An important aspect in the development of Dickinsons writing and her themes is her personal identification with the deaths of important people around her. Dickinson was deeply affected by the loss of young, close friends such as Sophia Holland, Leonard Humphrey, and Benjamin Newtonall of whom died before she reached maturity. Their deaths along with the death of her mother were a constant reminder, especially to nineteenth century Americans and Emily Dickinson, of the fragility of life. While the death of friends played an important role in her obsession about dying, her environment also contributed to her curiosity. The Dickinsons orchard adjoined a burial ground and funerals in procession were quite visible, therefore making death a constant aspect of daily life. It was not the familiarity with death that inspired Dickinson to write, it was her fear of what the afterlife would bring. Just as the adolescent, Emily Dickinson dared to reject Christianity and, in a church-centered village society, declined to attend church services, so too in her art; trough she was exceedingly well read in poetry.
She proclaimed that her motivation to write about death was further based on emotional responses, which included feelings of guilt, fear of abandonment, and projection of anger. Among Dickinsons written works on the subjects of death, sanity, and nature, five poems deserve special attention: Because I could not stop for Death, There is a Funeral in my Brain, I heard a fly buzz when I Died, To dietakes just a little while, and I reason, Earth is short. Since Dickinson decided not to title her poems, they are often labeled by the first line of the first stanza or by the number; they appear in the published volume of her work. In I heard a Fly buzz- when I died, Dickinson is conveying what it is like to be on your deathbed. In the first stanza, she is describing how still the air is and she compares it to the tranquility of the air before a storm hits. She then goes on to describe the surroundings in the room.
The Essay on Emily Dickinson 16
... separation, death, nature, and God, but especially love. In one poem, she writes My life closed twice before its close. I believe Dickinson ... the next three decades four more volumes appeared, the most important being Bolts of Melody in 1945, edited by Mabel Loomis ... have occurred if the timing hadnt been wrong. Emily Norcross Dickinson died in 1882, Judge Otis Lord two years later.Dickinsons health ...
There is a group of mourning people standing around her, who wept to the point of having dry eyes. As they stood waiting for her to be taken into the arms of God, she tells of her preparation and of what part of her existence will be signed off for remembrance. Right before the speaker died, a buzzing fly captured her attention and distracted her from the painful end of wonderful life. This poem is trying to convey that death is an ordinary experience of lifeit is evolutionary. When someone dies, the whole world proceeds, as did the fly. Metaphorically speaking, a fly resembles the reality of life; it is a natural object that goes on about its business even through the occurrence of a traumatic event. The mourning people expected something monumental to occur, but death proved to be very uneventful. The fly shows how still the air was as the persona was able to block out the cries of her family and focus on the insignificant existence of a bug.
The speakers preoccupation from death lets the reader know that more emphasis should be put on the smaller details of life. Overall, I feel Dickinsons message is that death, along with the degree of our suffering, is out of our control. Therefore, if we cannot control our lives, whether we die, or where we end up, why then should we continue to distress? Understanding the incomprehensible often depends on an appreciation of the progression of the stages of existence. Dickinson is basically stating that we should live life to the fullest by accepting the fact that one day we will die. Through this acceptance, we are able to flourish and prosper as thriving individuals. Even though Dickinson could not find all of the answers to her questions about life and death, she found a way to hinder the hurt and loneliness she felt within. Writing poetry became her happiness and rejuvenated her spirit in a way that nothing else could.
The Essay on Emily Dickinson Individuality Life Death Nature
Emily Dickinson: Individuality Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830, to Edward Dickinson, a well-respected lawyer, and his wife Emily Norcross Dickinson, whom she was named after. She lived her whole life in the same house with her sister Lavina including after her parent s death in her middle years. Her parents had been very traditional, as most people were in ...
The complex fate of human beings in this tragic, yet beautiful world, and the possible fortunes of the human spirit in a subsequent life are the central theme in most of Dickinsons work. In her enticing poetry, Dickinson establishes a relationship between reality and imagination, the known and the unknown. Through her detailed and abstract context, she illustrates the mysterious, life, death, and the stages of existence..
