King James Version

Emily Dickinson was exposed to the King James Version of the Bible at an early age, as it was read every day at her home, and it was a primary text at school. Indeed, Dickinson probably had more exposure to the Bible than any other work. Therefore, one can understand why, within Dickinson's poetry, there are more references to the Bible than to any other work. She mentions 38 of the 66 books of the Bible. Like the writings of the King James Version, her own style was very conjunctive and compressed, and she often used terms of antiquity found in the King James, such as "thou," or "thee." Cynthia Griffin Wolff says that; "The Bible is the only work that she consistently sought to undermine - God's only published work."