poetry texts, poem archive at plagiarist.com

i am confused by the meaning of both poems. what is she talking about?

On one level Emily might be talking about people who never go out and experience anything.

On another level she might be talking about the religious types that can not come to see anothers viewpoint because that would nulify everything they stand for.

We can not know what Emily was thinking. We can only see how her words stir us.

emily dickenson was talking about the dead waiting in their coffins and tombs until the resurrection (read the Bible) of God. They are undisturbed by the somewhat frivilous things of this world, and just await the coming of Christ, until then they will sleep in their "alabaster chambers".