The Lamentations of Emily Dickinson

A detailed Summary of The Lamentations of Emily Dickinson

By utilizing vivid images and specific diction, Emily Dickinson effectively portrays through her poetry the intense and confusing emotions that are evoked as a result of death. In poem # 1527 and poem # 341, Dickinson addresses the inevitability of death and its permanence as well as expresses her personal lamentations towards those she has lost.

Such feelings of disbelief and incredulity pertaining to deaths permanence are apparent in Dickinson's poem # 1527. She begins this poem by stating, "Oh give it Motion- deck it sweet/ With Artery and Vein"(393). The image portrayed through these opening lines seems to imply that Dickinson is viewing a person that is no longer alive. By utilizing the word 'oh' to begin her expression of yearning for the deceased to be brought back to life, she successfully creates a dramatic and intense depiction of her despair. At a funeral, the deceased are typically dressed in their best attire and are often adorned with flowers. Unique to this traditional embellishment, Dickinson expresses her desire for the deceased to be adorned instead with "artery and vein". For it is with these elements that life is able to flourish, as they provide a means of transportation for the blood to circulate

Through her vivid images and powerful diction, Emily Dickinson effectively portrays through her poetry the complexity of her lamentations and her difficulties in accepting the permanence and inevitability of death. In poem # 1527 and poem # 341, Dickinson artfully conjures up the distressing and heart wrenching aspects of death that are universally felt by all who have ever loved and lost.

throughout the body. Further expanding upon this desire to have the deceased brought back to life, Dickinson writes, "Upon fastened Lips lay words-/Affiance it again". Through her diction, it is apparent that Dickinson longs to hear her subject of mourning speak. Although she is aware that the lips will remain motionless and fastened shut, she portrays her unequivocal desire to have the deceased defy the norms of death. The word 'affiance', which means to betroth or engage, supports Dickinson's disbelieving state of mind. She is finding it difficult to accept the permanence of death, and is demanding from some unknown person or power to animate the deceased again with life. Dickinson's confused lamentation continues as she states, "To that pink stranger we call dust/ Acquainted more with that than with this horizontal one/ That will not lift its hat". Through this statement, Dickinson seems to be drawing upon the Judeo-Christian religion of the creation myth. This particular story describes man to have been molded by the hands of God out of clay. Clay, in fact, is made up of a reddish-pink material, which could explain Dickinson's choice of diction as she calls dust a "pink stranger". By creating this image, it can be assumed that she is alluding to the people who have not yet been created

Some common words found in the essay are:
Artery Vein393, Emily Dickinson, Air Ought, Lead-/ Remembered, Chill- Stupor-, Yesterday Centuries, poem #, , effectively portrays, Oh Motion-, # 341 dickinson, emily dickinson effectively, poem # 341, death poem, desire deceased, inevitability death, # 1527, poem # 1527, dickinson effectively, dickinson effectively portrays, emily dickinson, 341 dickinson, vivid images,

Approximate Word count = 1163
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English