In Emily Dickerson’s short poem “There’s A Certain Slant of Light”, there is a lot of imagery on the idea of death. For example, when she writes “There’s a certain Slant of Light, Winter Afternoons- That oppresses, like the Heft of Cathedral Tunes-” (Dickerson). This certain use of imagery in her first paragraph, gives the reader the image of the writer’s depression. It seems as if to say that no matter how bright it may seem outside to the rest of the world, that it still seems cold and cruel to the writer. Because even the sweet sound of cathedral tunes would not ever lift the writer’s spirit at this point. She seems to like making her pain of living so unbearable that the church nor the heavens themselves could ever ease of soften her pain. …show more content…
Like they appear to be waiting on her to reach some point of despair. “When it comes, the Landscape listens- Shadows- hold their breath- When it goes, ‘tis like the Distance On the look of Death-(Dickerson). This is the last paragraph of the poem, and it is also where she just seems to be sitting and waiting for death. And when it comes that there will be peace all around her and that even the shadows will hold their breath in suspense. However, when she finally does die it seems like a great distance, and death is a very welcoming sight. Death is the only escape that she can think of that will set her truly free. “I notice the tension that lies beneath the surface of each image. The photographs impart a cinematic moment of aftermath, but aftermath of what? Orange construction cones rupture the bucolic landscape of a golf course. A lone, naked man stands below an underpass, shrouded by twilight. Suspended in time, an intertwined strand of dental floss dangles from a hand laden with prominent veins. Engulfed by a desolate brown field, a small dog appears frozen in time. The series elicits a sense of loss and the interruption of moments in time.”
While thinking of death, thoughts of grief, despair and worry arise. Perhaps this is a product of the darkness often times portrayed of death from contemporary literature, movies, and music. Movies such as “Schindler’s List” and music such as Neil Young’s “Tonight’s the Night” are just a few examples of entertainment that show the darkness and finality of death. These forms of medium only present the idea, as no one who wrote them actually experienced death and therefore the dark thoughts associated with it are ambiguous. In “712 (Because I Could not Stop for Death)”, poet Emily Dickinson also shows the darkness associated but she has a different view of death. She writes from the standpoint of a narrator
descriptions and images of death: “When thoughts/ Of the last bitter hour come like a
In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.
In the poem “It was not death, for I stood up…” by Emily Dickinson, Dickinson portrays a deeply personal depression, a depression in which her mind and emotions are in a state of chaos and hopelessness. The depression is so overwhelming that she cannot even understand its causes and must seek answers to move beyond her current state. So deep is her depression that she even avoids naming it, relying instead on the use of “it” without a clear referent. Perhaps because she is unsure of what her feelings are, she never uses the word grief, anguish or some other direct “name” for her state of mind. Although she is not clear on the reason for her depression, the reader can feel and understand her emotions through the descriptions she uses. Unhappiness and death are a common theme in Dickinson’s poems, and in this particular poem, it is the search for understanding those themes that is important to the poet. The poem consists of six stanzas, each one a quatrain. In the first three stanzas, each quatrain consists of two couplets in a consistent pattern of an eight syllable first line followed by a line of six syllables. The formality of this structure adds to the solemnity of the topic and the poet’s inability to understand her state. Emily Dickinson uses images of darkness and death to express the hopelessness she feels and to seek understanding of her anguished and chaotic state of mind.
In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” she uses the structure of her poem and rhetoric as concrete representation of her abstract beliefs about death to comfort and encourage readers into accepting Death when He comes. The underlying theme that can be extracted from this poem is that death is just a new beginning. Dickinson deftly reassures her readers of this with innovative organization and management, life-like rhyme and rhythm, subtle but meaningful use of symbolism, and ironic metaphors.
Having the concepts of bearing on happiness and morality, one must realize that their life matters, during the time that they are on the stage of death. They need to be aware of the difficulties of perceiving the world around them. The poem, “I’ll Tell You How the Sun Rose,” by Emily Dickinson, portrays the sunrise and sunset in a very descriptive and meaningful way by associating them with lives. In the poem, Dickinson uses imagery, symbolism, and simile to reveal her argument, which is the circle of life and death.
The poem, “After Great Pain”, by Emily Dickinson, is one that conveys an inner struggle of emotion and the process that a person goes through after experiencing suffering or pain. Through this poem, Dickinson utilizes physical reactions to allude to the emotional pain that can make people feel numb and empty. Included in this poem is an array of literary devices, such as oxymorons, similes, and personification. These devices help show how death and grief can be confronted, whether it be by giving into the pain or by regaining emotional strength, letting go, and moving on with life. As we work on the project, we discuss multiple aspects of the poem and how the structure and diction alludes the meaning of the poem.
Emily Dickinson, a renowned American poet from the romantic era, wrote numerous lyrical poems that reflect the theme of despair as seen in “There’s a Certain Slant of Light.”
Throughout the history of human kind, there have existed a significant number of poets, who did not care to write about 'happy things.'; Rather, they concerned themselves with unpleasant and sinister concepts, such as death. Fascination and personification of death has become a common theme in poetry, but very few poets mastered it as well as Emily Dickinson did. Although most of Dickinson's poems are morbid, a reader has no right to overlook the aesthetic beauty with which she embellishes her 'dark'; art. It is apparent that for Dickinson, death is more than an event, which occurs at least once in a lifetime of every being. For her, death is a person, who will take her away with Him, when the right time comes, and if she cannot stop for Him, He will kindly stop for her. Thus, Dickinson's poem 'Because I could not stop for Death'; not only makes this vague concept more concrete and creates a very vivid image of death, but also makes us realize that when He comes, there will not be much time to say goodbye to the things that were once near and dear to you, so we should not take them for granted but cherish them while we are still alive. Moreover, her tranquil tone underscores the uselessness of running away from fate. Therefore, when He comes, we should be ready to step into His carriage and not be afraid. He is only a part of our lives.
The melancholy brought about by the personification of nature is echoed in the constant imagery of death. The picture of the bringer of death preparing for funeral projects the melancholy associated with death. Nobody can see the lady, yet a few can her song. The few include a foreshadowing of a funeral attendant, a "Willow-veil and nature's influence with "by the moon the reaper weary" (19,33).
Born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts (“A Timeline”), Emily Dickinson is a classic, female American poet most people are familiar with nowadays. However, if her name or works are unknown to some, they are missing out on poetry with a unique style and the ability to touch readers’ hearts by addressing themes about human nature. Since she was a keen observer of Amherst life, nature, and human passion (Byers and Bourgoin 541), it was easy for her to write about said themes. Besides that, Emily Dickinson’s use of themes such as death and mourning in her poetry is highly influenced by her own life experiences. Due to this, her poems become deeper and genuine, making it easier for readers to connect with her poetry.
Edgar Allan Poe was a man who unfortunately was born into a life full of morbidity and grief. The stories and poems that he created reflect the experience he has with agonizing situations, in which Poe’s dark side developed; his evil reasoning and twisted mentality allowed Poe to develop extremely vivid and enthralling stories and works. Due to not only his family members but also his wifes to passing from tuberculosis, morbidity and grief is present in almost every work that Poe created. From major works such as “the Raven”, “Black Cat”, “Annabel Lee”, and the Tell- Tale Heart, Poe utilized themes such as death, premature burials, body decompositions, mourning, and morbidity to enhance his point an the image he attempted to convey.
Emily Dickinson is one of the most important American poets of the 1800s. Dickinson, who was known to be quite the recluse, lived and died in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, spending the majority of her days alone in her room writing poetry. What few friends she did have would testify that Dickinson was a rather introverted and melancholy person, which shows in a number of her poems where regular themes include death and mortality. One such poem that exemplifies her “dark side” is, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. In this piece, Dickinson tells the story of a soul’s transition into the afterlife showing that time and death have outright power over our lives and can make what was once significant become meaningless.
Next to invisible, Emily Dickinson was unknown and unrecognized as a poet in her lifetime, like many authors she found her way into English books long after her death. She is now seen as one of our most treasured poets, and according to some, one of the greatest lyric poets of all times. It is many in the last five decades that books, essays and analyze began to stack up in their mutual attempt to explain her work and her life. Generally seen as being the manifestation of suppressed emotions, Dickinson’s poetry is viewed as a sort of admission and draws the critical eye like the Shakespearean sonnets. Even further back than the work of the Bard himself the idea of death has held a high seat in the realm of literature; throughout the world.
In “Yes, of course it hurts,” Swedish poet Karin Boye uses the bursting of a bud at the end of winter to symbolize death. She refers to the broken bud falling as it being forced to embrace the unknown, and says that the time before the bud breaks is terrifying and painful. However, the fall is exhilarating and fearless (Boye 120). In Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar,” he envisions death as a person crossing the bar into the ocean. The poem expresses some apprehension for the inevitable crossing, but it is hopeful about the possibility of meeting “my Pilot,” or God (Tennyson 193). Although both Boye and Tennyson are hopeful about the deaths faced in their poems, Tennyson’s hope seems to come from the possibility of heaven, while Boye’s hope stems more from relief and trust in the universe. The visions of death imagined by Karin Boye’s “Yes, of course it hurts” and Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar” are similar in their mutual hope for relief after death but different because of their differing views on religion.