The Poems Written by Dickinson - Essay Example

But every poem treats the subject of death differently. Like in “My life had stood- a loaded gun” the very metaphor of gun directs towards the human need to protect himself as it is said about the gun “ I guard mu master’s head”, but at the same time this tool is used to kill people “none stir the second time”. Therefore through the metaphor of gun, it has been explained that life becomes more exciting with the element of death and that is why the metaphor of hunting has been given in the poem.

The second poem “I heard a fly buzz when I died” also deals with the theme of death but in a totally different way. In this poem, the speaker focuses on the last moments of life, when he is fast approaching death. Things like last words on a death bed and how after the death one is taken for his funeral makes the poem realistic but depressing and gloomy as well.“At Half-past three a single bird” also talk about death but is very surreal and serene way. The words used in the poem bring an ethereal quality to the poem making the occurrence of death a mystical experience.

The words like ‘silence’ and ‘rest’ indicate the stillness which is associated with death. But the subtle vocabulary indicates that the death of the speaker was a painless experience. The very title of the poem “I died for beauty -but was scarce” shows that the speaker has died. Then he is placed in a tomb but shortly he is joined by another soul. The first speaker is appreciative of the beauty while the second one, of the truth. The idea is to represent that beauty and truth goes hand in hand, and a similar proposal is also found in Keats poetry, where he says “Beauty is truth and truth is beauty.

” But the first stanza of the poem indicates that no one is ever mentally prepared for death when the speaker says” I had not adjusted to tomb”. In short, all of Dickinson’s poems indicate directly or indirectly towards death. However, only one poem out of these three manages to assure the reader about the death which is “At half-past three a single bird”. The tranquillity of death is only indicated in this poem while the other three are a bit depressing. A reader gets overwhelmed by these poems and they also trigger one’s mind to think about the temporary nature of life.