Despite being a prolific writer, Emily Dickinson's poems were never published during her lifetime, with the exception of four poems in a small regional collection. It was fortunate that her sister came across the bundles of loosely wrapped poetry soon after Dickinson's passing.

The first three volumes of Emily Dickinson's poetry were published posthumously in 1890, 1891, and 1896 under the editors Mary Loomis Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson. The whole collection is available as Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson. The collections, which include some of her most well-known poetry, were all met with enthusiastic reviews. Dickinson was ultimately acknowledged as one of the greatest poets and, without a doubt, the most well-liked in the twentieth century. Although Emily Dickinson's name is now a legend, she was never given the chance to experience fame and success in her lifetime. In reality, if she ever attained legendary status, it was not for her poems but rather for the way she lived. She gained local renown in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, for being an eccentric hermit who seldom ever left her house. She nevertheless had a profound understanding of life, love, nature, and death, as seen by her poems, and she appeared pleased with her position in life.