The Poems of Emily Dickinson - Research Paper Example

?Death, Life, and Emily Dickinson Having grown up in a life clouded over by death and sorrow, it comes as no surprise that the poems of Emily Dickinson would reflect many of her experiences of death and how she regarded life after she had had these experiences with death. Due to her witnessing many deaths throughout her life, such as her parents, close mentors, and friends, Dickinson’s perception of life began to change, and with it her ideas of death. In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain,” Dickinson used tone, imagery, and form to reveal how she felt about death and life based on what she had learned from her personal history. What critics might interpret as depression, Dickinson intended it to be wise insight. The tone of “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” wavers between serenity and longing. As the protagonist of the poem is led away into death, which is symbolized by the carriage passing by the school and fields, there is a sense of calm and peace, almost relaxation. The protagonist is not only accepting that her death is taking place, but she is almost welcoming of it. “We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labor, and my leisure too (Dickinson & Vendler 42).” Though Death is the one driving slowly, the protagonist is still sitting back and allowing the journey to happen. Similarly, even though the protagonist was unable to stop for death, when death stopped for her she did not try to fight against it. However, as they passed the school and fields, a sense of longing took over as the protagonist realized all of the life that she was leaving behind her. “We passed the school, where children strove [...], We passed the fields of grazing grain, we passed the setting sun. Or, according to Emily Dickinson and Helen Vendler (42), Death passed the protagonist (Dickinson & Vendler 42).” The protagonist included herself among those that Death was passing, revealing that she was not quite ready to go. As such, Dickinson may have been ready to accept death, but she was unable to completely let go of life. “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” conveys the tones of aloneness and terror. Even though the poem immediately reveals that there are mourners present at this faux-funeral, the protagonist admits to feeling alone. “And I, and Silence, some some strange Race, Wrecked, solitary, here (Dickinson 97).” Since this poem discusses both death and life, there is an admittance to aloneness in both states (Farr 76). In death, the protagonist will have no one; in life, they had no one. It is in this way that Dickinson shows there is no difference between death and life. The tone of terror is also sensed as the protagonist descends into madness, which is what she meant by “I felt a funeral in my brain (Dickinson 97).” The protagonist is not really dying, but she is slipping into madness, and the journey is terrifying to her. Through this poem, it is revealed that life is lonely and terrifying, and death is the same way, especially because they are both being undergone alone. Despite the amount of company, life and death are independent matters. Emily Dickinson used imagery in her poems to bring new life to her own feelings. In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” death is personified as a man or a suitor. Instead of the cliche grim reaper, Death is a civilized, welcoming man (Raina 11). The protagonist feels no fear accepting the ride from him, which shows how she does not fear death. Furthermore, the carriage ride displays the journey from life to death. Carriages are often connected with royalty or pleasant outings, and this was the method of transportation for death instead of a hearse, making it a comfortable ride to death (Baker 215). The house that the carriage arrives at represents the final resting place of the protagonist. Rather than a coffin or even a mausoleum, Dickinson picks a place that signifies warmth and comfort. All of these images provide a very calming experience of death as opposed to the horrid depictions that are more commonly made. Through the imagery of this poem, Dickinson has shown that death is accepted and deemed as a pleasant resting place. On the other hand, “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” depicts death and life as being tedious and unwanted. The funeral in the mind of the protagonist is really a funeral, and not just a feeling. Therefore, all that is taking place at this funeral represents and symbolizes aspects of a real funeral. The treading mourners represents repetitiveness; as these mourners are alive, they and their treading symbolizes the repetitiveness of life. Similarly, the beating, “a service like a drum Kept beating, beating [...] (Dickinson 97),” is also repetitive. The box being lifted is the casket of the protagonist, and they are dropped into the grave plot. The final line of the poem, “And finished knowing -- then -- (Dickinson 97),” is not completed, bringing forth the image of the protagonist being gone from this world (Small 118). Compared to the first poem, the imagery in this poem makes death seem negative and bleak; the same can be said for life. Neither are wanted, putting Dickinson in a state of limbo. The forms of both “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” involve words that sound nothing alike but are used in an attempt to rhyme, which is know as slant rhyming. Each poem is written in iambic meter, though this may not be obvious due to Dickinson’s rebellious ways of rhyming. Each poem is hymn-like, which is quite ironic considering how they both deal with death. Many church hymns, which are often mournful melodies, exist to be sung at funerals or wakes; these styles became a common occurrence in Dickinson’s poems to help express the emotions she felt in regard to life and death. These characteristics of form only further reveal unsteady emotions in regard to death and life. Furthermore, Dickinson implements many dashes in her poems, often stopping a poem mid-thought or cutting into a thought that has not been finished before moving on to the next line. “And finished knowing -- then -- (Dickinson 97)”, as previously mentioned, gives the impression that the protagonist has died, unable to continue her thought. The dashes display incompleteness, presenting the message that life, just like the sentences, can be cut off and go unfinished without warning. The poems are not formed conventionally, and neither are the thoughts of Dickinson about death and life. In one poem, she feels one thing, but in the other, her thoughts have entirely changed. Dickinson turned to her writing to deal with her thoughts and emotions as people close to her died, an act that critics and fans alike connected with depression. While Dickinson was no doubt depressed due to the constant devastation in her life, she used her poems to help herself, and her readers, find insight in the concepts of life and death. In this, she found a connection between the two, and she used her poems to show how life and death were often one in the same. This can be seen in “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” when Dickinson’s protagonist experiences death even though she is still alive. Emily Dickinson used her poetry to let the world know how she felt about death and life. Since she witnessed so much death at such a young age, she developed ideas of death that changed as she grew older, which also altered the ways that she viewed life. The tones of her poems revealed that death was something that she was afraid of, but would be willing to accept. Likewise, life was something that she was growing tired of, finding it tedious and repetitive, but she would miss it when death would come to greet her. Works Cited Baker, David. "Elegy and Eros: Configuring Grief." Virginia Quarterly Review 81.2 (2005): 207-220. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Dickinson, Emily. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. Print. Dickinson, Emily, and Helen Vendler. Dickinson: Selected Poems and Commentaries. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. Print. Farr, Judith. Emily Dickinson: A Collection of Critical Essays. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. Print. Raina, B.N. "Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop for Death." Explicator 43.3 (1985): 11-12. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Small, Judy Jo. Positive as Sound: Emily Dickinson's Rhyme. 2nd ed. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print. Read More