...Emily Dickinson’s short poem “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” is, upon first glance, simultaneously mundane and complex. The speaker, for lack of much concrete evidence, it can be assumed is Dickinson herself. Very little is, in fact, revealed about the speaker; who is she? How old is she? How did she die? For the setting, the reader finds the speaker on her deathbed in her death throes surrounded by her friends and family. Where the speaker is exactly, and what time of day or year it is are not directly revealed. The audience is unclear; given that the speaker is speaking from beyond the grave – an unusual device that Dickinson uses in several of her poems, such as “Because I could not stop for Death”, in order imbue Death with an animate...
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...array of interpretations of death as well as Dickinson’s uncertainty as to what may come after Death and her questioning of the existence of God. Dickinson sees death in a very physical way; she chooses not to concentrate on the spiritual aspect or the anticipated arrival of “the King”. This is best shown in the opening line of “I heard a Fly buzz”, where we are immediately provoked by thoughts of decay and rot. She chooses to focus on physical aspects of the mourners such as their “eyes” and “breaths”. This is perhaps to focus on the painless death of the woman, as Calvinists believed that if someone suffered a peaceful death they would enter the Kingdom of God. Her use of an oxymoron in “that last onset” shows how she acknowledges the religious importance of death to others, as in 19th century America Christians believed that the “last” of someone’s life on earth was the “onset” of their eternal life in heaven. Death is thought to bring revelations as with it comes an exalted male figure of “the King” to be “witnessed”, yet this expectation and sense of ritual is undercut by the juxtaposition of “in the Room” and furthermore so by “the fly” which interposes and is all that appears in place of God. Dickinson focuses on the harsh realities of death in the fact that the dying can only “will their Keepsakes” yet their souls and character will be lost forever. This is emphasized by the manner in which the mourners conduct themselves. They seem to be putting on an act, shown...
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...Although the poets Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were alive around the same time, they had different interpretations of death in their poems. Both of the poems, “I heard a fly buzz- when I died” from Emily Dickins and “Song of Myself” from Walt Whitman, express their disparate perspective about the theme of death. In the two poems, the poets also have diverse approaches of conveying their conception of death. Which is either optimistically or depressingly. Consequently, it accentuates the differences of the mood in both poem and style of the authors. Emily Dickinson is most famous for her gloomy poems that illustrate the concept of death. For example, her poem “I heard a fly buzz- when I died” and “After Great Pain, A Formal Feeling Comes”....
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...Emily Dickinson “Because I could not stop for Death-” and “I heard a Fly buzz- when I died” Emily Dickinson has a very intriguing manner of writing. Exploring her poems, I realize she conveys her own obsession with demise. Many of her writings on this subject depict death in different ways. It is represented as a gentle metaphor or as a hopeless distraction. Dickinson portrays these contrasting views of death in her poems: “Because I could not stop for Death” and “I heard a Fly buzz- when I died.” Kreidler, Michele L. "Emily Dickinson "Because I Could Not Stop For Death." Literary Contexts In Poetry: Emily Dickinson's 'Because I Could Not Stop For Death' (2009): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 29 May 2014. Meyer, Michael. "The Study of Emily Dickinson." The compact Bedford introduction to literature: reading, thinking, writing. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. . Print Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death,” follows a woman’s passage from expiry into eternal life. The carriage that picks her up is a representation of immortality, while death is embodied as a gentleman that is taking a friend on a carriage ride. The driver “knew no haste” as they slowly drove. This personified version of death is kind and peaceful. As they continue on their trip, it is understood that death is a normal part of existence as they ride passed ordinary events of being; students playing, beautiful fields, and the setting sun. The conclusion of the poem...
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...experienced many deaths of people close to her, in which influenced her writing as a major reoccurring theme. Although Emily Dickinson wrote about death, she often times wrote about it in very odd ways such as death being eternal but also death as a state of life and this can be seen in her poems, “Because I could not stop for Death”, “I heard a Fly buzz”, and “I died for Beauty. Emily Dickinson writes the majority of her poetry during a period of stress because of the Civil War, which also influenced the depressing yet unique way of her poems. Her poem, “Because I could not stop for Death”, is an ironic allegory in which death is portrayed as a gentleman. In the first line she writes, “Because I could not stop for death/ He kindly stopped for me” (1-2) meaning that she is coming to meet death on his own terms. Usually death is shown as being unavoidable and all around evil, but Dickinson describes her carriage ride as, “I had put away/ My labor and my leisure too/ For His Civility,” (6-8). She describes death as being civil meaning that death was courteous and polite. The way that Dickinson capitalizes “His” gives that line a possible religious context as well because when writing about God, His name is always capitalized. The next line speaks of the many things she passes while riding in the carriage with death. “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—/ We passed the Setting Sun,” (11-12). The carriage ride with death seems to be everlasting as they even pass the setting of the...
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...famous American Poet who resided in Amherst Massachusetts, was born to a successful family who was thought of highly by many members of the community. Although, her reluctance to meet and greet people and her reputation of keeping to herself, made people think of her as strange and anti-social. Dickinson studied at the Amherst Academy in Massachusetts. However, even though Dickinson did not have many relationships with friends or people, this did not stop her from making the best out of her career. As a private prolific poet, Dickson was blessed with great success dealing with her poetry. She has had about one thousand eight hundred of her poems published in her life time, including After great pain, a formal feeling comes, and I heard a Fly buzz-when I died-; two poems which Dickinson is popular for today. These two poems strongly illustrate a theme of death and dying, to assist the reader understand and analyze the depth of this theme; Dickinson uses strong symbolism, tone, and figurative language throughout her works. Dickinson’s symbolism throughout these two poems is strong and magnificent. In After great pain, a formal feeling comes the author uses many objects to symbolize feelings having to relate with the major theme of death and dying. “The nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs” (line 2). Dickinson uses the comparison of the nerves to tombs because the tombs symbolize death, as well as stone and stiffness, which help the reader understand that the poem is relative to...
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...I heard a fly buzz - When i died The death in this poem is painless, yet the vision of death it presents is horrifying, even gruesome. The appearance of an ordinary, insignificant fly at the climax of a life at first merely startles and disconcerts us. But by the end of the poem, the fly has acquired dreadful meaning. Clearly, the central image is the fly. It makes a literal appearance in three of the four stanzas and is what the speaker experiences in dying. The room is silent except for the fly. The poem describes a lull between "heaves," suggesting that upheaval preceded this moment and that more upheaval will follow. It is a moment of expectation, of waiting. There is "stillness in the air," and the watchers of her dying are silent. And still the only sound is the fly's buzzing. The speaker's tone is calm, even flat; her narrative is concise and factual. The people witnessing the death have exhausted their grief (their eyes are "wrung dry" of tears). Her breathing indicates that "that last onset" or death is about to happen. "Last onset" is an oxymoron; "onset" means a beginning, and "last" means an end. For Christians, death is the beginning of eternal life. Death brings revelation, when God or the nature of eternity becomes known. This is why "the king / Be witnessed in his power." The king may be God, Christ, or death; think about which reading you prefer and why. She is ready to die; she has cut her attachments to this world (given away "my keepsakes") and anticipates...
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...“Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” “I Heard a Fly Buzz,” and “Death, Be Not Proud” speak on death. Emily Dickinson wrote both “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard a Fly Buzz.” John Donne composed “Death, Be Not Proud.” These poems, written over 200 years apart, show how people continually try to understand and process death. Dickenson and Donne used different rhyming patterns to express their thoughts on death. It seems that the only similarities that these authors share appears to be that they wrote about death and were both poets. Emily Dickinson wrote “Because I could not stop for Death” in 1863. Dickinson's poem was not published until 1890, twenty-seven years after it was written and 4 years after Dickinson died. Emily Dickinson spent her life living in isolation. Some consider this Dickinson's most famous poem. In this poem, Dickenson looks at death and the journey that “Death” goes on. Death passes a schoolyard, fields of grain, and the setting sun as it heads toward eternity....
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...I heard a Fly buzz-when I died I heard a fly buzz-when I died- The Stillness in the room Was like the Stillness in the Air- Between the Heaves of Storm- The Eyes around –had wrung the dry- And Breaths were gathering firm For that Onset-when the king Be witnesses-in the Room- I willed my Keepsakes-Singed away What portion of me be Assignable-and then it was There interposed a Fly- With Blue-uncertain stumbling Buzz- Between the light- and me- And then the windows failed- and then I could not see to see My interpretation My interpretation on this poem is simple, I really don’t have one. To me this was one of the more complex poems that I have read. I do have a slight idea of her meaning of the poem and what the characters mentioned represent. I read the comments made by other people and their interpretations and have a better understanding on the poem. Biography Born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson never lived anywhere but Amherst and lived the last years of her life a recluse, writing poetry. After her death, her sister found hundreds of poems Dickinson had written, got them published, and Emily Dickinson's reputation grew from there, making her one of literature's most renowned poets. Although Dickinson is highly deemed as one of the most prominent poets in the field of American literature, during her lifetime she was chiefly known as a gardener rather than as a poet She never married She wore only white dresses...
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...According to yourdictionary.com, "symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea." Instead of directly saying the obvious, writers use symbolism to enrich their poetry. It adds different aspects that will allow the poetry to be appreciated at different levels. In the poems, "Design" by Robert Frost and "I heard a fly buzz-when I died" by Emily Dickinson uses symbolism. They use specific objects throughout their poem to represent a deeper, darker feeling. The significant symbols in these poems are the spider and the fly. In the first poem, Robert Frost uses a spider to symbolize a picture that’s much bigger then what’s actually being depicted in the story; one that can be described as events that are beyond a person’s control, one that is known as fate. “I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,” (Frost). In the beginning of them poem, we are introduced with a spider. The spider isn’t your ordinary spider that one will see every day, instead it’s a white colored spider. When thinking of the color white, images of pure, clean and innocent come to mind. A white spider is quite unusual given that we don’t normally see this mixture everyday. At one point in the poem, Frost creates a scene where the white spider is eating a white moth on a white flower. What’s astonishing about this scene is that they all share a similar color. “What brought the kindred spider to that height, Then steered the white moth thither in the night? What but design...
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...society, and left to do what she loved to do, which was write. Dickinson witnessed a lot of hardships in her later years, including the deaths of many family members and friends. Witnessing so much death in her lifetime sparked her interest in the concept of mortality, and it appears as a major theme in many of her poems. Dickinson seemed to have many different ideas about the subject of death. Three poems that represent these different viewpoints on the subject are “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died,” “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” and “I felt a Funeral in my Brain.” Although all of these poems are about death, each of them represents it in a different way. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is a representation of one of Emily Dickinson’s views of death. This poem emphasizes the journey that one takes from life to eternity. This journey is represented as a carriage ride with death. Death in this poem is personified and appears as a kindly gentlemen who was courteous enough to stop for the narrator when she was too busy to stop for him. On the carriage ride, Death takes the narrator through scenes of her childhood. In lines nine through twelve, “We passed the School, where Children strove/ At Recess-in the Ring/ We passed the Fields of Grazing Grain/ We passed the Setting Sun.” Children and the school represent the narrator’s childhood. The fields of grazing grain symbolize the narrator’s middle age, and the setting sun symbolizes the narrator’s old age, as well...
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...Throughout many pieces of literature, the use of themes, rhetorical devices, and figurative language impacts the meaning of each piece. In The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop, Sonnet 57 by William Shakespeare, and I heard a fly buzz by Emily Dickinson, there are many examples. Some of the examples include the theme of love, the use of mood and tone. The theme of The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop is power. In the beginning of the poem it seems like the speaker has the power but as you read more you realize that the fish has most of the power. It is not a physical power but it is some power over her mind. “He didn’t fight. He hadn't fought at all.” (lines 5-6 Bishop) The fish didn't fight at all which makes it seem like the fishermen has all of the power....
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...A Vision In “I heard a Fly buzz”; Emily Dickinson expresses to her readers about the emotional instability she feels while on her deathbed. She has written several poems about death, but this one differs from her other poems because it is told from her perspective, in accordance with her final moments. The poem creates several powerful images that arouse various possible explanations. It is easiest to understand how the poem (and her death) unfolds by reviewing the poem stanza by stanza. However, before examining the actual context, it is also important to look at the form of the poem, which also plays a puissant role. First of all, and most noticeable, is the continual use of dashes, which adds a lingering essence, as if foreshadowing the death. The dashes also signify power and unanswered questions about death and, perhaps, whether or not an afterlife exists. Another aspect of the form is how it is broken up into stanzas expressing differing ideas in each one. By braking up such ideas, it is easier to analyze the varying aspects of death that Ms. Dickinson believes are imperative when expressing what she is feeling prior to her death. The first stanza starts off repeating the title, “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—“ (line 1). These words, though odd, are explained through the rest of the stanza, as the insignificance of the sound of a fly’s buzz is magnified, thus becoming extreme, compared to “The Stillness in the room” (2). This “Stillness” is then...
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...go on to write some of the greatest poetry of American literature. It is through these masterpieces that we can gain a glimpse into the world of Emily Dickinson, and better understand the extent of her seclusion and the reasons why during a time that was heavily dominated by Christian belief. The first example given to us by Dickinson is entitled, “340” or “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain”. With an opening line such as that, immediately the reader can infer from this that the author losing a part of herself. In the first stanza, the speaker can, “feel a funeral, in her brain” prompting the reader to think perhaps a part of her has died. Reading the second stanza, “My Mind was going numb-” also brings forth the idea that she is losing touch with a certain aspect of her mind. Within the third stanza, the line, “Then Space–began to toll,” brings to mind the “toll” of a bell. Usually the bell rings at the end of service, so Dickinson sticks with a church theme revolving around the funeral. However, instead of the bell beginning to “toll”, space does. Suggesting that an emptiness or “space” is taking over. With this in mind, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” brings forth and accentuates Dickinson’s feelings...
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...“I dwell in Possibility” by Emily Dickinson is a poem about all the opportunity poetry obtains. Throughout this poem, Dickinson elaborately compares poetry to an elegant house. It is noted that Dickinson is comparing the house to poetry in the second line where she stated “A fairer House than Prose” in which prose means the opposite of poetry. She states that she dwells in possibility meaning that she lives in all the possibility poetry has. The house has many windows which symbolizes the many visions and viewpoints that poems may acquire. She then goes off and talks about all the rooms the house has which shows the endless options and freedom there is. The house cannot be seen by eye, which helps support the idea of poetry being represented...
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