Emily Dickinson Death Theme Essay

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Death is something no one bears the power to control. Emily Dickinson does an extraordinary job at presenting death in many of her poems. Dickinson uses death as the central theme for many of her poems. Living next to the cemetery from a young age, it had a great influence on Dickinson and her incorporation of death and immortality in her poems. Emily Dickinson talks about death and the meaning of death in many of the poems give her readers an understanding of how darkness can be viewed. It is strange for a writer to talk about death as much as she does, however, it is presented very smoothly in her poems. Talking so much about death, it seemed, as Dickinson was obsessed with the idea of an afterlife. The loss of a very close friend, Samuel …show more content…

Being a traditional Christian, through religion Dickinson believed in the afterlife after death. Emily Dickinson displays the beliefs of death in the reflection of religion, afterlife and immortality in her poems give readers the feeling of acceptance.
Many people fear death due to the fact that they will leave their loved ones and descent from the face of the earth, however, Dickinson did not show any signs of fear while talking and writing about death. “A close reading of Dickinson’s poems indicates that the best of her poems revolve round the theme of death” (Antony & Dewan 2). Many of Dickinson’s poems have the central theme of death, as to no one know why, however, it is proclaimed welcoming. One of Dickinson’s famous poems “Because I could not stop for Death” displays how death can occur so naturally, and it could be a gentleman who takes you to your final destination. Dickinson’s talk about death in the story could be viewed as a prince charming or a gentleman who has arrived at the doorstep with a …show more content…

There are three stages of life that are presented very well in the poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” According to Dickinson the first stage of life is “We passed the school, where Children strove” (Dickinson 219). This means that the children are still young, innocent and have yet to mature. The second stage that describes the circle of life presented by Dickinson is “We passed the Field of Gazing Grain-“ (Dickinson 219). This presents the “grains” as humans who are maturing and are now in the presence of adulthood. The last stage of life presented is “We passed the Setting Sun-“ (Dickinson 219). As the sun sets it disappears and the moon is shining along with the stars, just like that, when the death occurs a person disappears and becomes one of the stars and starts shining from above as they have gone to heaven. This can also be interconnected with religion, as in many cultures it is believed that when a person dies, they become one of the stars and shine down upon us, watching us like a guardian angel. The people who have reached darkness is not standing next to god in heaven as they have reached the end of their life cycle. Humans forget that slowly but gradually they are maturing and before it is noticed death is at our doorstep, and Dickinson predicts this in her

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