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Emily Dickinson and American Romanticism cont.

  • This period ran from 1820-1860.
  • Poetry created during the period of American Romanticism was inspired by patriotism, nature and religion.
  • During this time, America was expanding and discovering its own voice. This concept was reflected in much poetry from the time period.

Works Cited

  • "Emily Dickinson." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
  • "Emily Dickinson - Biography." Emily Dickinson. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
  • "Emily Dickinson." Emily Dickinson. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. <http://montanaacademy.tripod.com/id6.html>.

Theme

One theme of this poem is accepting the inevitable. Everyone has accepted that the speaker is going to die, to the point where they are no longer mourning, but preparing themselves. Another major theme is mortality, as the speaker explores all aspects of death, from preparation for it through the actual experience.

Title

Title-

The title of the poem seems to be very straightforward. The "death" is probably a metaphor, as well as the fly buzzing.

Upon first glance, the buzzing of the fly and the death of the speaker both seemed to be metaphorical. However, after reading the poem, it becomes apparent that the speaker is speaking from beyond the grave, so the death was not metaphorical. The fly, however, was a metaphor for the speakers transition from life to death.

Emily Dickinson and American Romanticism

Shifts

The author's attitude remains constant throughout the poem. There are no shifts.

  • Emily Dickinson was born December 10, 1830 and died May 15, 1886.
  • Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties,
  • She was introverted and a recluse.
  • She became known for wearing white and not greeting her guests.
  • She attended Amherst Academy and Holyoke female Seminary
  • Many of her poems deal with death and immortality.
  • Much of her poetry was influenced by the Metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century, as well as her Puritan upbringing.

Connotation

In the first stanza, the speaker uses a simile to compare the atmosphere around her to the stillness in the middle of a storm. This suggests that the sense of anxious anticipation that would be present between heaves of a storm is present around her. This could be the result of impending disaster. In the second stanza, the speaker uses a metaphor, saying the "king" will "be witnessed in his power," meaning that she will meet God in death. In the third stanza, the speaker is giving away everything she owns, even the things she considers to be a part of herself, in anticipation of death. As she is writing her will, she is interrupted by the buzzing of a fly, which could symbolize the last part of her that is alive. In the last stanza, the uncertainty of the buzz symbolizes the speakers life dwindling and the failing of the windows symbolizes the closing of her eyes as she dies.

"I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died"

Attitude

The speaker's attitude is morosely accepting of her certain death. By mentioning a seemingly unimportant occurrence such as the buzzing of a fly in the same line as her death, the speaker makes it clear that death is not a foreign concept to her and she has come to terms with her imminent death.

I heard a fly buzz when I died;

The stillness round my form

Was like the stillness in the air

Between the heaves of storm.

The eyes beside had wrung them dry,

And breaths were gathering sure

For that last onset, when the king

Be witnessed in his power.

I willed my keepsakes, signed away

What portion of me I

Could make assignable,-and then

There interposed a fly,

With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,

Between the light and me;

And then the windows failed, and then

I could not see to see.

"I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died" by Emily Dickinson

Megan Carey and Constantine Baltzis

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