Thematic Peculiarities of Emily Dickinson Poems - Essay Example

Topic: Literary analysis of Emily Dickinson poems Introduction Emily Dickinson is regarded as a talented poet based on the unique concept of all her poems. As a result of this it has been quite difficult to singly associate her with one particular tradition. The essence of her poetry is based on a diverse platform. The poetic form of her work which consists of ABCD rhyme scheme, customary four line stanzas as well as alterations that are in iambic between trimesters and tetrameter is simply derived from protestant hymns and Psalms. However, Dickinson effectively administers her own form by interposing long rhythmic dashes that are meant to interact with the stated meter and indicate short pauses. Based on this aspect the resemblance attributes to the Protestant hymns and Psalms appears to be quite faint (Hellen & Dickinson, p.13). Dickinson’s subjects are usually based on parts of her psyche’s topography; she tries to explore her feelings with painful honesty that is often painstaking. Nevertheless, she embraces the concept of universal poetic application. Her well noted technique is that which she writes on the particulars of her emotions in a manner that is related to universal homiletic or even adage like tone which tends to describe the mind of the reader as well as the poet’s. Dickinson cannot be regarded as a philosophical poet because she does not try to organize her feelings and thoughts to fit a coherent unified world view. Instead, her poetic form simply record feelings and thoughts that are experienced naturally over a lifetime’s course which is devoted to creativity and reflection. The powerful mind that is represented in her records is compelling, astonishing, thought provoking and quite moving (Franklin & Dickinson, p.7). One of Dickinson greatest achievement in her poetry work is her language that is referred to by most as brilliant and diamond hard. Dickinson usually writes aphoristically which means that she tends to show a great amount of meaning using minimal number of words. This aspect makes her poems to be quite hard to understand on the first reading but as soon as the meaning unveils itself, it tends to explode in the mind and in no time the lines that were difficult to understand become unforgettably clear. Her poems that are famous are not that difficult to understand. They simply illustrate her extraordinary powers of description and observation. Dickinson’s imagination has been known to lead her into peculiar territory. For instance majority of her famous poem collection consist of astonishing metaphorical conceits and bizarre death fantasies. However, her navigation skills of domestic based on writing beautiful lyrics of nature with her imagination is quite appealing. Analysis and comparison of three of her poems Based on the tragic life experiences that she faced throughout her life, this has led to the theme of death that is easily recognizable in some of her poems. Three of the poems that greatly illustrate this theme are “I heard a fly buzz when I died”, “Because I could not stop for death” and “I died for beauty”. The three poems are all about death. I heard a fly buzz when I died “I heard a fly buzz when I died”, is mainly about the preparation process before a person dies and the experience of the final moment. This poem is told by a woman that is still speaking but continues to hear things upon her waited death. Based on the fact that the woman that is dead can still speak, the poet feels that dying is incessant and continuous. In the poem the dead woman has already made her will and assigned the assignable and now all she does is sit and wait for the King to arrive. She tends to hear the fly that will soon have a place with her in the grave as she dies and later decays (Dickinson, 2001, p. 34). The poem is quite unusual and ironic because it tends to be concerned with the most serious moments in a person’s life but on the other hand it is distracted by most trivial experiences in life. The first line of the poem tries to show her final moment as she is lying on her bed waiting to die and surrounded by family. At this point she claims that “I heard a fly buzz when I died.” The poem tends to start with quite a rare and an unusual claim: to physically hear something when you are on the verge of dying. A theme that keeps on occurring on Dickinson’s poetry work is that death is simply an extension of life (Dickinson, 2001, p35). The poet claim of sound upon dying clearly elaborates this concept. The speaker is kept company by her family as they sit with her waiting to see their loved one die. Such a moment should be a serious moment that is quite crucial for any individual but despite this there seems to be a fly that is buzzing in the room. The appearance of the fly aspect is stealing the show as well as the attention of everyone due to the fact that the room “Was like the stillness in the air” (Dickinson, 2001, p.36). The woman is mostly aggravated by the fly distraction because death is known to be unexplainable but despite these there are certain normal distractions such as seeing and receiving forgiveness from God or seeing a bright white light when entering heaven yet the woman only hears the fly buzz. There is no God, no light and no redemption whatsoever. The second stanza tends to describe the time that the family of the speaker waited for her death. She utters that they are “The eyes around had wrung them dry”. The family of the speaker have cried a lot despite the fact that she is not gone yet. The poet tries to explain the last onset in the poem as the end or rather the beginning. The paradox of the two words is not accidental as death is the beginning of a new life. The poet uses a metaphor the word King which simply compares to God. The family as well as the speaker are waiting for the king to come; this could imply the arrival of God. However, there is irony that is unexpected and most of all disappointing as the King tends to come in the form of a fly. The disappointment is due to the fact that there is nothing miraculous or religious about the moment but only the presence of a dirty fly (Dickinson, 2001, 38). The poet also uses synaesthesia which is a poetic device to describe the use of the visual colour blue to symbolize the sky which based on the poem refers to heaven. In the final act of the fly the speaker utters that the fly is between the light and me. In the end the window closes and she has already died and hence there is nothing more left. This poem is simply a grim that accounts for dying and there is no aspect of tenderness that can be depicted from it. Based on reality the only aspect of aliveness that is seen is that of the fly. Because I could not stop for death This poem is simply a playful allegory where death is personified in the form of a gentleman. The poet states in the first line “Because I could not stop for death” he kindly decided to stop for me. This means that she is going to meet death based on his terms. On normal circumstances, death is regarded as being unavoidable attributed to various negative associations. However, Dickinson tries to show her carriage ride by stating that she had put away her leisure and labour in order for his civility to take place. The poet tends to describe death as being civil, indicating that death was polite and courteous. The manner in which the poet tends to capitalize the phrase “His” brings out the concept of religion because when God’s name is written it is always capitalized (Dickinson, 1993, p42). The stanza that follows illustrates the experiences she goes through while riding on the carriage of death. For instance the line “We passed the setting sun”. The carriage ride of death seems to be everlasting because they pass the setting sun. The amount of time that passes as well as the natural images support this claim. She continues on to talk about her dress. While talking about her tulle and tippet it is not clear as to whether she is talking about the white wedding dresses or the black dresses that are worn in mourning (Dickinson, 1993, p46). Based on the similarities of both ideas the theme of death becomes an extension to eternal life. The use of the house metaphor in one of the stanzas is used to refer to a sort of tombstone. Dickinson describes the house like a swelling that was on the ground (Dickinson, 1993, p.47). Her approach on the carriage ride to death may seem like a one way ride but at the end in the poem she utters more about eternity. At the time Dickinson was writing this poem there were a lot of casualties that had occurred due to the civil war. As a result of this she naturalizes death in order for us to see it from a sympathetic view. I died for beauty-but was scarce This poem is based on a conversation between a man and a woman which occurs once they are dead. The conversation revolves around their previous lives as well as the failures they encountered. The first stanza explains the characters of both the man and woman. The first line “I died for beauty but was scarce” introduces the speaker that has already died and was an outsider. From her statements she did not follow to the rules of the society while she was still alive. This is clearly illustrated by the use of the word scarce which means that it was absent and missed in the life of the speaker (Hellen & Dickinson, p 55). Even though the speaker was regarded as a unique person while she was a live when she died all aspects of her non conformity was not observed. The line that she was adjusted in in death implies that she indeed adapted to her life while dead. As the poem unfolds the other character the man is introduced “As one who died for truth”. The speaker introduces the character with an admirable tone. The tone is much softer suggesting that maybe the new character died for a good cause. Even though the speaker feels that the man died for a greater cause than hers, her perception is insignificant as the man is in the adjourning room. The two characters seem to be separated despite being on the same level. In one of the stanzas the two characters converse with each other on how they died. The man explains himself with a soft tone. He questions the reason as to why he failed and the woman replies I for beauty and him for truth. The woman talks of how she fails rather than why she died. This indicates that neither of them succeeded in their endeavours while they were alive. The man states that all their failures are the same when herefers to “Themselves are one” (Hellen & Dickinson, p60). The use of the metaphor Night is used to symbolize the concept of death.This implies that the two characters were connected as soon as they died. In the end the speaker’s need for companionship is lost once they cannot converse anymore. Conclusion The three poems all illustrate the unique concept of Dickinson poetry aspect especially in comparison of the theme of death. Her work here shows her passionate perspective when she tries to personify death as well as her over simplification of death. The pain that she endures in the midst of her loneliness is well illustrated in these poems. References Dickinson, Emily.Favoritepoems.Dover Publications: Mineola, N. Y,2001. Print. Dickinson,Emily.Selectedpoems.New York: St.Martin’s Press, 1993.Print. Franklin, R W and Dickinson Emily.The poems of Emily Dickinson.Cambridge,Mass: Belknap Press,1999.Print Helen H.Vendler and Dickinson, Emily.Dickinson:Selected poems and commentaries.Cambridge, Mass: Belknap,2010.print. Read More