Poem 280
It is clear that Emily Dickinson is talking about a funeral, and initially I thought she was talking about her own.
"And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul".
I pictured her laying in the ground while she is getting buried and hears the people who are mourning her walking over her.
"And I dropped down, and down-
And hit a World, at every plunge,
and Finished knowing-then-"
This endig to the poem made me feel as though she was buried six feet other and hit another world; afterlife, and "finished knowing" because she is no longer on earth, and end the poem seemingly mid thought.
When i reread the poem I thought of the poem as her losing her sanity. Her mind leaving her and her being driven crazy. I cam to this conclusion because she says she can feel the funeral in her brain, she is picturing all of these things happening. She went mad and her mind was going numb
"And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum-
Kept Beating-beating-till I thought
My mind was going numb-"
as she pictured the funeral of her mind. Also if the poem is about the "death" of her mind then the ending to the poem would still make sense with the unfinished thought.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a powerful poem. I also got the feeling that I was slowly being lowered into the ground while I was reading it. I think the poem’s amazing rhythm creates that effect. Great insight.