Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep Analysis

“Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep” is the only known poem written by American poet, Mary Elizabeth Frye. “Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep” is one of the most popular poems in the English language. Mary Elizabeth Frye was a Baltimore housewife who knew nothing about poetry and never got a formal education. Frye and her husband were hosting a guest when they lived in Baltimore, a German Jewish woman named Margaret Schwarzkopf. Schwarzkopf’s mother was ill in Germany and later passed away, leaving Schwarzkopf saddened that she never got the chance to say goodbye to her mother since she couldn’t visit her because of the anti-semitic movement in Germany. After what happened to Schwarzkopf, Frye was driven to write “Do Not Stand At My Grave And

The speaker of the poem is the person who died. The speaker might be talking to a friend or family member, a loved one or mourner. The speaker is more of an observer, she could be speaking to a loved one or mourner after she saw the mourner become very distressed. The poem is written in first person. It shifts to second person in the seventh line only, then switches back to first person for the rest of the poem. Frye uses the word “glints” at the beginning of the poem instead of “shine”. “Glints” is more subtle, it is a small flash of light reflected from a shiny surface, whereas “shine” is similar to glint but is more intense than glint. Frye also uses two other words that have similar meanings. In the title, and in the first line, the word “weep” is used. Weeping refers to just crying, not being loud and dramatic. In the end, Frye uses the word “cry”. Crying could been seen in two different ways: shedding tears as an expression of distress and pain, or shouting or screaming especially to express one’s fear, pain, or grief. The use of diction shows how the speaker feels towards the subject of death and those who are