Initially, the poem seems to be a call from a very depressed author who "guesses" she is alive and dreams of her own funeral. While reading the poem for the first time, one immediately falls into the rhythm and "flows" with the poem. The Iambic meter, the meter and style of normal speech, is easy to read and not very taxing on the brain, lips, or eyes. This sets up a strong, secure base, which allows for quick reading of the poem, an error that Dickinson wants the reader to make. The swift flow of the words abruptly halts and resembles that

of stop-and-go rush-hour traffic, tripping the reader up and forcing changing the tone of the poem. One must now reread the poem in order to understand why the author chose to destroy such a brilliant and completely iambic poem, a feat not easily accomplished.

Emily Dickinson never married, another sign of her absolute disgust for gender roles in society. She restates this feeling again in this poem by stating that she is alive because she is still, "marked (by) Girlhood's name." She repeatedly argues why she is alive and free while society is lifeless and enslaved by itself. She states that she "is alive-because I do not own a house," forcing her to maintain it, decorate it, or be tied down. She also adds that "I am alive- because I am not in a Room-The Parlor-Commonly- It is-so visitors may come," explaining her disgust for the need to "show off" as well as the gender role of females, expected to entertain, cook, and clean.

In the last stanza of the poem, Emily Dickinson creates

Some common words found in the essay are:
Emily Dickinson, Emily Dickinson's, Dickinson's Iambic, Room-The Parlor-Commonly-, reading poem, disgust gender, Living Life, disgust gender roles, easy read, meter life, accepted society, society's security, gender roles, iambic meter, emily dickinson,
Approximate Word count = 673
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)