A Thematic Study of Death in

Emily Dickinson’s Selected Poems

‫دراسة موضوعية ﰲ اﳌوت‬
‫ﰲ قصائد ﳐتارة ﻻﳝيلي ديكينسون‬

Isra Hasan Jassim

Imam Ja’afar Al-Sadiq University-College of Arts



Key words:
( death, , mystery, time, funeral, immortality)
A Thematic Study of Death…………………….………………………….

Abstract
The theme of death is one of the themes that are often tackled
in literature. Death is the end of tragedies and many poets wrote
elegies to eulogize their loved ones. Furthermore, poets,
novelists, and dramatists wrote about the causes of death, such as
wars and diseases. Nevertheless, They did not overlook the
sorrow that is caused by death. Thus, literature contains symbols
and images that portray death, its causes, and the sorrow after
death.
One of the poets who dealt with the theme of death is Emily
Dickinson who wrote many poems that deal with the experience
of death itself. Her poems are distinguished by the minute
examination of the experience of death and deathbed scenes.
The aim of this study is to explore the theme of death in Emily
Dickinson’s selected poems. It also aims to shed light on the
images used by the poetess to portray death.

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‫اﳌلخص‬






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


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A Thematic Study of Death…………………….………………………….

Historical Context

In the nineteenth century, death was dominant especially

because of diseases and wars. Infectious diseases were increasing
as cities began to grow, in addition, medical science had little
effective ways to treat or prevent the spread of these diseases.
Adults, children, and childbirth mortality rates remained quite
high until the end of the century (Carter and Farr: 2009, p.129).

Besides, Emily Dickinson wrote during the time of the Civil

War. Although the Civil War did not affect her directly, the
emotional suffering of the time appears through in some of her
works(Carter and Farr: 2009 ,p71). Miss Dickinson's treatment of
death is related to the cultural circumstances of her time: she
lived at a time when the old religious certainty of a life after
death was detached by a world dominated by science which
neglects an afterlife and emphasizes the physical phenomenon of
death. Dickinson's superior education at Amherst Academy and
Mount Holyoke female seminary made her question puritan
beliefs, in combination with the general changes in science, all
these factors made her question death on the physical and the
metaphysical level (Ottliger: 1996, P.31).

Death in Emily Dickinson's Life

Dickinson lived in the Dickinson Homestead in Amherst,

Massachusetts all her life with exception of fifteen years, when
the family lived on Pleasant Street. She could almost daily watch
funeral processions pass her home and go to the cemetery from
her upstairs bedroom window; thus, she was reminded of death
regularly (Sewall: 2003,p.18).

In 1874, Emily's father died. Her father was one of the

important influences in her life, in addition to her mother's death
who remained sick for many years before her death. Emily
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suffered the death of dear and near friends and relatives. The
most important incident which gave her a sense of the immediacy
of death was the death of young Ben Newton, who in 1828 lived
with her family as her father's law-apprentice. Emily’s reaction to
the death of this young brilliant man was profound, it made her
more philosophically aware of death as a perplexing and puzzling
phenomenon of life (Tandon and Trevedi: 2008, p.78).

In 1883, she experienced the death of her nephew, Gilbert.

This period of Emily Dickinson's life was spent in mourning as
she suffered the deaths of many friends and members of her
family(Sewall: 2003 , pp. 69-81).

Writing poetry about death was her strategy to cope with the
loss of beloved people and the physical explorations for death
and her dangling between the belief in an afterlife (Ottlinger:
1996, p.32).

Emily Dickinson's Perspective of Death

Emily Dickinson regarded death as the great unknown and

never stopped to meditate its mystery. Ultimately the obsession
became morbid and she developed an excessive desire to know
the details of how human beings experienced death. (Tandon and
Trevedi: 2008, p.77).

She had no certainty about life beyond death, but she also
refused to believe that having created the entire universe, God
would let it all be given over to death (Lundin: 1998, p 261).

The Images of Death in Emily Dickinson's Poetry

Miss Dickinson's poetic insight into the nature of death may be

regarded as one of her unique contributions to the American
Literature; her poems show a wide range of treatment of the
subject of death; from a philosophical examination of death's
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A Thematic Study of Death…………………….………………………….
relation with love to a gloomy consideration of its physical
processes (Lall: 2011, p.53).

In her poems on the subject of death, Miss Dickinson closely

examines the sensations of the dying, the response of the
observers, the terrible struggle of the body for life, the
adjustment in a house after death, the arranging of the body for
the funeral, the church services, and even the thoughts of the
dead person (Lall: 2011, p.53).

In Dickinson's best poems, she explains death's sensational and

emotional aspects to probe its ultimate relation with love and
immortality. Death comes as a cunning courtier, it commands
one's presence as a king stings like an insect, it is also compared
to a brook which inspires fear. Miss Dickinson also wrote many
morbid poems that were full of pathos and sentimentality(Lall:
2011, p.53).

The Traditional concept of Death Satirized in "I heard a Fly

buzz—when I died"

In this short poem, death is transformed into a single fly which

dominates the scene with its buzzing noise that nothing else
seems to matter to the dying person(Pratt: 1996, p.50 ) : “ I heard
a Fly buzz when I died/ the Stillness in the room” (Emily
Dickinson: 1960, p.223) the speaker sees the mourners around
her holding their breath, they are waiting for death which they
conceive as "the King" who will come and claim her(Pratt: 1996,
p.50 ) : “ For that last onset when the King/ Be witnessed in the
Room” (Emily Dickinson: 1960, p.224) This poem satirizes the
traditional view of death as a release from life's pressures and a
glorious entry into immortality, the poetess sees only
disappointment, a buzzing fly, and the terrible attempts of the
soul to prolong life (Lall: 2011, p.54).

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Miss Dickinson's poem "I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—"
turns traditional Calvinist concept of death upside down. The
speaker in the poem spends her dying moments attentive to a fly
(Mamunes: 2008, p.122) Rather imagining the soul's continuing
life in heaven, the poetess stresses physical death with the fly
buzzing around the corpse. This physical perspective of death
undermines the sentimental notion of an angelic death(Mamunes:
2008, p.122): “ There interposed a Fly/ with Blue uncertain
stumbling Buzz” (Emily Dickinson: 1960, p.223)

She questions the traditional religious concept in which death

is an occasion to go to the afterlife, but here, the "king" is
witnessed neither by the mourners nor by the dying person,
instead, the fly which represents the physical universe interposes
between the speaker and the light which may represent the
eternal light of God or the failing light of earthly existence
((Mamunes: 2008, p. 88).

In "I heard a fly buzz—when I died—," there is the drama of

the deathbed scene, the watchers by the bed side, the dying
person, and the buzzing fly breaks the stillness. It is death
dramatized; but there is no shock or lamentation(Sewall: 2003,
p.718).

This poem conveys imaginary scene because in it, the poetess

seems to pursue the physical experience of death to its uttermost
limit beyond human consciousness, and yet the words are those
of a person who must be alive. She speaks of death before it
happens, but takes the viewpoint of someone who has
experienced death. Thus, her short poem performs an act of
imagination . (Pratt: 1996, p. 57). The poetess states that “ [she]
could not see to see.” (Emily Dickinson: 1960, p.224) , yet the
poetess is present to narrate what she had seen earlier as if she
comes back to life to report what had happened to her.

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Dickinson's Concept About Death in "A Clock stopped—"

In this poem about death and its irreversibility , Emily

Dickinson organizes a metaphor of man as a clock which ticks to
his death. Although the speaker implies she is reporting on an
experience death that she has just witnessed, all personal details
vanish as she explores a vision of what it means to be a human
"clock" that has come to the end of his/its "Dial life". (Leiter:
2007, p. 27). In the poem, life is compared to a clock and the end
of life is compared to the mechanical stoppage of the clock:

A clock stopped-

Not the Mantel’s-

Geneva’s farthest skill

Can’t put the puppet bowing. ( Emily Dickinson: 1960, p.132)

The poetess portrays the metaphor in a way that readers can

scarcely separate out three levels of existence: the mechanical,
the human, and the metaphysical reality of death (Leiter: 2007, p.
27).

"A Clock stopped—" is a fuller examination of death. The

philosophical and religious insights of death in this poem are
deeper, the poetess here uses a metaphor of a man as a clock and
she also uses the age-old comparison of life to a timepiece.
Through these metaphors, she portrays death as the sudden
breakdown of a carefully constructed clock, but even this master
craftsman cannot repair the springs and broken gears of this clock
(Lall: 2011 , p.55).

The whole poem subtly blends the despairing reality of

physical death with the matter of eternity. The bitter tone is
softened by the suggestion of the soul's existence after death. The
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poem might be read as a satire of Calvinism's precise and logical
philosophy which codifies man's life only to break down when
faced with the reality of death (Lall: 2011 , p.55).

The Ritual and Inner portrayal of death in "I felt a Funeral,

in my Brain"

In this poem, Miss Dickinson portrays a description through a

series of shifting scenes in which she achieves a final vision. The
events are related in the past tense to offer an explanation of what
has happened to the speaker. Loneliness and isolation from
others are dominant in the poem(Farr:2004, p. 90). The poetess
expresses her isolation is a silent space: “And I , and Silence,
some strange race/ Wrecked , solitary, here.” (Emily Dickinson:
1960, p.128) No one interacts with anyone else at the funeral. No
individual is ever mentioned, no sentence is ever uttered, and no
mourning clothes are described. The mourners are faceless and
devoid of feeling (Farr: 2004, p. 90). The poetess describes the
attendants and she describes herself as well:

And Mourners to and fro

Kept treading- treading- till it seemed

That Sense was breaking through-

And when they all were seated

A Service , like a Drum-

Kept beating –beating- till I thought

My Mind was going numb. (Emily Dickinson: 1960, p.128)

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A Thematic Study of Death…………………….………………………….
The poem is a mindscape in which its first setting—"a
Funeral, in my Brain"—establishes the subject, the death of
consciousness, but not until the tenth line, when the mourners are
decidedly identified as interiors who "creak" across her soul,
does the poem make clear that this funeral records the steady
failure of perception. The vivid and severe equations between
physiological sensations and ceremonial ritual point up the
experience. Ultimately, the poetess moves from feeling to
"finished knowing" (Farr: 2004, p. 90).

In " I felt a Funeral, in my Brain," it is remarkable that the last

"then" followed by its dash, suggests the continuity of intellect.
At one time "—then—" the funeral took place, but the speaker is
still alive to think and record it(Farr:2004, p. 91 ).

This poem is a disturbing portrayal of death. There is no hope

of immortality, it depicts a despairing force into an eternal void.
The poem borders almost on the morbid in describing the terrible
struggle that the separation of the body from the soul causes, but
the physical death also seems to offer a short insight into the
nature of infinity(Lall: 2011, p.54).

A Different View to Death in "Because I could not stop for

Death"

"Because I could not stop for Death" is one of Dickinson's

most famous and widely discussed poems, it had already been
singled out as one of her greatest poems about the transition from
life to death; it also continues to be hailed as a summary
statement of her most important themes: death and
immortality(Lall: 2011, p.57). Dickinson explored the moment of
dying in images of movement and destination (Lall: 2011,p.103).

Scholars have suggested that Dickinson's carriage ride with

Death was inspired by a biographical incident, that is, the death

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of Olivia Coleman , the beautiful old sister of Emily's close
friend Eliza M. Coleman who died of a tubercular hemorrhage
while she was out riding in a carriage ,but there are also abundant
cultural sources for the image.

In “Because I could not stop for Death—,” we see death

personified. He is not frightening, or even intimidating her, but
rather a courteous and gentle guide, leading her to eternity.
(Farr:2004,p.92) The poetess uses words, such as “ kindly” and
“civility” when she mentions death: “He kindly stopped for me/
For his Civility” (Emily Dickinson :1960, p.350) The speaker
feels no fear when Death picks her up in his carriage, she just
sees it as an act of kindness, as she was too busy to find time for
him (Farr:2004,p.92).

In this poem, the speaker who is dressed in gossamer and tulle

is overtaken on life's road by death as a courtly suitor; he
conducts her out of this world. The speaker never expresses any
direct emotion about her journey with death, she seems to
experience neither fear nor pain. On the other hand, there is no
indication that she is enamored of Death, because she does not
stop for death and it is he who takes the initiative. Yet, she does
not resist and responds well giving away her labor and her
leisure, too, that is, the whole of her life (Armand: 1986,p73).

The poetess narrates the incidents of a journey where she and

Death passed through several places after the poetess left her
work and her personal affairs:

We passed the school, where children strove

At Recess- in the Ring-

We passed the Fields of Gazing Gram-

We passed the Setting Sun-

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We paused before a House that seemed. (Emily Dickinson:
1960, p.350)

The real landscape is translated under their carriage wheels

into a grave which is placed out of time, but the speaker has
passed into this level without apparent pain(Armand: 1986 ,p.73).
In this poem, there is a sense of reconciliation as she accepts
death calmly and civilly as befits a lady receiving the attention of
a gentleman. That immorality is the goal is hinted at in the first
stanza, where “Immortality” is the only other occupant of the
carriage, yet it is only in the final stanza that we see that the
speaker has obtained it (Farr:2004,p.92).

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A Thematic Study of Death…………………….………………………….
Conclusion

Emily Dickinson’s poems holds a wavering attitude between

the exploration of the physical experience of death represented
by the poem “ I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” and the concept of
eternity represented by the poem “Because I Could not Stop for
Death”

Dickinson’s poems depict death through various metaphors. At

times, death is compared to a suitor who kindly stops for the
speaker in the poem. At other times, life is compared to a clock
in the poem “A Clock Stopped” and death stops this “ dial life.”
Moreover, the poetess suggests imaginary scenes of death where
the speaker of the poem is conscious enough to observe what
goes around, yet , she is also dead.

Emily Dickinson’s interpretation of death is the outcome of the

social and personal influences around her, such as: death in the
family, her ill health, and her seclusion. Thus, the anxiety found
in the poems: “ I Felt a Funeral in My Brain, ” “A Clock
Stopped,” and “ I Heard a Fly buzz When I Died” is transformed
to a reconciliation and an implied wish to die.

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References

1- Armand, Barton Levie. (1986) Emily Dickinson and Her

Culture: The
Soule's Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

2- Carter, Louise and Farr, Judith. (2009) The Gardens of

Emily
Dickinson. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

3- Farr, Judith. (2004) The Passion of Emily Dickinson.

Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press.

4- Johnson, Thomas H. Ed.(1960 ) The Complete Poems of

EmilyDickinson. Boston: Little Brown Company.

5- Lall, Ramji. (2011)Emily Dickinson: An Evaluation of Her

Poetry.
New Delhi: Rama Brothers.

6- Leiter, Sharon. (2007)Critical Companion to Emily

Dickinson: A
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7- Lundin, Roger. (1998)Emily Dickinson and the Art of

Belief.
Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

8- Mamunes, George. (2008)"So Has a Daisy Vanished"

Emily Dickinson
and tuberculosis. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

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9- Ottlinger, Claudia. (1996)The Death in the Poetry of Emily
Dickinson
and Christina Rossetti. Frankfurt: Main Lang.

10-Pratt, William. Singing the Chaos: Madness and Wisdom

in
Modern Poetry. Columbia: University of Missouri Press,
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11-Sewall, Richard B. (2003)The Life of Emily Dickinson.

Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press.

12-Tandon, Neeru and Trevedi, Anjana. (2008)Thematic

Patterns of
Emily Dickinson's Poetry. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers
and Distribute

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