A Journey Through Emily Dickinson’s Poetry
...actual experience of death to be important, but rather it was more essential to question it. Throughout Emily’s life, many of her loved ones perished. Her father died in 1874, her mother in 1882, and her beloved eight year old nephew died in 1883 (“The Belle of Amherst”). Her curiosity and understanding of death is evident in many of her poems. In her poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” death is personified into a courteous friend. “She separates Death from Immortality, whom she represents as a fellow passenger on her journey” (Bloom 37). While riding in a carriage, the woman passes a school and field of grain. By doing so, she becomes aware of the fullness of life. Then as the sun is setting, Death permits her to view her place of burial. This poem, “…is neither one of despair nor loss nor outrage, but of resignation” (Bloom 37). In another poem, “I Heard A Fly Buzz-When I Died,” Dickinson reconstructs the drama of a deathbed (Bloom 37). Death appears painless, but macabre in this poem. The narrator is already dead and speaking about her death. This may signify immortality as a state of consciousness. The eyes of those beside the deathbed have been “wrung dry”. There is silence in the room except for a maddening buzz from a fly (“Emily…Death”). Before the death of her mother, Emily nurtured her and stayed close by her until her death. The understanding of what occurs when someone is on the brink of death is evident in, “I Heard I Fly Buzz-When I Died.” She gained the awareness of death when her friends and relatives perished. The theme of death in Dickinson’s poetry mirrors many of her personal experiences with bereavement. Nature is another theme used in Dickinson’s poetry. Emily’s own intense interest in nature, effected her poetry. Her admiration in nature was witnessed by her diligent tending of her garden. Being isolated from the intricacies of society, Emily was able to observe the beauty and details of nature. She ofte...