Poem Dickinson example essay topic

People hate dealing with death. Throughout all of history, people have always feared and tried to put off their own death for as long as humanly possible. But despite people's wishes, death comes to us all and makes no exceptions. The only thing that has ever assured people about death is their faith in God and the afterlife. Emily Dickinson, one of literatures finest writers, uses her poetry to help deal with the internal struggles she has regarding herself dying and the afterlife. Although themes of death can be found throughout much of her work, her view on mortality varies from poem to poem.

Dickinson's feelings towards God change from anger and resentment towards acceptance in the poems "I heard a Fly buzz- when I died,"Those-dying, then", and "Because I could not stop for Death", respectively. "I heard a Fly buzz-when I died" deals with the fact that Dickinson is angry at God for not being there at the time of her death. The main theme throughout is that she doubts the existence of heaven or any form of afterlife, which are symbolized by a fly. In this poem Dickinson is surrounded by her family while lying on her death bed, and she is waiting for "when the King be witnessed in the Room" (I Heard a Fly Buzz lines 7-8). Expecting to be taken away by God when death had finally come, there is nothing but a fly in the room.

Dickinson expresses the vast nothingness in the room by comparing it to "the stillness in the air between the heaves of storm" (I Heard a Fly Buzz 3-4). This makes the reader think that since God did not come and take her away, she suggests there is no afterlife and her soul will just drift aimlessly for all eternity. The third and last stanzas of this poem shows just how devastating it is to Dickinson to be abandoned by God at the time of her death, and instead to only hear the buzzing of the fly when she "could not see to see" (I Heard a Fly Buzz 16). Similar to "I heard a Fly buzz- when I Died,"Those-dying, then" is another one of Dickinson's depressing and dark poems. The general message being conveyed doubts the existence of God.

The poem is saying that in past times people knew what was going to happen to them when they died; they would go to heaven or "God's right hand" (Those-dying 3). But Dickinson uses the gruesome imagery "The Hand is amputated now, and God cannot be found" (Those- dying, 4-5), to show that she feels that she will not join the kingdom of heaven when she dies, and how she almost feels deserted by God. In the second stanza, Dickinson also shows how she resents death and God with the line "The abdication of Belief, makes the behavior small" (Those-dying 6-7). She is saying that once faith is lost that everything else a person does in life is meaningless. At this point in the poem a person might think that suicide was just around the corner for Dickinson, but she contradicts those thoughts in the last two lines of the poem, "Better an i gnus fatuous than no illume at all" (Those-dying, then 8-9). These last lines are saying that it is better to live by a dim light than to have no light all; implying that it is better to live life with faith and some direction, rather than just wandering through it.

This last stanza shows how her views on God are beginning to change from a feeling of abandonment towards acceptance. "Because I could not stop for Death" is similar to the two previously mentioned poems, but it is also quite different. The theme in the first poems was that Dickinson is angry and resentful towards God, but her views on death and the afterlife seemed to change dramatically in "Because I could not stop for Death". She seems to realize that death in not escap able and therefore should not be painful, and the tone of this poem parallels those beliefs. Throughout the poem she refers to death in kind and passive terms such as "He kindly stopped for me" (Because I could not stop 2), and also speaking of "His civility" (Because I could not stop 8).

This poem details the last moments leading up to Dickinson's death; portrayed as her journey towards eternity accompanied by death in a "Carriage held but just ourselves-and immortality" (Because I could not stop 3-4). Her journey with death begins slowly, "He knew no haste" (Because I could not stop 5), but then she reaches the "swelling of the ground" (Because I could not stop 18). This swelling represents the end of life and signifies that she is about to become another soul in the afterlife. Surprisingly, this poem ends in a very peaceful way, saying that "the horses' Heads Were toward Eternity-" (Because I could not stop 23-24). This is a very important passage because she is at the brink of the eternal life, which is never ending, and the poem ends with a dash signifying that it will also never end. Unfortunately, there are always critics who want to argue against anything a person thinks.

Some people would argue that Dickinson's views on death never really changed throughout these three poems. These pessimists might challenge that even though it appears as if Dickinson does become more mature and accepting towards death, she never truly gets past her fears. She just does not speak of them in such harsh terms in the poem "Because I could not stop for Death". Of course there is no way that anyone could ever prove this accusation, seeing as how it would require an interview with Dickinson, who is now passed away. Although she does seem very negative and dark pertaining to God and death; there is no way a person can argue that her pessimistic views of death do not become more passive and peaceful after reading "Because I could not stop for Death", compared to the gloomy poem "I heard a Fly buzz-when I died". Dickinson's poems "I heard a Fly buzz-when I died,"Those-dying, then", and "Because I could not stop for Death" show her progressing acceptance towards God and death.

Of course she is not the only person who struggles with the idea of dying. But it is faith that allows people to live life worry free and to not let the idea of death disturb them because they know that their souls will be live on forever in the afterlife. Who knows how chaotic people would become nearing their death if they had no faith in a higher being. Of course, where does that leave all the people who are nonbelievers?