Emily Dickinson

I Heard A Fly Buzz- When I Died

Grew up in Amherst, MassachusettsHad a strict upbringing. Constantly monitored

by her father and was greatly restricted on what she could read and do.

Went to college for a year but had to leave due to physical illness and severe homesickness

Led a life of seclusion but remained socially active through letters.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Many of Dickinson’s works are influenced by writers she admired-such as Browning and Keats-

She grew up in a strict Calvinist town where radical spiritual revival occurred.

Dickinson was traumatized by the death of her cousin and close friend, Sophia Holland, therefore many of her poems relate to death.

Historical Context

Poem published anywhere from 1861-1865Around the years that her mother became bed-ridden

Friend, Leonard Humphrey died of “brain congestion”

“I heard a fly buzz when I died” Is one of her many poems that concern morbidity- expresses her reluctance and fear of death

Literally, the poem is about a woman (main character) who is lying on her deathbed, observing the grieving people around her. There is an air of anticipation in the room where the people are waiting for the “King” to be witnessed (her death/possibly God). As she is dying, she notices a fly buzzing around the room. The fly blocks her vision and she dies not being able to see her surroundings.

Huh?

Read the poem

Analysis

The point of view of the poem is a first-person objective narratorDisconnected to the others in the room

Contains many dashes to mimic the staggered breathing of the dying and to build suspense

Textual Dimension

The speaker’s tone is flat and almost disinterested.

She speaks of the mourners that are in the room crying, but she doesn’t speak about her feelings toward them

It is as if she is simply a bystander watching the events occur.

Tone

Happenings of life after deathWaiting of the “King”

Significance of deathDiminished by the fly’s buzzing

Family and what is left behind when we die“Keepsakes” were “signed away”

Themes

Line 1I heard a fly buzz-when I died

The action of the poem starts of very quickly and straightforward. In the first line, Dickinson juxtaposes the mighty concept of death with the trivial-noticing a fly buzzing around the room-

“When I died” is added as if an afterthought which minimizes the event of dying

Lines 2-4The Stillness in the RoomWas like the Stillness in the Air-Between the Heaves of Storm

Dickinson sets up the feeling of anticipation. She compares the “Stillness in the Room” to the calm yet heavy feeling when a storm stops. The lack of sound in the room contrasts to the buzzing of the fly.

Line 5-6The Eyes around-had wrung them dryAnd Breaths were gathering firm

Shows the image of the room. People have been crying, but now are not. The breathing of the people around has even out and comes “gathering firm.”

Waiting…..

Lines 7-8For the last Onset-When the KingBe witnessed-in the Room-

Again, sets up the feeling of anticipation. The mourners are waiting…..waiting….waiting….

“last onset” is an oxymoron Onset=beginning Last=end

Shows the beginning of the end, the afterlife“The King” may be God, Jesus, or Death Himself

Lines 9-11I willed my Keepsakes- Signed awayWhat portion of me beAssignable- and then it was

There is a shift in tone from disinterested to slightly sentimental.

She has given what is left of herself away and is now preparing for death

Line 11There interposed a Fly-

The fly is interposing, AKA intruding the calm of the room and the anticipation of the inevitable.

Satan is often referred to as “Lord of the Flies.”Irony: The fly appears, not “the King”

What is waiting for us at the end of our life?

Lines 13-14With Blue- uncertain- stumbling BuzzBetween the light –and me-

Dashes mimic the fly’s flight. The fly is coming between the speaker and the light both literally and figuratively. The “light” symbolizes the afterlife and the fly (Satan?) is blocking her way.

Lines 15-16And then the windows failed- and thenI could not see to see-

Done.

Speaker has crossed over and cannot explain what she sees.

Irony: Fly is the only sign of life at the endHas Satan blocked her path to eternal life? Who

knows?

The ending of the poem leaves the reader with disturbing images of a fly and a sort of bottomless nothingness.

It leaves the reader questioning what happened once the speaker “crossed over.”

It may reflect Dickinson’s views on death….maybe there’s nothing waiting for us at the end.

Leaves you depressed and emptyThanks Emily!!