Analysis of I Heard a Fly Buzz When I died by Emily Dickinson

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Analysis of I Heard a Fly Buzz When I died by Emily Dickinson

In Emily Dickinson's poem I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died, the feeling of death being present in the room is the overall tone. The tie in between death and the flies persistent buzzing is one that must be looked at very closely. The buzzing is not something that the average living person would notice but under the particular circumstances, even the smallest of details become noticeable as a man dies. As the voice in the poem is painting the picture of a funeral, the reader becomes more intoned to the idea of death through the use the figurative language and symbols when the voice speaks about the mourners who have gathered, the sound of a flies buzz, and the closing of the window.

Within the poem Dickinson uses figurative language to her full advantage, using it to assist her in painting the picture of there being a sad moment in time successfully. The usage of the past tense when setting the scene where all the people were standing around grieving was done excellent through the choose of words. When using the word wrung it helps to suggest that the grieving is over for now, and it is now time to take control over their breathing and move on. Also when the voice is speaking of dieing, death is referred to signing away what he would have left to give of what at least be worth giving away.

The usage, both placement and number of times used, of the flies buzzing was very critical itself with in the poem. If Dickinson were to use the symbol too much it would take away from the moment of focusing on death and cause people to think more about the fly. The flies buzz I fell is in the text because it is something a person would under a normal situation would ignore, but when you are dieing you become more in touch with your senses. The sense of hearing is the last one of the five senses a person will loose as the process of dieing comes to a closer, as in this poem.

The idea of a window being closed is very symbolic in this poem, of a person's life coming to an end. When the window shuts it cuts off all the light to the person's eyes, and therefore the idea of death is being used.

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