Abstract
Thornton Wilder signals the resemblance between Emily Webb in Our Town and the American poet Emily Dickinson through their shared first names, their appreciation of the beauty of everyday life and common objects, their expressions of wonder and awe over the moon, the stars, and the night sky, and their presentations of dialogues among the dead. Reinforcing this intertextuality, this article examines significant lines of congruence—expressions of astonishment at heavenly bodies, the wish by both women to give public speeches, biographical links between Wilder and Dickinson, and the crucial importance of wonder at the everyday as the source of Emily Webb’s insights in Our Town and in many of Emily Dickinson’s poems. Both Emily Webb and Emily Dickinson speak to all of us, urging us to notice, in a loving manner, seemingly ordinary objects, and to enjoy everyday life fully. Moreover, this moral imperative for wonder at the everyday unites Emily Dickinson and Thornton Wilder.
