Analysis Of Emily Dickinson's Poem 'I Read My Sentence Likely'

“I read my sentence steadily”, by Emily Dickinson, is a poem clearly divided into two parts. The first part depicts the sentencing of the author to death for a crime she apparently committed, while the second speaks on her reaction to the sentence. In this second portion of the poem, Dickinson personifies the soul and death, creating a cordial relationship between the two. This strategic decision allows Dickinson to oppose the common understanding that death is something to be feared, and instead argue that it can be peacefully accepted.
As part of the reaction to the death sentence, Dickinson personifies the soul and death, giving them the capacity to form sociable relationships. “But she and Death, aquatinted— / Meet tranquilly, as friends—”

Dickinson acknowledges that death is frequently a difficult occurrence to deal with, but she attempts to negate this fear and pain through the relationship she constructs between death and the soul. “That at last, it should not be a novel agony —” (10). Here, Dickinson is recognizing that experiencing agony prior to one’s death is a normal occurrence. However, through her use of personification, she makes clear her belief that such agony is unnecessary. Describing the interaction between death and the soul she writes, “Salute, and pass, without a hint— / And there, the Matter ends —” (13-14). By illustrating a scenario in which the soul and death engage in a casual greeting before quickly moving on, Dickinson creates a new vision of death for her audience, one that is far less ominous and threatening. The simplicity and inconsequential nature of the interaction depicted by Dickinson aids her in her attempt to convince readers that death is not the ordeal they likely fear it to be. Additionally, the transformation of something that is greatly unknown, death, into something highly relatable, a friendly relationship, is an achievement of Dickinson’s personification that cannot be ignored. Fear is often a direct result of a void created by a gap in knowledge, and Dickinson’s creation of a human-like relationship between death and