I heard a fly buzz when I died-Emily Dickinson

When I first read this poem, like every other poem we ever read, I did not understand it. It was tough trying to put my thoughts with this and try to put Emily Dickinson's thoughts into this poem. I do have to say that when I think about the title I think about a fly flying around a dead person and going inside the mouth of that person. I would though like to quote the last stanza of this story. "With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz, Between the light and me; And then the windows failed, and then I could not see to see" (Dickinson). I did kind of understand the last part of this poem. I do not know why, but it helped me understand the story a little bit more. The quote was saying that the fly was buzzing around her dead body, between her and the light of heaven, and then her eyes closed, and she could not see the fly any longer. I think that the fly symbolizes life and when this girl is dying she sees this fly flying around her and it gives me the idea that the fly is life compared to what this girl is going through with death. Dickinson does use imagery in her poem, especially in this poem. Here is another quote from the story, "I heard a fly buzz when I died; The stillness round my form Was like the stillness in the air Between the heaves of storm" (Dickinson). This uses a lot of imagery because Dickinson is talking about what the room looked like while she was about to die. She said that there was stillness in the air which gives me the image that the room is empty and very quiet with just this person and the fly. In a way, I found this poem kind of creepy. Although it is creepy, I found it very good for imagery and symbolism and I thought Emily Dickinson did a great job.

Bibliography

Dickinson, Emily. "128. “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died. Part Four: Time and Eternity. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 128. I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.” Part Four: Time and Eternity. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Web.