Emily Dickinson's Death Poetry: Imagery and Symbolism

The senses meet the spirit when Emily Dickinson's poetry is examined. The most profound subject other than life — death — is a topic through which Dickinson walks both our senses and our spirit, offering insight or, at the very least, her own deeply considered opinion. The poet's method is haunting and straightforward, a style that allows the reader to "step into" the subject alongside her. Death, an obsession, allows Dickinson to create some of the most commanding poetry that attempts to crack one of life's greatest mysteries. While Dickinson never does crack that mystery, her views and poems remain remarkably unique to this day.

The fact that she tackles such a tough and tender subject indicates her ability as a poet. Death cannot truly be known by the living, but that does not stop the poet from delving into the depths of its meaning. Imagery and symbolism are the tools she utilizes to help us walk with her through this terrain.

We have always heard that life makes an impression on art. Eric Wilson points out that in one of her letters, Dickinson claims that the death of her mother was "benumbing" and "electric" (Wilson). Here we see an immediate impact on Dickinson's life — and poetry. Such a force had to be reckoned with in some way. In addition, Dickinson lived through the Civil War and witnessed death and how it affected others. Wilson notes, "she could not find in science, as could the optimistic natural theologian Hitchcock, unquestionable solutions to mysteries, to the ultimate mystery: death" (Wilson). She did not move away from it but rather walked up to it and reached out to what was there; even if she could only grasp ideas and thoughts, she was not afraid to confront the issue.

One of Dickinson's most popular poems about death is "Because I Could Not Stop for Death." There is probably no more whimsical poem on the subject. Here, the poet places herself in the carriage alongside Death for the last ride of her life. An analysis of this poem uncovers the poet's relaxed attitude toward the subject. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the poem is how the poet takes us with her. Beside her, we can come closer to understanding her attitude toward death. She may not comprehend death completely, but there is no question that she is not afraid of it. This can be seen in her cavalier attitude toward the personified Death. Dickinson casts her unresolved sentiments onto this personification. Her state of mind shifts as death becomes more apparent. We are left with the notion that death is deceitful, among other things, and that it is perfectly natural to be blithely unaware when death comes calling.

The poet expresses no regret, fear, or sadness in "Because I Could Not Stop for Death." The two characters in the poem are equally courteous to one another. For example, we are told, "I had put away / My labor, and my leisure too, / For his civility" (Dickinson, Because I Could Not Stop for Death 6–8). We should also note that the poet is very clear in letting us know that she "could not" stop for death, as opposed to "would not" stop for it. This distinction is significant because the poet is not setting aside any time for death — it arrives regardless.

The poem is also thought-provoking because it raises the question: is death the end? We are introduced to the idea of immortality in that the poet is accompanied by Death, who leads her to the capable hands of Immortality. The structure of the poem reinforces this notion: the first four stanzas symbolize the past and the fifth stanza symbolizes the present. We read:

Since then 't is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity. (17–20)

This shift opens our minds to the very idea of an afterlife, though she can prove nothing. Allen Tate agrees with this idea, noting that "the content of death eludes explicit definition…she has presented a typical Christian theme in its final irresolution, without making any final statement about it. There is no solution to the problem…only a presentation of it in the full context of intellect and feeling" (Tate qtd. in Bloom 40). Harold Bloom supports this theory, stating that "death and the dead are Dickinson's obsessive subjects" (Bloom, Emily Dickinson 10). "Erotic despair is the authentic burden of 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death,'" according to Bloom, and "death is a surrogate for a lover either renounced or lost to circumstances" (10). "Death's civility remains impeccable; he is the finest gentleman in Amherst…The reader, teased into imagination and into thought, is given the pleasure and the perplexity of unriddling this great lyric of loss" (10).

Imagery also takes a prominent role in this poem. We can almost see the "school where children played" (Dickinson, Because I Could Not Stop for Death 9) as the couple passed "the fields of gazing grain" (11) and the "setting sun" (12). The poet is allowed one last look at life, and the centuries since that ride with Death are declared "shorter than the day" (18), a reference to the brevity of life. The images are powerful because they are brimming with familiar life snapshots. Bloom is quick to point out that even with all of Death's attention, he does not "win Dickinson" (Bloom, The Western Canon 299). We can certainly see this in "Because I Could Not Stop for Death."

That the poet cannot let death overcome her is also apparent in "Death is a Dialogue." In this poem, the poet is not afraid of death and is certain that something must exist beyond the grave. Although Death tells the Spirit to "Dissolve" (Dickinson, Death is a Dialogue 3), the Spirit has another plan in mind. There is doubt, and it "argues from the ground" (5) as it turns away. This poem is filled with imagery that reminds us of who Emily Dickinson truly is. She has no problem showing us how the Spirit simply discards the power of death as easily as discarding an "Overcoat of clay" (8) — something familiar from everyday life.

Another poem that walks us up to the subject of death is "I Felt a Funeral in My Brain." Again, we are forced to look at death and the possibility of an afterlife. The obvious analogy of a funeral in the poet's brain is unusual because it is written after death. The world of possibility is entered into and explored. The poet is dead, yet cognizant. We see fear and desperation in this poem. The poet also confronts the likelihood of losing her senses. From the first lines we are told:

I felt a funeral in my brain,
And mourners to and fro,
Kept treading, treading, till it seemed
That sense was breaking through. (Dickinson, I Felt a Funeral in My Brain 1–4)

We are told about a "beating, beating, beating" which forces her mind to go "numb" (8). The repetition indicates that death is unavoidable. By the end of the poem, death is nothing but a sound and the poet hardly recognizes herself. We read, "And I and Silence some strange Race, / Wrecked, solitary, here" (15–16). In short, "I Felt a Funeral in My Brain" seems to be a walk through a black nothing.

Similar to "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," the speaker in this poem is dead. We know this because we are told "it seemed / That sense was breaking through." The narrator is able to describe the elements of a funeral — with mourners and a "service like a drum" (6). The third stanza places us at the burial, where the poet hears the coffin lift and "creak across my soul" (10). Ralph Joly notes that this scene suggests "not merely the disembodiment of the soul, or psyche, the coffin passing through its immaterial substance, but also an obliteration of human and immortal significance" (Joly). In Joly's opinion, the fourth stanza uncovers the real crisis of the poem: "Death represents a fall from rationality into nothingness — hence, into nonbeing" (Joly). The poem closes with the poet lying in the dark box, terrified and alone.

This image is closer to what we typically associate with death, but the poet still has the ability to walk us through the experience and leave us with a new angle. Joanne Diehl notes that "the ontological uncertainty that underlies this appeal to sensation produces a tortuous route to self-knowledge that testifies to the degree of dissociation that may occur within the self" (Diehl). Diehl also points out that the poet's retrospective outlook cannot be overlooked, for "by placing this description in the realm of recollection, the speaker calls into question the current status of her consciousness" (Diehl). Here we come into contact with vivid imagery of the poet losing her faculties. Another interesting aspect of the poem is how it represents a personal experience; the poet's thoughts are coming from within. After all is said and done, we read "And the Windows failed — and then / I could not see to see —" (Dickinson 16). The poet does not crack the mystery of death, but she does seem to come to terms with it.

The poet takes us on another journey in "I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died." We are told about the "Stillness in the Air" (3), the grieving onlookers, and the distraction of a fly. The poet communicates to us through the use of our senses — specifically, sound. The first thing the poet notices after her death is the fly buzzing. In the last stanza, the poet describes a "Blue — uncertain — stumbling Buzz" (13). The fly is, in fact, the most important character in the poem. Once again, another aspect of death is examined through words and imagination. The poet does not see herself surrounded by a host of angels; instead, her death is realized by a buzzing fly.

The question of what happens after death is something the poet could not escape. Terry Heller agrees, stating that Dickinson was "deeply concerned about the truth of the conventional Christianity taught" (Heller). In "I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died," the poet walks with us right up to death and stares it in the face. She wants us to go on this journey with her and ask the same questions. Heller maintains that Dickinson discovers "a clarity of perception that she tries to extend through that instant. Yet what her imagination provides at that crucial instant is the fly, which ends illumination and leaves the consciousness in utter darkness" (Heller). Heller also states that even beyond death, "consciousness remains" (Heller). Nevertheless, the mind can only comprehend so much, and the senses are therefore limited in what they can reveal. What the poet is suggesting is that what cannot be known in life cannot be known in death either. As Heller puts it, what lies beyond life "is a blank. The fly points the way, but the living cannot interpret its buzz, and her voice stops" (Heller). Even in death there are questions — perhaps even bigger questions than those posed in life.

Dickinson seems to have a problem letting go of nature and human senses, even during death. Eric Wilson describes "I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died" as a "sublime mystery for readers to contemplate" (Wilson). He points out that an interesting feature of this poem is that "object and subject are occupied by the same speaker" (Wilson). The poet can be in both places at once, which allows her to describe what happens at the moment of death. The image of the dead poet, completely aware of those who are grieving, is powerful and one which Dickinson conveys with ease. Nature, life, and death are somehow connected in this poem about a flash of life at the threshold of death.

Death, as strange as it is, happens to all of us and affects us in some form or fashion — sooner or later. Dickinson acknowledges this fact in the poem "Death Warrants are Supposed to Be," in which the warrants are described as an "enginery of equity" (Dickinson, Death Warrants are Supposed to Be 2). We cannot escape them.