One need not be a Chamber- to be Haunted: Poet & Context

Poet: Emily Dickinson

American poet born in 1830, writing in the late-19th-century.
Lived much of her life in reclusive isolation, with many of her works published posthumously.
Recognised for her unusual use of form and syntax, her poetry often explores themes of death, immortality, and the self.

“One need not be a Chamber- to be Haunted”: Contextual Insights

Dickinson likely wrote the poem in the 1860s, during a period of intense creativity for her, yet also a period of social and self-imposed isolation.
Embraces Gothic tradition of horror and the supernatural, but with a psychological twist: the haunting is internal and mental, rather than physical and external.
Although unconfirmed, some interpretations link the ‘haunting’ in the poem to Dickinson’s own struggles with introversion and possible depression.
Never titled by Dickinson, the poem is commonly referred to by its first line
Some interpretations suggest the poem deals with themes of mental health, a topic not widely discussed or understood in Dickinson’s time.