Emily Dickinson, a mysterious and vital American author, is celebrated for her profound exploration of one of the most captivating subjects in literature – the notion of death. Her poetry, whether portrayed in ballads, sonnets, or riddles, is a gateway to our innermost being. We unlock the doors to self-discovery, reflection, and inquiry through death. Dickinson’s meticulousness and evocative depictions inspire readers to immerse themselves in a realm where death serves not only as the ultimate conclusion but also as a window through which one might scrutinize the complexities of existence. In this essay, we will examine Dickinson’s distinctive method of writing poetry about death, surpassing conventional symbolism’s limitations. She embellishes her poems with profound significance and offers insightful glimpses into the depths of human nature.
The poems by Emily Dickinson that explore death and dying serve as a three-dimensional window into the perplexing issues of spirituality, mortality, and the “spooky house” of life. Dickinson uses death as a stepping stone to investigate transcendence and life beyond life and its ensuing transience. Death’s significance in her writing goes beyond the simple end of life. Dickinson frequently uses death as a motif in her poetry to represent various types of loss, including the loss of identity, innocence, and love. Her poetry loses its realism, intensely filled with a sombre and reflective tone. For example, death is depicted in the poem “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died -” as the silent transitional state in which mental activity fades into a spooky stillness. That would imply that life is a series of chaotic events and that, upon death, souls are dormant and have no purpose.
Dickinson portrays death as a commonplace, revolutionary fact, demonstrating that death is the universal truth that disregards a person’s wealth or poverty. In poems such as “Because I could not stop for Death,” death is depicted as a courtly gentleman who calls on the speaker, enacting an enigmatic trip and symbolizing one’s inevitable fate. Dickinson’s reflections on the spiritual side of things and the intricacies of life are interspersed with puzzling depictions of death and the hereafter. She addresses the questions of divine purpose, the existence of a hereafter, and the soul’s essence through her poems. As portrayed in “The Bustle in a House,” death will be a serene, all-encompassing, but simultaneously metamorphosing into a passage that awakens memories from both the physical and spiritual realms.
Dickinson’s discussions centre on the concepts of impermanence and the transient aspect of human existence, particularly emphasizing the idea of death as a recurring element. With its numerous lines and poems, the author’s use of temporal dislocation creates a sense of timelessness where the boundaries between past, present, and future are blurred, making it difficult to discern their beginnings and endings. For the protagonist, everything exists in an endless state. “After great pain, a formal feeling comes -” portrays the ultimate state of being devoid of any sensation. This poem depicts a purely conceptual moment, detached from any tangible experience and experienced only after experiencing immense grief. Dickincus possesses the ability to do this task in a subtle and refined manner since she incorporates themes of death. The therapeutic poems, such as “My Life had stood – you can’t shoot a gun –” employ the comparison of death and suppressed wants to emphasize the conflicts arising from the balance between personal agency and limitation, as well as autonomy and involvement.
This is seen peculiarly when she continues to use the motif of “death,” as she displays her sick fixation with something related to actual death and associated with the most horrifying and unsettling parts of human existence. In this article, Stoker skillfully describes the Gothic form as a massive, horrifying silhouette that plays a terrible, if elusive, role on the periphery of our daily existence. Even if the story’s events appear straightforward and evident at first, reading the narrative reveals how rich and in-depth the descriptions are and how deeply the events are depicted. The lines “I thought of God, and I could seek to loop — I saw the vaulted sky, and all its lit mat —oh, that ayjaic goat!” seem to be a ghost that defeats the speaker’s head as they trudge along in the funeral procession of despair and hopelessness. Dickinson portrayed death as a contradictory phenomenon encompassing the dual nature of an end to existence and the beginning of greatness with its dual character. It is a metaphysical journey that leads to enlightenment and liberation, and according to “This World is not Conclusion,” death would be similar to an entry ticket into a higher level of being. This higher level of being would be where the effects of earthly existence would ultimately be destroyed.
As a result of Dickinson’s mocking attitude to death, which she takes in the form of a philosophical investigation, readers are moved to critically examine the presence of mortality and the fundamental nature of life. In poems such as “One death blow is also a life blow for Some,” death is shown as a profound existential dilemma. In these poems, terminating life affirms that it is the genesis of life, which in turn brings to light the intertwined nature of life and death in the natural world. Through the use of death as a central topic in the poem, Dickinson can draw attention to the symbolic significance of her mortality as a recurrent metaphor for change and purification. It is a portrayal of the cyclical process of death and rebirth in the universe, and it depicts death as a victorious commander who, along with the soul, travels to the highest realm that provides everlasting pleasure. The Chariot is a representation of this characterization of death.
Her cynicism toward orthodox theology and dogmatism in the research is reflected in Dickinson’s vision of death as a vague and mysterious phenomenon, inspiring cooperation and analysis among theologians and the religious. Her poems contain many poetics that would disrupt the foundation of the traditional certainties of standing before God and the promise of obtaining redemption. This would bring a more nuanced understanding of the required divine intervention. Within the context of “I like a look of agony,” death is portrayed as an all-encompassing state in which a person experiences a mixture of bliss and pain throughout their life. However, the gap is not visible because it disintegrates in an existential ecstasy, which prevents it from being observed.
It is also important to note that Dickinson’s depiction of death as an essential subject, which exemplifies her interest in the unconventional and nonconformist elements of human existence, should be considered. Through her rhymes, she delves deeply within herself and reveals numerous obsessions that death signifies as a metaphor for death wishes and repressed goals. She does this by looking deep within herself. “The Soul Selects Her Society” portrays death as a powerful and defiant act of self-liberation, wherein an individual who aspires to be able himself over fate and destiny and wrestles with social conformity and moral appropriateness is depicted as trying to free themselves from the constraints of society.
The poet’s depiction of death as a catalyst that prompts introspection and even self-rediscovery sheds light on the function that death plays in the process of soul development and in the achievement of self-knowledge and spiritual enlightenment. Death, which does not bend to our egos and identities separate from each other, is a shared denominator, the spring of souls, and as a result, death plays the role of a unifying force in this poem. “I died for Beauty-” Dickinson forces her readers to confront the reality that death is an unavoidable conclusion for all of us and that human lives are the most fragile of all living things. She does this by examining death as the fundamental idea of her work. Her words evoke profound insights into the nature of existence, the corpse of death that has been completed, and the search for essence amid the indifference that permeates the entire universe. Death is depicted as an unending stay with a master in poems such as “Because I could not stop for Death –,” in which the master drives the carriage through lovely areas of the world and over ruins of the world. The time present here cannot be measured because eternity is a time that does not have a beginning or an end.
In addition, Dickinson uses the symbolic portrayal of death as a catalyst for activities such as introspection and self-discovery. These activities demonstrate that in addition to the transience of everything, this vigil (death) also contributes to the development of the individual and the ascent to a higher spiritual level. In “I Died for Beauty,” death is portrayed as the force that has the potential to bring the entire world together. It is the force that can make all of the bits of ego, identity, and many separate souls into one, all simultaneously when they communicate with each other in the cosmic communion of shared mortality. The purpose of Dickinson’s focus on death as a building block is to investigate the ephemeral nature of human life and place a specific land call around it. Through her lines, she conveys the concept of eternal beauty, the insignificance of the human person compared to the celestial elimination, and the fact that the only thing that matters is the pursuit of meaning through the indifference of the infinite universe. Death is portrayed as a slow and serene trace to the unknown in the poem “Because I could not stop for Death –,” where time slides away, abandoning the progressive notion of the timeless vastness of eternity. This is according to the poem’s interpretation of death.
In conclusion, Emily Dickinson’s insightful investigation into death and the human soul paralleled her poetry, which intertwined various subjects to create a panoramic view of humanity’s relationship with death. Dickinson addresses spirituality, nihilism, and the transient nature of existence, among other topics, through her deftly constructed yet primarily sorrowful insights into mortality. However, in her couplets, death is shown not only as an end but also as an open end to further investigation and knowledge, encouraging readers to reflect on their pasts and futures and pose questions. Dickinson’s treatment of death as a metaphor for rupture, inventory, and transcendence gives her poems a profound meaning that draws closer to the relationship between Renaissance architecture and the study of human experience. Dickinson emphasizes in her writing the transient and fleeting quality of life and its fragility. She also asks that we keep our attention peacefully on the here and now and the depths of these mysteries that lie beyond death’s curtain.
Works Cited
Raza, Aqeel, and Nurjis Zahra. “Exploring the Metaphorical Significance of Death in Emily Dickinson’s poem’Because I Could Not Stop for Death’and Its Influence on 19th-Century American Poetry.” Indonesian Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Technology 2.2 (2024): 147-158.https://journal.formosapublisher.org/index.php/marcopolo/article/view/7966
Subha Balamurugan, Dr S. “Death as a Recurrent Theme in Emily Dickinson’s Select Poems.” Specialusis Ugdymas 1.43 (2022): 2752-2760.http://sumc.lt/index.php/se/article/view/312
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