In her poems, Emily Dickinson uses themes of nature and individual spirituality in connection with Romanticism and transcendentalism.

Characteristics of Romanticism in American literature include a strong emphasis on the individual, emotion, the natural world, and the imagination. Further, writers in the vein of Romanticism liked to experiment with forms and also tended to reflect on events particular to America.

The characteristics of transcendentalism overlap somewhat with those of Romanticism. Transcendentalists also focused strongly on individualism and the natural world, especially the spirituality of nature. They also sought simplicity in life and thought as well of self-reliance. Transcendentalists also tended to be quite critical of social institutions and to work toward social reform.

Natural elements are strong in Dickinson's “A Bird, came down the Walk—,” in which the poet reflects on the relationship between nature and humanity as well as the beauty of nature represented in the bird. The poet explores the spirituality of death with regard to the individual in “Because I could not stop for Death—” and “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died.”

Nature comes to the forefront again in “A narrow Fellow in the Grass.” Dickinson focuses on individual spirituality in “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church—,” echoing the transcendentalist skepticism of institutional religion. Finally, several of Dickinson's poems reflect on the American Civil War, including “It feels a shame to be Alive—,” showing the Romantic tendency to write about particularly American experiences.