Emily Dickinson: Theme of Death

Dickinson's relationship with her surroundings and her social life make her stand out of the literary scene of 19th century America. As she lived an extremely reclusive life, especially as she grew older, the way she experienced human relationships changed, and, by the time her poetic voice was more definite and mature, it strongly influenced, not ust the way she looked at the world, but also her poetry. !he was exploring the different aspects of life, the relationship between good and evil, life and death, and also the stages of pain. Dickinson is remarkable for her !toicism which enabled her to examine pain closely by clear vision and senses indifferent to the pain itself, thus establishing an ob ective truth. !he wrote more than five hundred lyrics on pain and death, among which there were some less expressive, inferior ones which were simply sentimental and morbid, imagining her own death as the cause of pain of her estranged friends" her best poetry was dealing with the emotions and the 'sensations of a dying person' #$ickard 1%&' and the physicality of the soul leaving the body. (er fascination with death and its mystery never ceased. !he applied this view to death and the details of the events immediately before and after it, trying to reach a deeper understanding thereof. )his is reflected in her poems on pain and death which deal with these scenes, with vivid imagery depicting death scenes and funerals. )he purpose of this analysis was to 'turn deprivation into spiritual triumph' #$ickard 9*'. As one needs courage to face pain, ultimately, what through one's own experience of agony they will reali+e that it is inevitable and is a universal state of one attains is strength. )herefore we can establish that pain as such has value, as through one's own experience of agony they will reali+e that it is inevitable and is a universal state of humankind. (er $uritan introspection allowed her to clearly see that death is no sudden change, as the way we live life will be pro ected on our death, therefore it will be ust a continuation of our lives. Additionally, life happens by accident, by birth, and as much as she saw birth as a simple accident, she extended this to death. )he education that we receive by merely living is something that we accept, but we may not expect nor want it. !he focused her poetic consciousness on the study of grief, nothing escaped her investigation. As already noted, she went into the different stages of agony, the nature of it, and the changes time can bring about. ,ot only did she associate pain with death, but also with separation, life and love. (er view about pain is summari+ed in her poem '- measure every grief - meet'. .e learn that pain is real, and what we attain by experiencing is true. -n /After great pain a formal feeling comes0 we have to illuminate that there is no speaker or persona in the poem, the tone is impersonal, which enhances the calm ob ectivity that the poet uses to assess the situation. )he 'formal feeling' is the disconnection between the soul and emotions, ceremoniously and calmly

enduring grief. )he sorrow is not physical, yet leaves the mind numbed. !he personifies nerves, compares them to a group of mourning people who are and grief leaves the bodies still and calm, and the heart stiff. !he expands this image by adding 1)he like tombs. )he use of 'tombs' is not accidental, as the shock of loss and grief leaves the bodies still and calm, and the heart stiff. )he poem '- heard a fly bu++ 2when - died' is considered one of the finest of 3mily Dickinson's works about death. -n this verse the appearance of the fly prevents the dying person from reaching the state of ultimate calmness, despite her expectations" her death scene is disturbed by the triviality of the fly. '- felt a funeral in my 4rain' depicts death in a more morbid way. 3mily Dickinson portrays the insanity of the speaker, the terrifying loss of consciousness and identity, and the separation of the soul and body. )he most important images that she associated with death have already been established" flies clocks, unbearable heaviness and the passage of time. )hese create a uniform imagery that Dickinson worked with. .hile .alt .hitman included these in his catalogs, she repeated the images in more than one poem, enhancing and enriching their symbolism, sometimes attributing a range of features to them. !o does the meaning of death change through her poems. .hile she starts off regarding death as a numb and cold state, in '4ecause - couldn't stop for Death' she personifies it, gives death a kind, warm manly character. !urprisingly enough, this image will prevail over those previously mentioned, as the characteri+ation and personification is very elaborate and uni5ue, and considering the length of the poem, every single detail got enough space to unfold. )his particular poem has more versions, as Dickinson left out or added some stan+as. Death, as previously mentioned, is not ust personified, but some stan+as is depicted and described as a fine gentleman even as a suitor. )he expectations of her time allowed her to, despite lacking the formal and informal education that the literary scene of the time expected, to incorporate her views and, most importantly, her emotions into her poetry in a very uni5ue way. !he did manage, against all odds, to create a very elaborate imagery in her poetry, to define the pictures and ideas that she associated with her themes, in this case, death. !he achieved the effects that she intended to through the concrete images and abstractions that added to the mysteriousness and grief surrounding, preceding and following death. .e also have to understand why she experienced every mournful event as intensely as she did. !ince she refused to lead a public life, refused to leave the house, her only contact with the world were her friendships that she maintained through correspondence and her family, or 2strictly2 the people who visited the Dickinson family in Amherst. 3very time she lost a person who stood close to her, it was like a thread through which she was connected to the world having been clipped, like an invisible umbilical cord. )hese people filtered the world to her, and when they died, the society and the universe came through to her ust as harsh and real as they were.