The Symbolism Of The Fly In Emily Dickinson's I Heard A Fly Buzz

Words: 251

Pages: 2

The symbolism of the Fly in Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz” juxtaposes the expectations of heaven with the actuality of the situation, warping the common ideological standpoint of what the afterlife is truly like. When the speaker recalls their death, they explain that they “heard a fly buzz” at the time of their demise (Dickinson 1). The “Fly” is the first thing the speaker hears at the time of death, symbolizing it as the reaper, coming to take the speaker to a bleak and drab depiction of the afterlife. The speaker, with their idea of the afterlife in mind, awaits final judgement from “the King” (7-8). The speaker expects to go to heaven, or at least the idealized and glamourous version of the afterlife. The speaker’s expectations

Show More

Emily Dickinson's Poetry

different aspects of life. Emily Dickinson is a phenomenal writer, and allows the reader to experience her views of the world. “Her appearance in life would have been familiar only to those who knew her had not a single daguerreotype, which reveals the pensive, arresting face of the poet as a young woman, been preserved. The plate, mysteriously missing for some fifty years, came to light in 1945. A reproduction of the original now has appeared so often that Dickinson’s is certainly one of the best-known…

Words 679 - Pages 3

Emily Dickinson's I Heard A Fly Buzz-When I Died

Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I heard a Fly Buzz-when I died” portrays the moments right before her death. In my poem, “I heard a Butterfly Flap- when I exited my womb, juxtaposes Dickinson's subject about death, and instead portrays the beginning of life. Dickinson introduces fly as the symbolism for death. That is why when the line that states “there interposed a fly”(line 11) shows that the fly blocks the speaker from the light of her life, and it introduces her to her death. I introduce…

Words 421 - Pages 2

Poetry: Death and Poem Essay

era of American Poetry, “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I died” describes the mental distractions of irrelevant details even during crucial life-or death moments. In the poem, the narrator distinguishes two different perspectives of death: the traditional beliefs and the rituals of death. The two different perspectives are used by Emily Dickinson to exaggerate the meaning of death and immortality, which attribute to the speaker’s sarcastic tone because it is then compared to a fly buzzing. Several characteristics…

Words 400 - Pages 2

Essay about Emily DIckinson

Dickinson’s Idea on Nature of Suffering and Death Many of Emily Dickinson’s works revolve around human emotion and the great detail of the process of death. The abundance use of death or suffering symbolism takes the focus out of the present reality of the human life. However, the importance of Dickinson’s works consists of the nature of suffering and death and how both world, reality and eternal life, parallels each other for these subjects are uncontrollable by humans. Death is personified…

Words 1075 - Pages 5

Essay on Emily Dickinson: A POETIC LEGACY

Austin Karp Professor John Williams English 209 10 October 2013 Emily Dickinson: A Poetic Legacy Since Emily Dickinson’s death in 1886, generations of people have discovered the works of this unique poet. Her privatized lifestyle was the cause of approximately 2,000 poems to be published, turning Dickinson into a poetic legacy. Her works go into great meanings that resemble her daily observations. Dickinson would always take a step back form reality and study everything from nature, to human behavior…

Words 1282 - Pages 6