They shut me up in Prose
from „Emily – No Prisoner Be“
They shut me up in Prose is one of Emily Dickinson’s most well-known poems. Even today, it is still regarded as one of the most courageous works of its time. Written in 1862, it breaks with the rigid conventions and expectations of the 19th century, particularly those to which women were subjected at that time. Dickinson uses the concept of prose as a metaphor and contrasts it with the freedom of poetry and the imagination.
For Emily – No Prisoner Be, Kevin Puts translates Dickinson’s poems, such as They shut me up in Prose, into sensitive, poetic songs, performed by Joyce DiDonato, one of the greatest opera singers of our time, and the multi-award-winning string trio Time for Three.