I Heard a Fly Buzz (When I Died)
I Heard a Fly Buzz (When I Died), by Emily Dickinson, might be interpreted as describing a tragic time in Miss Emily's life. This poem seems to be an observation, where Ms Dickinson is talking in the third person. She might be describing her husband's death as though she were her husband experiencing his death. This poem may have been written at the time of her husbands death, thus Miss Emily could be symbolized as a fly buzzing. Several clues lead us to this conclusion, all of which will be explained. In the first line if the poem, Ms Emily says "I heard a fly buzz when I died". She could be talking here as if she were the dying person, her husband. The fly that Emily is talking about could be herself; she could be yelling or crying about the fact that her husband is dying right in front of her; and he is paying no attention to her. "The stillness in the room / was like the stillness in the air / between the heaves of a storm(lines 2-4)." could very easily be translated as the moments between death and life when everything is completely silent. It resembles the eye of a hurricane. She could be describing here, a place where it is peaceful, maybe the gates of Heaven; but then again, the fly is still buzzing. Perhaps,
. This could also mean that Miss Emily herself cannot see past death to the heavens where her husband has just gone. This is the place where she wants to be, with him. She tries to imagine what he sees, or how he sees it. The first line in the next stanza expresses much confusion when it says, "They eyes around had wrung them dry." This could mean that these crying eyes of Emily had drained all the water from her storms (crying out). Thus clearing the clouds. "And breaths were gathered firm / for one last onset, when the king / be witnessed in the room." These lines could represent how Miss Emily sees herself through her husband's eyes, totally silent. She is ready to burst into tears one last time in front of him, when he is being witnessed in a dying state. The King she is talking about could be her husband, the king of the house. This second quatrain has re-inforced the first one by still describing the surrounding area, and why it is in this silent state. In this fourth and final quatrain, Ms Emily describes what she thinks her husband went through when he died. She describes the last moments of his death, and the last sounds and feelings he had. "With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz." This line describes what she thought h
Some common words found in the essay are:
Miss Emily, Ms Emily, Miss Emily's, Ms Dickinson, Emily Dickinson, miss emily, third person, heard fly buzz, fly buzz died, person husband fly, husbands death, stumbling buzz, death poem, fly buzzing, husband fly, person husband, moments death, gates heaven,
Approximate Word count = 840
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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