ipl-logo

Emily Dickinson's I Heard A Fly Buzz

666 Words3 Pages

The Silent Death
“I Heard a Fly Buzz” is considered to be one of Emily Dickinson’s most famous poems. The poem focuses on describing the atmosphere and the scene that is often associated with the moment of someone’s death. However, Dickinson manages to add an interesting and rather weird surprise to the moment. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker points out that she can hear the sound of a fly as she lies on her deathbed. Gradually, the speaker departs from the image incorporating the fly and starts describing the room in which she finds herself. There are people in the room, who are described as calm and standing patiently as they prepare themselves for what is considered to be the speaker’s final moments. The speaker also talks about giving away all of her possessions, an …show more content…

The fly comes out to distract the speaker at a moment that is considered to be crucial. At first, the fly cannot be seen, and the speaker only refers to the buzz that she is hearing. This can be considered an element that introduces the presence of death in the room. Eventually, the fly that was previously somewhat disregarded is identified and cuts the speaker’s vision. At the final line, one can conclude that the speaker has died. The poem is also effective when it comes to the issue of describing the deathbed scene in detail. The speaker’s loved ones are present by the bed, as they brace themselves for what is viewed as inevitable. Although I had to read the poem many times to understand what is between the lines, I find it simple even when talking about something unwanted (death). Dickinson has used concepts that I can relate to, such as a storm, in order to describe a moment that I have never experienced. The poem has brought me closer to the experience of death. It made me calm and relaxed while I was reading it. Death is not always terrifying. If a person lived a wonderful life, he/she would be emotionally ready for

Show More
Related
741 Words | 3 Pages

Aside from the fly, a slew of mourners are also present at the narrator’s deathbed, as the narrator states that the “The Eyes around [them] - had wrung [themselves] dry” (Dickinson), proving how the mourners, or eyes, around the narrator, are devastated by the narrator’s death, as their eyes are dry from crying. In fact, the narrator’s death is so important that even “the King / [was] witnessed - in the Room” (Dickinson), with “the King” referring to God. This importance humanity, which is represented by the mourners, places on death is similar to that it places on marriage, as in The Storm, Calixta is aware of how her marriage makes her affair all the more scandalous, just as the mourners are aware of the narrator’s death is something monumental and holy. However, just as Calixta disregards her marriage due to her natural lust, the “stumbling fly,” interrupts the solemn mourners around the narrator’s deathbed with its clumsy and bumbling nature. Since the fly represents nature, this suggests that the narrator’s death is not as significant in the eyes of nature as it is in the eyes of humanity, just like nature doesn’t find Calixta’s marriage very important as it is the reason she possesses the instinct which drives

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

Whitman and Dickinson share the theme of death in their work, while Whitman decides to speak of death in a more realistic point of view, Dickinson speaks of the theme in a more conceptual one. In Whitman’s poems, he likes to have a more empathic view of individuals and their ways of living. For example, in Whitman’s “Song of Myself”, the poet talks about not just of himself, but all human beings, and of how mankind works into the world and the life of it. Even though the poem mostly talks about life and the happiness of it, Whitman describes also that life itself has its ending, and that is the theme of death. For Dickinson, she is the complete opposite of happiness.

Read More
692 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau writes very densely with many metaphors, while in contrast Dickinson writes poetry with many dashes, odd capitalizations and few metaphors; especially metaphors of death such as in There’s a Certain Slant of Light “When it goes, ‘tis like the Distance On the Look of Death” (Dickinson 1199). Dickinson’s writing proceeds to show the reader many instances of death. In I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died Dickinson states that the speaker of the story is surrounded by people, presumably loved ones and is in a dying stage. The narrator of the poem recalls the events of his/her death. The narrator shows that before his/her death, he/she can see but with the lack of his sight the narrator instantly dies “There interposed a fly – With Blue – uncertain – stumbling Buzz – Between the light – and me-

Read More
314 Words | 2 Pages

Andrew Aguilar Judy Kirchner English 5/4/16 Assignment 9 Literature-Written In the poem, “I Heard A fly Buzz” is by Emily Dickinson. It uses the poems meter by using the iambic meter. They made the syllables into 2 syllable parts and have the second syllables they emphasis.

Read More
401 Words | 2 Pages

Dickinson’s use of repetition and onomatopoeia helps show just how mad the narrator really is. It is stated,” Kept beating-beating- till I thought my mind was going numb”. The narrator is hearing noises that aren’t really there like the “beating” of a drum which supports the idea she is crazy. The first person point of view helps show that apparent funeral that is taking place inside of her mind. She states,” I felt a funeral, in my Brain…

Read More
1214 Words | 5 Pages

When Dickinson was young she thought of death as a kind, peaceful gentleman. She elaborates on this idea in her poem “Because I could not Stop for Death”, “Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me/ We slowly drove - He knew no haste,” Emily Dickinson uses the personification of Death in a way that bears resemblance to a classy, peaceful gentleman who is willing to slowly guide and patiently wait for a lady. Her wording also gives the connotation that she is young and in love with this gentle Death. This idea abruptly turns into hatred when she loses her parents.

Read More
215 Words | 1 Pages

The first stanza of Emily Dickinson’s poem “I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain” hones in on the noxious idea of Dickinson’s own death, through creating a sad and dark mood. The first line, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” talks about a loss of memories and images in her brain (1). It is as if her thoughts are gone from her mind, the most central and essential part of the body, and she is saying goodbye to them, like a funeral does for a person. Because she is a writer, not being able to express herself through words, which she uses her brain for, would be a nightmare for her. Dickinson’s diction choices, such as “treading” and “sense breaking through” portray an internal fight occurring, with sense finally being the concept to tip her over, making

Read More
954 Words | 4 Pages

For centuries poets have been fascinated with death, it remains one of the most commonly used themes in poetry. Two poems which I believe offer exceptional interpretations of death through the female gaze are Emily Dickenson’s “Because I Could not Stop for Death” and Mary Elizabeth Frye’s “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep”. Through the use of a discerning selection of literary techniques, these female poets are able to offer unique and complex interpretations of death, a theme female poets are often overlooked on. “Because I could not stop for Death” is considered to be one of the great masterpieces of American poetry.

Read More
1747 Words | 7 Pages

“This is my letter to the world, that never wrote to me...” -Emily Dickinson Why are people so enamored by Emily Dickinson? She guards the independence of her heart and soul with her poems and her words. The person she is, the words she writes, and the people she grows up with, watches her struggle through pain rebellion, and introvertedness.

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

In the poem “Because I could not stop for death” by Emily Dickinson, death is described as a person, and the narrator is communicating her journey with death in the afterlife. During the journey the speaker describes death as a person to accompany her during this journey. Using symbolism to show three locations that are important part of our lives. The speaker also uses imagery to show why death isn 't’ so scary.

Read More
556 Words | 3 Pages

Time around her slows down and she hears the buzz of the fly, during this time she has the time to write a will for herself and give away all her possessions. Then she suddenly can’t see anything for she is dead. This poem describes death as an entity waiting for everyone to die and after you give your stuff away it doesn’t give you anytime to look back you just die. This poem looks at death in a more harsh way of ending a life and shows that the author (Emily Dickinson) may have been depressed and angry about the things she never got a chance to do in

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

The speaker seems completely at ease with the Death as they move along at a relaxed pace. In the third stanza, the reader sees reminders of the world that the speaker is passing through, with children playing, fields of grain, and the sun setting. However, the speakers place in the world shifts between the third stanza and the next. Dickinson states, “We passed the Setting Sun- (12)”, but at the beginning of the fourth stanza, the speaker corrects this by stating, “Or rather – / He passed us – (13) ” because she has died. In the rest of the

Read More
843 Words | 4 Pages

The poems “Because I could not stop for Death” and “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” by Emily Dickinson both describe death and a journey one takes to get there. In “Because I could not stop for Death” the speaker tells of someones journey of death that did not see it coming and had no time to slow down to notice it. While in the poem “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” the speaker describes ones journey to death that aware it is coming, someone who is prepared and waiting for it to happen. Death can arrive in many different forms, it is different for everyone and nobody knows or can predict accurately when or how it will come no matter how prepared or not prepared someone is.

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

In Dickinson’s poem, death is not as terrifying as it is believed to be by most people. She sees death as a beautiful thing, a new chapter, rather than the last chapter. In contrast, Donne personifies death as a bully who turns out not to be so tough. Death is often thought of as dark and frightening, but Dickinson describes death as a journey, and not just a single event that concludes a life.

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

In “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, Emily Dickinson uses imagery and symbols to establish the cycle of life and uses examples to establish the inevitability of death. This poem describes the speaker’s journey to the afterlife with death. Dickinson uses distinct images, such as a sunset, the horses’ heads, and the carriage ride to establish the cycle of life after death. Dickinson artfully uses symbols such as a child, a field of grain, and a sunset to establish the cycle of life and its different stages. Dickinson utilizes the example of the busyness of the speaker and the death of the sun to establish the inevitability of death.

Read More

More about Emily Dickinson's I Heard A Fly Buzz

Related Topics

Open Document