Emily Dickinson Figurative Language

Emily Dickinson was an American poet born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst Massachusetts. It was only upon her death on May 15, 1886 that her family discovered thousands of her poems. One of her most prolific piece of work is “Because I could not stop for death” published in 1860 the poem uses personification, symbols and metaphors to highlight her concern and point of view on death as well as life. In the poem, Dickinson speaks about death in a blithe way setting the overall tone in a calm manner. The poem uses imagery and her ironic tone to give the message that death should not be feared, but instead one should make the best out of life.

Emily Dickinson successfully incorporated a metaphor and imagery into her poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death to show how people attempt to keep the thought of death out of their mind, until this thought haunts people later in life. She allowed the thought to creep into her mind and halt her daily life. During the poem, Dickinson said, “And I had put away my labor and my leisure too, for his (death’s) civility” (lines 6-8). Death was referred to as a human being, which shows its meaning to Emily. She deeply cared about living her life to its fullest potential, but she allowed the want to live turn into a fear of death. The thought of death took away more life experiences for Emily. We passed the Setting Sun – Or rather – He passed us –

One of the prevalent themes of Emily’s work is death. Since she wrote about her inner world and troubles, death as a theme could not be avoided. Emily Dickinson had to face the losing friends to death. Several deaths of family members, including her mother, father and a nephew helped contribute to the theme in her poetry. These events affected her health but she found a way to cope with the idea of death with her poetry. She developed an attitude towards death, seeing it as a transition from mortality to immortality. She accepted its inevitability and tried to make

Being one of the most appreciated poets of her time, Emily Dickinson moved so many with the intensity of her poems. She often wrote about death and life, love and separation, and God. Many of her poems were based on the experiences and instances in her life. These experiences often caused her more depression than happiness, which caused her to be in touch with her deep intellectual side, making her such an exceptional poet. Emily Dickinson portrayed symbolism in her poems by choosing seclusion and wearing a white dress. Her choice of seclusion and wardrobe has been questioned since her death. Some say she was heartbroken, others say she was

Poetry has many factors that go into it that help convey the theme and deeper meaning. Some poets like to use capitalization to emphasize what is important, some like to use figurative language, and some like to use characterization. Poetry is a boundless writing tool for self-expression which is why it is important to understand and identify how poets express the theme. One of the most famous poets is Emily Dickinson, she was extremely recluse, intelligent, and wrote some of the best poems known to man. To be able to analyze poetry and connect the bigger meaning behind the words written is to go into some of the greatest minds. When Emily Dickinson died people tried to alter her poems which took the deeper meaning away from them. One of the ways she likes to convey meaning is by using figurative language. Two poems by Dickinson is “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain” and “If You were Coming in the Fall”. “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain” is about depression and what it is like to have a mental breakdown while “If You were Coming in the Fall” is about the yearning of wanting a loved one to return. Although the theme of these two poems are not similar, the way the theme is being expressed is. In comparison of Emily Dickinson’s “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain” and “If You were Coming in the Fall,” she uses simile, imagery, and allusion to get the theme of each poem known.

Emily dickinson was a young girl in the 1800s who liked to be at home and got homesick very easily. In the two poems that i am comparing she used death for the topic. Both of the poems i am reviewing talk strongly about death and the journey to getting there. While Emily was still a young girl she spoke strongly about death and often seemed suicidal. “Because I Could not Stop for Death’’ and “The Bustle in a House” by Emily Dickinson use mood and symbolism show her point of view on death.

The subject of death, including her own was a very prevalent theme in Emily Dickinson’s poems and letters. Some may find her preoccupation with death morbid, but this was not unusual for her time period. The mindset during Ms. Dickinson’s time was that of being prepared to die, in the 19th century people died of illness and accidents at an alarming rate, not to mention the Civil War had a high number of casualties, she also lived 15 years of her youth next to a cemetery. Dickinson’s view on death was never one of something to be feared she almost romanized death, in her poem “Because I Could not Stop for Death”, she actually personifies death while narrating from beyond the grave. In the first stanza she states “I could not stop for

Thesis: Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” is about the human nature of dying and accepting our time when to leave. To understand the poem, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” it’s important to understand who death is. Death is personified, or described in terms of human characteristics, throughout literature (Gale, 2003). Dickinson uses the personification of Death as a metaphor throughout the poem (Gale, 2003). This poem was published in the 1890’s.

Her style of writing and the poems that she published often follow themes of self-awareness, immortality, death, love, nature, and pain. Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I heard a fly buzz when I died” and “Because I could not stop for Death,” dramatically exhibit a theme of death, which can be supported through her use of literary devices and symbolic interpretations. Dickinson’s poem,

To begin, Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts and wrote “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” around 1863, and Death was often a famous topic to be written about. In Dickinson’s family they went to church and the church’s beliefs put special emphasis on the salvation after death. Emily Dickinson, along with many other poets, used Death as a subject of several poems. In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, the narrator is going through life, from her childhood to death. The narrator of the poem is a very busy person, who seems to have little time on her hands, and it seems that like she has no time to die. The driver of the carriage which comes to pick her up, Death, arrives to take her to immortality. Death takes his time and doesn't want to be hasty and rush her so he takes it slow and doesn't take her quickly. Throughout this poem, the woman, also known as the speaker, reports the accounts of her journey while personifying death throughout her life and after life. This poem suggests many things such as Death being kind, civil, compassionate, and a gentleman. Also, contrary to most beliefs, death is more enjoyable than painful and boring.

In many of her poems, Emily Dickinson’s common themes are death, immortality, and faith. Dickinson’s life struggles are what influenced her poetry. This is how she created such meaningful poems. The emotions she conveys in these works are depression, insanity, sadness, misery, hopelessness, and many more. She reaches out to her readers stimulating an arousal of deep emotion. Her pain was what helped her to produce such unique poems. She uses techniques such as imagery and symbolism to communicate and stimulate emotion in her poems. Emily Dickinson is a very influential poet and her inspiring work will be remembered forever.

Emily Dickinson is a very famous and accomplished poet with over 1700 published poems. Several of her poems are similar in theme, and also similar in bringing out human emotions that we humans usually try to avoid. The common theme in most of Dickinson 's poems is the wonders of nature, and the identity of self, as well as death and life. The five poems with the common theme of death are: “My Life had Stood- A Loaded Gun”, “I Heard A Fly Buzz- When I Died”, “Behind Me Dips- Eternity”, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, and “I “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain.”

The poetry of the Imagists is short, simple, and quite literal in its meaning in order to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. When they describe an object, it means just what they say. A tree is a tree, a flower is a flower, and a bird is a bird. Imagists have little use for abstract words or ideas, and tend to shy away from them as much as possible. Emily Dickinson doesn’t fall under the same category as the Imagists, as she doesn’t use the same techniques as the Imagists.

Emily Dickinson was thought to have an obsession with death due to her many poems and letters that contain the subject. In the later stages of her life, many of her friends and family members died. There is a window in the house where she lived that looked over the cemetery where she was a witness to many funerals that occurred. To see such a repeated reminder of loved ones lost and the presence of death in her backyard, her thoughts frequently turned to death. Poems like 280, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” (87) shows a clear insight into how she was affected by death. In that poem, Emily Dickinson wrote about a funeral service that she must have witnessed. “And Mourners to and fro/ Keep treading – treading – till it seemed/ That Sense was breaking through”(87). Funerals can be very hard to digest for the people attending. From the few funerals I have attended, people are