An Interpretation of Emily Dickinson's Poem I Felt a Funeral in My Brain
Emily Dickinson was a reclusive individual that was rarely seen by anyone outside of her immediate family and few close friends. This solitude emerges in her poetry in the form of doom and gloom depictions. Dickinson seems to have a fascination with death as if death is a friendly character rather than a horrible image. It has been stated that Dickinson's obsession with death was a sign to others around her and her readers that she was struggling internally.
In the poem "I Felt a Funeral in My Brain" Dickinson seems to be describing a delusion of a person that is contemplating what will happen to him/her when he/she dies. This poem also seems to be an affirmation of heaven and hell and a personal battle within the narrator to come to terms with his/her own mortal existence. In the first stanza Dickinson describes "feeling a funeral in her brain". This could be a metaphor for her own personal death and the reference to "sense breaking through" tells the reader that only through death can a person ever understand and/or value life. This could be viewed as a retrospection on the narrators life and a telling poem about where she was at in her existance around this period of time.
If this interpretation is justified then in stanza two the funeral proceeds with the narrator hating to be there as she/he says:
"And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum-
Kept beating-beating-till I thought
My Mind was going numb-"
This stanza shows that the narrator is still bored with the living world even in death.
The third stanza continues the theme of a struggle between heaven and hell in the last line when the narrator states, "Then space-began to toll". This reference to a bell tolling, or time running out seems to suggest the impending judgment for the narrator.
Heaven is discussed in the forth stanza and compared to a bell:
"As all the Heavens were a Bell
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange race
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In his preface to "Kubla Khan," Samuel Taylor Coleridge makes the claim that his poem is a virtual recording of something given to him in a drug-induced reverie, "if that indeed can be called composition in which all the images rose up before him as things . . . without any sensation or consciousness of effort." As spontaneous and as much a product of the unconscious or dreaming world as the poem might seem on first reading, however, it is also a finely structured, well wrought device that suggests the careful manipulation by the conscious mind.
One primary element of death is the experience of dying. Many of of us are scared of the thought of death. When we stop and think about what death will be like, we wonder what it will feel like, will it be painful, will it be scary? In Emily Dickinson's poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death, she focuses on what the journey into her afterlife will be like. Dickinson uses the first person narrative to tell her encounter with death. The form that she uses throughout the poem helps to convey her message. The poem is written in five quatrains. Each stanza written in a quatrain is written so that the poem is easy to read. The first two lines of the poem, “Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me;” (Clugston 2010), gives you a clear view of what the poems central theme is. Unlike most poems that are about death, Dickinson's attitu...
The speaker connects a symbol of death with her brain and says her “mind is going numb,” which implies that a part of her is dying (Dickinson 8). At the end of the poem, the speaker also states “a plank in reason broke / and I dropped down and down” (Dickinson 17-18). The statement of an interruption of logic followed by her descent is a hopeless ending that shows the speaker is losing her rationality and declining mentally. Dickinson portrays a speaker who is dying physcologically and thus is becoming mad. In addition, “I Felt a Funeral,” characterizes death as forcefully acting upon the speaker beyond her control, much like it is in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” In the former, Dickinson does not demonstrate the funeral and the downturn as stoppable or preventable, and in the latter she unsuccessfully avoids death. The opening lines “Because I could not stop for Death / He kindly stopped for me” shows the speaker did not want to give up her earthly life (Dickinson 1-2). Though the figure of death treated her politely, it is clear that the presence of death was unavoidable, as it was in the previous poem.
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on 10th December, 1830, in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts. As a young child, she showed a bright intelligence, and was able to create many recognizable writings. Many close friends and relatives in Emily’s life were taken away from her by death. Living a life of simplicity and aloofness, she wrote poetry of great power: questioning the nature of immortality and death. Although her work was influenced by great poets of the time, she published many strong poems herself. Two of Emily Dickinson’s famous poems, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died”, are both about life’s one few certainties, death, and that is where the similarities end.
Proper nutrition is important in maintaining a long and healthy life. Most Americans are rushed due to their busy work schedules, and do not take the time to plan their diets properly. Like me, most Americans are unaware of the importance of eating a healthy diet and consume too many foods without the proper nutrients. Throughout my life I have been fortunate. I have not had any major health problems, and have been able to consume most foods without having to worry about gaining weight. These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously imagined.
Many say they have good reasons to argue why euthanasia is a good thing. They use the argument that euthanasia is a cry for help (NCLC Department of Medical Ethics, 1). Others say terminal illness is so painful that death is the only way out. Some are concerned with what is in store for their future and would use euthanasia as an option. Then there are those who are wanting to die, but are incapable of performing their own demise, so they request help (Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 3).
Nutrition is a very controversial and confusing topic. One day coffee is bad for you, but the next day it is good. Alcohol is detrimental for our health one day, but the next day red wine is the elixir of life. There are dozens of diet plans and they promise a leaner and healthier body. There is the 3-Hour Diet that involves constantly eating small portions of anything we want to eat. The latest diet craze, the Paleo Diet, is based upon eating foods that our “hunter-gatherer ancestors” would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era. And there is the Blood Type Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Macrobiotic Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and the list goes on. But who and what should we believe? Well, there is an optimal diet for humans and the answer might surprise many.
Throughout history, euthanasia has been used as a way to relieve a patient from an incurable illness or from living a life of unbearable pain. Many cultures, such as the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, did not oppose one’s decision to end his life rather than living with agonizing pain.3 During this time period, this choice was commonplace. A few ancient philosophers, who believed that the ending of a human life belonged to the gods only, met it with objection. When the Christian era began, the subject was rarely discussed or practiced because of the strong trust and faith held in God and his divine command. It was not until the eighteenth century Enlightenment period that new ideas favoring euthanasia were put forth by philosophers and other prominent figures such as Samuel Williams and David Hume.4 By the close of the 1800’s...
Imagery is a big component to most works of poetry. Authors strive to achieve a certain image for the reader to paint in their mind. Dickinson tries to paint a picture of ?death? in her own words. Thomas A. Johnson, an interpretive author of Dickinson's work, says that ?In 1863 Death came into full statue as a person. ?Because I could not stop for Death? is a superlative achievement wherein Death becomes one of the greatest characters of literature? (Johnson). Dickinson's picture to the audience is created by making ?Death? an actual character in the poem. By her constantly calling death either ?his? or ?he,? she denotes a specific person and gender. Dickinson also compares ?Death? to having the same human qualities as the other character in the poem. She has ?Death? physically arriving and taking the other character in the carriage with him. In the poem, Dickinson shows the reader her interpretation of what this person is going through as they are dying and being taken away by ?Death?. Dickinson gives images such as ?The Dews drew quivering and chill --? and ?A Swelling of the Ground --? (14, 18). In both of these lines, Dickinson has the reader conjure up subtle images of death. The ?quivering an chill? brings to the reader's mind of death being ...
Emily Dickinson became legendary for her preoccupation with death. All her poems contain stanzas focusing on loss or loneliness, but the most striking ones talk particularly about death, specifically her own death and her own afterlife. Her fascination with the morose gives her poems a rare quality, and gives us insight into a mind we know very little about. What we do know is that Dickinson’s father left her a small amount of money when she was young. This allowed her to spend her time writing and lamenting, instead of seeking out a husband or a profession. Eventually, she limited her outside activities to going to church. In her early twenties, she began prayed and worshipped on her own. This final step to total seclusion clearly fueled her obsession with death, and with investigating the idea of an afterlife. In “Because I could not stop for Death”, Dickinson rides in a carriage with the personification of Death, showing the constant presence of death in her life. Because it has become so familiar, death is no longer a frightening presence, but a comforting companion. Despite this, Dickinson is still not above fear, showing that nothing is static and even the most resolute person is truly sure of anything. This point is further proven in “I heard a Fly buzz”, where a fly disrupts the last moment of Dickinson’s life. The fly is a symbol of death, and of uncertainty, because though it represents something certain—her impending death—it flies around unsure with a “stumbling buzz”. This again illustrates the changing nature of life, and even death. “This World is not Conclusion” is Dickinson’s swan song on the subject of afterlife. She confirms all her previous statements, but in a more r...
What exactly is Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide? Euthanasia is the practice of ending a human being’s life with the support of a physician or other third party in response to an untreatable patient suffering from severe pain and exhaustion over a course of time. Euthanasia is sometimes known as, mercy killing or assisted suicide. However, there are many classifications of Euthanasia and it has been legal in five states of the U.S, as of 2017; Washington, Oregon, Montana, Colorado, Vermont, and California. It has also been legalized in Canada, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Japan and Columbia have too, legalized this practice, but under strict and defined circumstances. Although physician-assisted suicide seems like the definitive answer for patients that are heavily suffering from terminal illnesses, it is morally wrong and ethically erroneous. The topic of Euthanasia has always been a controversial one because it holds both, moral as well as ethical claims. So, in other words, should Euthanasia be legalized? Should people have the option to end their lives and basically play God? This essay will focus on the claims against Euthanasia and
...ause I Could Not Stop for Death” Dickinson portrays her feelings of death and dying through the eyes of the dying. In this poem, the reader learns what it is like to experience death. In “After great pain, a formal feeling comes,” Dickinson personifies death and the feelings accompanied with it. Although the deceased has no feelings, Dickinson compares the two to help gain a better understanding of the feelings accompanied with the loss of a loved one.
The diet of the average person in the United States can be seen as less than ideal to anyone who has knowledge of nutrition and proper diet. According to Center For Science In the Public Interest (CSPINET), the diet of the an average individual in America is said to lead to increase the risk of many diseases. This is due to the amount of saturated fat, sodium, calories, and added sugar (para. 1). In 2016, Frerichs, Intolubbe-Chmil, Trowbridge, Brittin, Teitelbaum, & Huang, explain that the factors of
For Dickinson, on the contrary, death is not something unreal. As the author has written "Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me..." After reading these two lines the reader "imagines the picture of Death being a human which joins the author during the ride" . Dickinson tries to portray the characteristics of death in the poem. Stating that there is eternity after death, the author alludes both the possibility of the life after death and absolute zero-ness of it. Unlike Plath, Dickinson not only talks about the notion of death, but personalizes it. The reader feels that the author in fact...