Emily Dickinson: I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died
Emily Dickinson’s “I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” is one poem that receives many levels of analysis when being interpreted, and students are encouraged to be familiar with her work for the English Composition and Humanities exams.
In this poem, we are met with a very famous opening line… “I heard a fly buzz when I died”. In this poem, we have to interpret what this fly means…
Does the fly represent the realities of death, including smell and decay?
Is the fly representing God or Christ arriving for the death?
Is the fly really the only alive thing involved in the poem?
Consider these questions as you read!
Emily Dickinson: I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died
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October 14th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I Heard a Fly Buzz-when I died
Widely known by avid readers, Emily Dickenson’s poem “I Heard a Fly Buzz-when I died” Is compelling in that she speaks openly about death and the feelings of one woman’s thoughts on her death bed. The reader is left to interpret her work in their own mind, while evaluating how we think about the subject of death.
This poem provides a powerful message on the reality of death after life, we have no idea when and where but we will all face that day. The person is planning for this time in their life by giving away their valued keepsakes and making out a will for those left behind. Now facing death she is still and reflecting on her life, and ready for what will be her fate, death.
Dickinson’s writing style is interesting in that she compares life going on by the metaphor of a fly buzzing by. She leaves her readers open to interpret this literary piece with self insight, taking you to a deep place in you own soul, to reflect on life. Her style is unique in that she speaks of her eyes like windows that are failing, now unable to see.
This poem is a direct reflection on life and its ultimate ending. We come into the world alone and leave alone. The time we directly face death we are drawing our last breaths and close our eyes we must face God, and account for our lives here on earth.
I feel the author was trying to convey to her readers, that life is short make the most of the time you have here on earth. You never know when it’s your time so don’t let life pass you by like a fly randomly flying around not really going anywhere.
Nursemom
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
nursemom81:
Use of Written Language: 4 – Just a few minor grammar errors present. One thing to watch out for is using the same word repetitively in a sentence. For example: “Now facing death she is still and reflecting on her life, and ready for what will be her fate, death.” Having the word “death” twice makes this sentence awkward to read. Try separating it into multiple sentences.
Use of Argument and Support: 5 – Good development of the idea that she was trying to make us think!
Understanding Concepts: 5 – All of the paragraph topics clearly show support of the thesis. The only suggestion would be to make the thesis a bit clearer, using statements such as “her purpose was to make the reader think about..”