certain Lord or Master, it could be guessed that he was one of Emily’s loved ones. Emily from a young age was familiar with the Bible, so many of her verses reflect themes inspired by the Gospel.
The few works of Emily that did make it to publication were often edited, Emily’s verses were truly unique, not following the usual poetic rules of that time. Emily Dickinson broke all those boundaries, writing untitled poems that had no rhyme and contained exceptionally unique punctuation. Emily continued to write poetry in private. Fewer of her works were actually published, those that were also not under her name, and although her close circles were aware of her writing skills, Emily made a name for herself after her death in 1886. .
The Belle of Amherst was an approximately 90-minute play by William Luce, directed by Charles Nelson Reilly. Julie Harris played fifteen different characters in the play, which was really amazing and earned her a Tony Award in the Best Actress category for the play.
Julia Ann Harris was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to a nurse, Elise L., and a banker, William Pickett Harris. Julie Harris has had a very successful career throughout which she has won five Tony Awards and three Emmy Awards, which she deserved. Julie starred in some famous movies like East of Eden (1955), Reflections in A Golden Eye (1967), her most notable role may well be that of Emily Dickinson in this play we are discussing. Julie Harris was the perfect choice to play Emily Dickinson, and she breathed new life into the character of the famous 19th century poet.
The play has been described by many as a perfect blend of Emily Dickinson’s poetry in the play’s dialogue, one could simply close one’s eyes and continue to be entertained by the flow of poetry along with the dialogue. The work is available on DVD and is a must if you want to enrich your eyes and mind with a sample of Emily Dickinson’s biography, a name that will live with her poetry. So don’t miss this, it would be a great addition to a movie collection and would enhance students’ insight, if played on campus, of Emily Dickinson’s character.
