Emily Dickinson Lexicon

they (they'd, they'll, they're), pron. [ON; third person plural form borrowed into OE; see also their, theirs, them, themself, and themselves]

1. The ones previously mentioned [anaphoric reference; in 1/1 “they” refers back to the “bee” and the “flower”].
2. People in general; a non-specified group of people; a specific group of people from a certain place, time, or context relevant to the poem [exophoric reference; in 6/24 “they” refers to non-specified people not mentioned in the text].
3. The ones mentioned next [cataphoric reference; in 868/908 “they” refers forward to the “Darlings of the Soil”].