Symbolism In Emily Dickerson's Poems
Symbolism
Known for being a reclusive eccentric, Emily Dickerson existed to be famous during her lifetime. The first publication of a collection of her work was in 1890, after her death. She is now one of the numerous poets taught in several colleges, because of her exceptional use of symbolism. Some of her symbolism that she uses includes insanity, madness, and death. For example, she utilizes the symbolism of insanity in her poem “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain”. The title insinuates there is something going on in the narrator’s brain that he or she is having problems coping with. Dickerson continues in her poem to write, “My Mind was going numb.” This statement makes one consider that the narrator is slowly losing touch with reality. Furthermore, in the last stanza she writes that a “Plank in Reason broke.” This statement implies the plank was the final thread in the narrator’s mind that broke. Dickerson liked to capitalize the words that she meant to put more emphasis on. All the capitalized words in this poem, suggests that someone is losing his or her mind and going utterly insane. Next, she uses the symbolism of madness in her poem, “Much Madness …show more content…
The poem begins to clue one in on the death symbolism, with the title. She continues to write, “I willed my Keepsakes—Signed away.” This statement makes one think the narrator is getting his or her affairs in order, by giving his or her belongings away. In the same stanza, she continues to write, “What portion of me be Assignable.” This statement makes one think about the afterlife; the narrator’s body and soul are not assignable. Emily continues to go on to write “There interposed a Fly.” Next, the fact that a fly interrupts the narrator is another symbol pointing toward death. Flies tend to be around the rotting and decomposition of a corpse. This poem has several insinuations toward the final moments of
Known for being a reclusive eccentric, Emily Dickerson existed to be famous during her lifetime. The first publication of a collection of her work was in 1890, after her death. She is now one of the numerous poets taught in several colleges, because of her exceptional use of symbolism. Some of her symbolism that she uses includes insanity, madness, and death. For example, she utilizes the symbolism of insanity in her poem “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain”. The title insinuates there is something going on in the narrator’s brain that he or she is having problems coping with. Dickerson continues in her poem to write, “My Mind was going numb.” This statement makes one consider that the narrator is slowly losing touch with reality. Furthermore, in the last stanza she writes that a “Plank in Reason broke.” This statement implies the plank was the final thread in the narrator’s mind that broke. Dickerson liked to capitalize the words that she meant to put more emphasis on. All the capitalized words in this poem, suggests that someone is losing his or her mind and going utterly insane. Next, she uses the symbolism of madness in her poem, “Much Madness …show more content…
The poem begins to clue one in on the death symbolism, with the title. She continues to write, “I willed my Keepsakes—Signed away.” This statement makes one think the narrator is getting his or her affairs in order, by giving his or her belongings away. In the same stanza, she continues to write, “What portion of me be Assignable.” This statement makes one think about the afterlife; the narrator’s body and soul are not assignable. Emily continues to go on to write “There interposed a Fly.” Next, the fact that a fly interrupts the narrator is another symbol pointing toward death. Flies tend to be around the rotting and decomposition of a corpse. This poem has several insinuations toward the final moments of