emily dickinson's poetry

Because of her uncontrollable fascination with mortality, Emily Dickinson has been dubbed the "Epic of Curiosity" by a number of academics. Dickinson became known as the "poet of shadow" as a result of this preoccupation. She investigates death from every perspective imaginable – as the chivalrous lover, the outrageous hit guy, the bodily corruptor, or the free agent. The poet was reportedly fascinated with the subject of death and life after death. It is heinous that she expressed death in all of her everyday activities. Although death has been the topic for scrutiny for several literary artists and philosophers for a long period of time, Dickinson prudently stigmatized himself from others by expressing it in a rather special way. Consequently, she explored death as a captivating, fantastic and puzzling occurrence rather than highlighting it in ancient mundane appearance. Furthermore, she expressed the theme of death to the degree that it occupied a quarter of her poetry. Emily Dickinson’s poetry work comprises diverse descriptions of death that entail emotional feedback to the human bodies’ into perpetuity, insaneness or nothingness. Her poems’ authority has its roots from the elegant utilization of literary devices and techniques to give symbolism to demise and obscurity of meaning that enables diverse perspectives of these journeys. Although, these ideas highlighted by Dickinson may appear conflicting at times, they all stress her notion that there are numerous forms of demise. Death is the fundamental and melancholic concern of Emily Dickinson’s poetry work.The paper will shed light on the point of views of the theme of death in the poetry of Emily Dickson.

Background

Dickinson Homestead highlights the place where the poet spent majority of her life. It would be impossible to narrate that the famous American poet spent a staggering fifteen years on Pleasant Street. While around this street, she occasionally watched funeral parades passing via her home and proceeding to the cemetery. Undeniably, she was reminded of death often and thus may have commenced thinking on her own demise and what may arrive after it. Dickinson & Press (2006) presume that this sense of doom eventually stirred her crave in writing poems of the themes of death. Typically, Dickinson live a certain form of life in an era where medical science was less explored and that people died from non-sophisticated signs and symptoms of the illness(Dickinson & Press, 2006). Hence, she was severally confronted with the sequence of human survival, from birth to demise and demise again. Dickinson attempted to capture this tragedy of human life via her poetry.

Wang (2015) narrates that Emily Dickinson experienced numerous tragic deaths of her close colleagues which typically subjected her to live an antisocial and melancholic life. Prior to writing poems, Emily lost some of her close parents and schoolmates such as Samuel Bowles, Rev. Charles Wadsworth, Otis Lord, and Josiah Holland(Wang, 2015). Moreover, she lost her lovely nephew Gilbert that triggered an emotional suffering in her life. She revealed in a letter that the consistent deaths were too much to bear such as The Civil War. The latter claimed the lives from a number of great young persons and this backed up the Emily’s thoughts on the theme of death. Writing poetry based on the subject of death was therefore her strategy to tolerate the loss of her beloved persons and dilemma between the belief in eternal life and the physical interpretations for death and what occurs after it.

Body

According to Khaangku (2011), "I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain " highlights a differing interpretation of the theme of death by Emily Dickinson in her poetry work. Nonetheless, the poem implies an internal death at the expense of a physical one. The audience can interpret that in the poetry work, Dickinson is conversing about her own demise. Although this process is defined as an actual funeral, all the events are similar to what appears her emotional deathKhaangku (2011). Earlier, her mind grows to be a dazed one and she hears irrelevant sounds till a bell began to toll. Then, a feeling of loneliness and silence surrounds her. Lastly, she imagines as if she were in a boat that entails the breakdown of a plank and she falls down and smashes the universe. As expounded, this poem sheds light on Dickinson’s belief that a person can die on numerous occasions and that the actual death is not the solitary form of death, nor the worst. Whitcomb (2016) offers an overview of the theme of death in Dickinson poems. Nevertheless, the consistent allusion to repetitive sounds that torment the poet assist to stress the emotional suffering, anguish and the troubling hyperesthesia that she is exposed to(Whitcomb, 2016). Among these are the walking of the grievers with lead boots and the consistent beat of the drum and ringing of the bell. Furthermore, silence is alive and escorting her in her wreck and sorrow: a symbol that emphasizes her emotional feeling of cessation with the universe. Wang (2015) argues that the image of a shipwreck is utilized to analyze argument to a beam of wood that breaks as a result of extreme pain. Nonetheless, the image occurs when the author falls continually from space and upon she falls, she smashes the planet. In addition, the psychic outbreak appears to be infinite, though the audience can interpret that she comprehended what the description of death via her personal experience (Wang, 2015).

Emily Dickinson wrote a simulated nonfiction sketch of death, “Dust is the only secret; highlighting that demise was the only one who existed in anonymity. Dickinson& Press (2006) evaluates that this Poem examples majority of her verses that typifies many of her verses that humanize death of which “Because I could not stop for Death’ is the best. She meticulously scrutinized the atmospheres of the perishing persons, the feedback of the observers, the dreadful fight of the body for life, alterations in a household after demise, the positioning of the body for the funeral(Dickinson& Press, 2006). Death typically viewed dingy and abysmal, astoundingly categorized as ‘kindly’, ‘slowly drove’, and ‘Knew no haste’ intensify sympathy of death. Imagery in the poetry work highlights a unique comprehension of life before and life after demise. Hence, they combine in unison epitome of death.

A conflicting vision of the theme of death occurs in Dickinson’s poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death --." Death is conveyed as a journey headed for eternity in this poem. Additionally, this poem implies a vision of an eternal life where the person surpasses and proceeds to a space time appears non-existent. Obviously, this is the poet’s romantic perspective of death. The poet personalizes death as a person who is patient, civil and obedient and who offers rides to persons. Wang (2015) narrates that after death halts for a hectic poet who had no ample time to give a second thought on the subject on death, they begin a voyage together in the direction of eternity, passing via places that epitomize diverse phases of life. In additionally, ambiguity plays a critical role in this poem(Wang, 2015). For instance, the emotional allusion to the school could be comprehended as if the author and Death were passing by the school to fetch a child who had previously perished and when the author advocates, "We passed the setting sun," the setting sun could elucidate that that the poet hopped old age. Lambert (2013) argues that the cemetery was the final destination for this voyage, where the dead person is deserted. Lastly, the poet and death outdo and proceed to eternity; a situation in which time is unnoticeable and we can concludes that there is an atmosphere of harmony(Lambert, 2013)

Poetic devices and techniques are utilized to show imaginations in the audience’s mind and support this interpretation of death. Khaangku (2011) contend that the portraying of the death is a convincing one and backs up the concept that it is a temporary one. By paralleling it to a house, it offers a comfort that does not form nausea to a place that otherwise can possess a negative suggestion(Khaangku, 2011). The depiction of the coldness felt prior to leaving the corpse is an authoritative one and stresses the coldness of the human body after demise. Lastly, the contingency of time and the explanation of a harmonious destination offers the reader with a feeling of anticipation to reach that venue. Wang (2015) says that the horses in the final stanza symbolize numerous things. For example, horses epitomize a simile of the soul. Moreover, horses symbolize travel which conforms to the message of the poem. As illuminated, the choice of the phrases is very elaborate and the rhyme assist to stress words that contain a significant meaning in the poem (Wang, 2015).

"I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died" highlights a vision of death that entails that there is no eternal life as it concentrates on the decay that happens after the demise of the author herself, a process that results to absolutely nothing.

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

Reliant on the interpretation, the tone could be viewed as a paralytic fear or serenity. Surrounding the dead body implies that there is complete quietness since persons have stopped to cry and the wind halted blowing immensely. Lambert (2013) assess that the earth appears to be expected since the author had made a declaration before ceasing to be: I willed my Keepsakes…” The fly that comes closer to the decayed body demonstrates the animals that will carry on the cycle of the human life while consuming from the body(Lambert, 2013). Lastly, at the final phase of the poem, the windows of the soul, which could be explained as the eyes, flop and the soul dies. In addition, there seems to be a period between the prompt of the actual demise itself and the physical journey to emptiness. Accordingly, in the initial verse of the poem, the poet had previously perished. Though, the windows flopped till the final line of the poem. The instant appears to be of ambiguity as the poet had lost mindfulness of her environment though her awareness is reducing. Whitcomb (2016) addresses that although death can be deduced as a negative occasion, the poem puzzlingly designates death as a usual occurrence that results to the progress of life in other natures. The literary devices and techniques assist to stress the theme of death. In addition, there is a consistent emphasis of the fly. Here, this choice of words results to the ambiguity of the description(Whitcomb, 2016). The imagery negligibly restores the meaning. Moreover, the utilization of the term ‘blue’ can be understood as not only sorrowful but also fear and panic. Nevertheless, there is evidences of ambiguity in other lines of the poem. Wang (2015) contend that the audience can infer when the poet halts hearing noises and feeling the wind. Here, it is not because they have stooped but also they have been brainwashed in the perspectives. Lastly, the rhyme and rhythm stress phrases at the end of the lines that include ‘fly’ and view which are keywords in comprehending the meaning(Wang, 2015).

According to Khaangku (2011), “On this wondrous sea” typifies a more appealing image of eternity than the one realized in the conscious sleeping a grave found in “Because I could not stop for Death.” Afterlife can be realized on a distant shore past the wondrous sea and storms, and its soundless venue of relaxation and stability, where the commentators are swift(Khaangku, 2011). In addition, there is a pilot who can provide insight and guidance on the wanderer of the seas to the last shore, “at last!” Dickinson & Press (2006) says those two phrases confidently propose that afterlife is a place where a person might long to go and feel liberation and even delight at arriving there. This afterlife is alluring and a form of heaven even if angels and God are not listed(Dickinson & Press, 2006). Perhaps, “On this wondrous sea” illuminates the attitude towards death as seen in the poems assessed. Demise is explored at the absence of the concepts outlined in the whole paper to attempt to evaluate their larger significance. Wang (2015) narrates that theearth and eternity are things known, a grave that is a house, a lively perception, a shore to which we come “at last” eternally stormy and “wondrous.” (Wang, 2015).

Conclusion

As explicated above, Emily Dickinson is a completely perfect American poet that crafts her poems to expresses her deepest thoughts on the behalf of pretext of numerous themes. Though her main fascination was with demise, which she focused extremely with great vision in unearthing the unknown of death. She regularly fit herself in the shoes of the person who was dying in an effort to address what it may sound to actually live. Her perfectly crafted poems portraying the theme of death stresses the diverse elements of compounding pain and power of the involvement along with the correspondingly sense of gain. Arguably, most of her poetry work has been centered on the theme of death. Surprisingly, she sees deaths in different point of views than the other poets. In her perspectives, death is not an occurrence for the death rather demise is beautiful, fanciful and preternatural. As expounded by the author, death is unavoidable among human beings from the period we arrive on this mauling planet of life referred as the ‘earth.’ Examination of the theme of death offered a panoramic point of views that include but not limited to God and Immorality. The characteristics of death highlighted in this poetry work are very conflicting and complexities of life. Dickinson applied these images so as to define death in an attempt to describe it. Additionally, she offers human and non-humancharacteristics a portion of her remorseless expedition to comprehend it. In her death poems, she did provide her verdict of death since death for her remains the great unearthed mystery.

References

Dickinson, E., & Press, P. (2006). I heard a fly buzz when I died. Petra Press.

Khaangku, P. (2011). The Images of Death in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry. Srinakharinwirot University, p14-34.

Lambert, E. L. (2013). Emily Dickinson's Joke about Death. Studies in American Humor, (27), 7-32.

Wang, J. (2015). Pain and its Variants in Dickinson’s Poetry in 1862-1865.

Whitcomb, M. (2016). Escape from Amherst: Emily Dickinson’s Life of Freedom.