Emily dickinson`s view on death as reflected in her poems ``Because i could not sotp for death``, ``I died for beauty`` and ``I felt a funeral in my brain``.

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EMILY DICKINSON’S VIEW ON DEATH AS REFLECTED IN

HER POEMS “BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH,”

“I DIED FOR BEAUTY”

AND “I FELT A FUNERAL IN MY BRAIN”

A THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Aloysius Bayu Setiawan Student Number: 011214155

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

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EMILY DICKINSON’S VIEW ON DEATH AS REFLECTED IN

HER POEMS “BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH,”

“I DIED FOR BEAUTY”

AND “I FELT A FUNERAL IN MY BRAIN”

A THESIS

Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Aloysius Bayu Setiawan Student Number: 011214155

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

2007

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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis which I wrote does not contain the works

or part of the works of other people except those cited in the quotations and

bibliography, as a scientific paper should.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to Jesus Christ for

His love and guidance during my life especially the hard times in doing this thesis.

He makes my life so beautiful and meaningful. He always gives me the wonderful

surprises and blessings.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my major sponsor, Henny Herawati, S.Pd, M.Hum, for her great guidance, encouragement, understanding, and advice from the beginning until the end of this thesis writing. I would like to

sincerely express my gratitude to my co-sponsor, Christina Lhaksmita Anandari, S.Pd, M .Ed, who willingly spends her time for reading, correcting, and giving some suggestions and improvement for my thesis.

My appreciation also goes to Veronica Triprihatmini, S.Pd, M.Hum for her guidance and advice on my thesis. I also express my gratitude to all lecturers at

Sanata Dharma University who have taught and given me valuable and great

knowledge. I also would like to thank to the secretary staffs for helping me in the

administration and the librarian for helping me in searching the references.

I am sincerely grateful to my beloved parents Bapak Cornelius Kaharsan

and Ibu Anastasia Satriani, for their endless love and for their prayer for my success. I also thank my lovely brothers and sisters, Mas Andri, Mas Indra, Mbak Metty and Dik Arie for their support and attention.

My best gratitude goes to Snow White crew: Bhonz, Nyotz, Noo_Cie, Texex, Bobby, Andre, Rara, Dhee, Ratri, Lintang, Novi, Widi, Della, Lia, Peye,

Julie. I thank Tomy, Nusi, Ari Oneng, DogDick and Kopet for sharing their time. I

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vi

am honored to have such great friends as them. My life will not be the same

without knowing them all in my life. I also thank Neti ”NetNot”03 for helping me

with the theory of teaching speaking. My gratitude goes to all of my friends at

Sanata Dharma University, especially 2001 students of PBI, with whom I have got

through the good and bad times during my study.

I address my acknowledgement to all my friends in Brojowikalpo 1A:

Ghowez, Bebe, Ikke, Martha, Vita, Yusta, Dicta, Patrice, Hana, Neti. I thank them

for encouraging me to keep trying and never give up. It is great to spend time with

them.

Last but not least, I would like to thank those whose names are not

mentioned here for their support and prayer so that I could finish this thesis. May

God bless them all.

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CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ... 22

A. Subject Matter ... 22

B. Approach... 24

C. Procedures ... 24

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS ... 26

A. Emily’s view on Death ... 26

1. The poem “Because I could not stop for Death” ... 27

2. The poem “I Died for Beauty” ... 30

3. The poem “I Fe lt A Funeral, in my Brain” ... 32

B. The Reflection of Emily Dickinson’s Life in her Poem s ... 34

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ... 38

A. Conclusion ... 38

B. Suggestion ... 39

1. Suggestion for future researchers ... 39

2. The implementation of literature in Language Teaching ... 40

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 43

APPENDICES ... 46

APPENDIX 1. The poem “Because I could not stop for Death” ... 47

APPENDIX 2. The poem “I Died for Beauty” ... 48

APPENDIX 3. The poem “I Felt A Funeral in my Brain” ... 49

APPENDIX 4. Lesson Plan on Teaching Speaking Class ... 50

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ABSTRACT

Setiawan, Aloysius Bayu. 2007. Emily Dickinson’s View on Death as Reflected in Her poems “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.” Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.

For centuries, there are two general viewpoints of death. For some people death bears a mystery and therefore it is feared. Some other people believe that death is not something terrifying. The forming of a certain point of view toward death depends on many things such as education, belief and culture.

Emily Dickinson, one of greatest American poets wrote many poems using death as the main theme. Emily Dickinson as a human being also has a point of view on death. She has a special point of view on death. This study tries to reveal Emily Dickinson’s view on death reflected in her poems: “Because I could not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.”

There are two problems formulated in this study. They are: (1) How does Emily Dickinson express her view on death through her poems: “Because I could not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.”? (2) How do the poe ms: “Because I could not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” reflect Emily Dickinson’s life?

This study applies some theoretical review on the intrinsic elements of poems. Then, theory of death is applied to provide better ground in seeing the meaning of death, Christian view of death, and the fears of death. This study also applies Biographical Approach to reveal the reflection of Emily Dickinson’s life in her poems.

The primary data of this study are the three poems of Emily Dickinson entitle: “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain.” The secondary data are theories of literature, theories and concepts on death and the biography of Emily Dickinson. It is supported by other theories that are relevant to this study.

From the result of the analysis, it can be seen that Emily Dickinson has a beautiful perspective on death. She uses simile, metaphor, personification, symbol and irony to show it. She also uses words that do not have a direct correlation with death.

Although Emily Dickinson has a beautiful perspective on death, as a human being, she still has a fear of death. Being diagnosed with a fatal illness that can bring her to death, it is reasonable that Emily Dickinson has a strong fear of death. Emily Dickinson tries to defeat her fear of death by familiarizing with death. One of the ways is by imagining herself on her own death and funeral. She wrote a lot of poems using death as the main theme. She uses those poems to help her to defeat her fear of death. All the facts of Emily Dickinson’s life are clearly reflected through her poems: “Because I could not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.”

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x ABSTRAK

Setiawan, Aloysius Bayu. 2007. Emily Dickinson’s View on Death as Reflected in Her poems “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.” Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Universitas Sanata Dharma. Yogyakarta.

Selama berabad-abad ada dua pandangan umum atas kematian. Bagi sebagian orang kematian membawa misteri yang membuatnya menakutkan. Sebagian orang yang lain percaya bahwa kematian bukanlah sesuatu untuk ditakuti. Pembentukan sebuah sudut pandang tertentu akan kematian tergantung pada banyak hal seperti pendidikan, kepercayaan dan budaya.

Emily Dickinson, salah satu pengarang terbesar Amerika, menulis banyak puisi menggunakan kematian sebagai tema utamanya. Sebagai manusia Emily Dickinson juga mempunyai sebuah sudut pandang atas kematian. Dia mempunyai sudut pandang yang istimewa. Studi ini mencoba mengungkap sudut pandang Emily Dickinson atas kematian seperti yang terefleksikan dalam puisi-puisinya. “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” dan “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.”

Ada dua masalah yang dirumuskan dalam studi ini, yaitu (1) Bagaimana Emily Dickinson mengungkapkan pandangannya atas kematian melalui puisi-puisinya: “Because I could not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” dan “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.”? (2) Bagaimana puisi-puisi: “Because I could not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” dan “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.” merefleksikan hidup Emily Dickinson?

Studi ini menerapkan teori atas elemen-elemen intrinsik dari puisi. Kemudian, teori tentang kematian digunakan untuk memberi landasan yang baik untuk melihat makna kematian, pandangan Kristiani atas kematian dan ketakutan atas kematian. Studi ini juga menerapkan Biographical Approach untuk mengungkap perefleksian hidup Emily Dickinson dalam puisi-puisinya.

Data primer dari studi ini adalah ketiga puisi Emily Dickinson berjudul: “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” dan “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain.” data sekunder dari studi ini adalah teori literature, teori dan konsep akan kematian dan biografi Emily Dickinson. Itu didukung oleh teori-eteori lain yang relevan.

Dari hasil analisa dapat dilihat bahwa, Emily Dickinson mempunyai pandangan yang bagus atas kematian. Dia menggunakan simile, metafora, personifikasi, symbol dan ironi untuk menunjukkannya. Dia juga menggunakan kata-kata yang tidak berhubungan langsung dengan kematian.

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Dia menggunakan puisi-puisi itu untuk membantunya mengalahkan ketakutannya akan kematian. Semua fakta dari hidup Emily Dickinson tersebut terefleksikan dengan jelas melalui puisi-puisinya: “Because I could not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” dan “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain.”?

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides some information about background of the study,

problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study and definition

of terms. In the background of the study, I explain about the necessity of analyzing

the topic and the reason for choosing the topic. Objectives of the study explain the

aim of this study. The problems that will be analyzed in this thesis are stated in the

problem formulation. Benefits of the study explain to whom this study will be

beneficial. The last part of this chapter is the definition of some terms related to

this topic.

A. Background of the Study

Death is a common thing in human life. Sooner or later everyone will be

dead. For some people death bears dark mystery and therefore is feared. People are

still in big question on what happen to them after they die. The most obvious thing

is that death will do them apart from the world they lived on, or from people they

loved. On the other hand, many believe that death is not something to be terrified.

Furthermore, it is viewed as a part of natural cycle and an unavoidable

phenomenon to all living beings.

These two points of view are developed in all human beings around the

world. People who belong to certain group might see death as something

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The forming of this point of view depends on many things such as education,

religion or beliefs, situation in the family and social relationship.

Emily Dickinson as a human being also has a point of view on death. She

has a special point of view on death. It is reflected on her poems which most of

them use death as the main theme. As we know that the forming of a point of view

depends on many things. The forming of Emily’s point of view on death is

influenced by many things that she has experienced.

Emily Dickinson used poems to communicate her thoughts to her friends.

Of course in communicating her thoughts Emily Dickinson used her own language

which may be different from other poets. Guth and Rico say that “Poetry can be

enjoyed and appreciated by everyone. Sometimes with poetry we even can have

communication. Poems demand our attention. They use a language richer in

meaning than ordinary talk. As we read and study poems, we become more

sensitive to the poet’s language” (472)

The poet’s experience of life and the way point of view influence their

works of art. “As we read, we are already attuned to the poet’s way of looking at

the world”(Guth and Rico 793). Therefore, experience held an important role for

the poets because through experience the poets want to share their opinion or

communicate their feelings.

“Reading a poet like Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, or Gwendolyn

Brooks, we treasure the poet’s personal voice. We recognize it with pleasure, the

way we welcome a cherished faced” (Guth and Rico 793).

“Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) is an outstanding example of a poet with a

distinctive voice – a voice that seemed willfully strange to her contemporar ies but

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that gradually came to be cherished by lovers of poetry everywhere” (Guth and

Rico 795).

I would like to know how Emily Dickinson sees death through her works.

In order to do so, it would be helpful to see her life background. Emily Dickinson

withdrew herself and lived in a big house. Understandably she became a solitary

person. However, this way of life enabled her to focus on her works more deeply.

When one hears about ‘death’ he will always think about something that is

not alive or it is the end of everything. However, Dickinson sees death in a

different way. She seemed to be fascinated with death. Many of Emily Dickinson’s

1775 poems deal with her belief concerning the process of death, the rituals

surrounding death and the questions of immortality.

In fact she often uses death as the theme for her poems. It is because of her

experiences of her life that happened during her lifetime. These experiences let her

write poems about death. Pickard in Emily Dickinson: An Introduction and

Interpretation says that “Certainly one of Emily Dickinson’s unique contributions

to America literature is her poetic insight into her nature of death. Closely related

to her knowledge of pain and longing for eternal life, this understanding of death

was demonstrate d in more than five hundred lyrics” (101).

B. Objectives of the Study

The first objective is to analyze the reflection of Emily Dickinson’s point

of view toward death in her poems; “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” “I Died

for Beauty” and “I Felt Funeral in my Brain.” The second objective of the study is

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C. Problem Formulation

1. How does Emily Dickinson express her view on death through her poems:

“Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt Funeral

in my Brain”?

2. How do the poems: “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” “I Died for

Beauty” and “I Felt Funeral in my Brain” reflect Emily Dickinson’s life?

D. Benefits of the Study

The result of this study can be used as an alternative material in teaching

poetry in school and university. It also can be used as a reference for the students

in getting more information about the life of Emily Dickinson and her view on

death and also the reflection of it in her poems. Emily Dickinson’s life and view

on death contribute a great influence on her poems.

This study also gives benefit for the future learners who are really

interested in Emily Dickinson’s poems to explore anything related to death. By

reading this study they will obtain some information needed for their study such as

Emily’s view on death and the reflection of it in her poems and the life of Emily

Dickinson and its contribution on her art-works.

Through this study, I hope the readers, especially the art-workers, know

that Emily Dickinson’s view on death takes part in influencing her work of art, so

when the readers of the art-workers want to perform her poem, they will not only

memorize the lines on the text but also understand the background of Emily’s

writing.

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E. Definition of Terms 1 . Death

Aiken states that death is “the act of dying; the end of life; the total and

permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism.” He also states that,

“this definition is closest in meaning to biological de ath, the irreversible

breakdown of respiration in an organism and the consequent loss of the ability to

use oxygen” (Aiken 6).

In this study, I try to reveal how Emily Dickinson sees death and how she

reflects her view on death in her poems. Therefore, death in this study means the

state of being dead. In other word, dead is an end of life.

2 . View

It is stated in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary written by Hornby. A.

S, view is “personal opinion or attitude; thought or observation (on a subject).”

Another definition of view in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is

“way of understanding or interpreting a subject, series of events, etc; mental

impression.”

In this study I try to reveal the reflection of personal view of Emily

Dickinson toward death in her poems. Therefore, in this study view means

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter contains some theories which are relevant to the analysis of

the poems. There are four main sections in this chapter that can provide us with

relevant information. They are theoretical review, the biography of Emily

Dickinson, Criticism and theoretical framework. Theoretical review covers the

theories that are relevant to the study. The biography of the poet talks about the

life of the poet and the relation with the art-works. Criticism contains experts’

critics and commentary on the poems of Emily Dickinson. Theoretical framework

presents how the relevant theories are applied to the analysis.

A. Theoretical Review

This part presents some theories that are relevant to the study including

approaches in analyzing the poems, intrinsic elements of the poems, theory of

death and some beliefs of death.

1 . Literature

This study deals with literature, therefore, I believe that it is important to

have some theoretical ground of poetry as part of literature. These theories are

relevant to this study.

a. Approaches in Literary Analysis

There are some theories about the approaches in interpreting the poems. I

used some theories of literature that are proposed by Rohberger and Woods. There

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are five approaches that can be used to judge a literary work. They are Formalist

approach, Biographical approach, Sociocultural-historical approach, Mythopoeic

approach, and Psychological appr oach (Rohberger and Woods 6).

The first approach is the “Formalist Approach.” This approach analyzes the

work of art only. In other words, this approach does not need any reference from

other resources, like the author’s life, the social condition at the time the author’s

live, etc. In short, the approach is mainly focusing on the work only.

The second approach is the “Biographical Approach.” This approach

proposes the idea that the only way to understand literature is by asserting the

necessity and appreciation of ideas and personality of the author.

The next approach is an approach that examines the work of art in

reference to the civilization. Then the attitude and the actions of specific group of

people become the subject matter. This approach is called

“Sociocultural-Historical Approach.”

“Mythopoeic Approach” is the fourth approach. This approach tries to

discover certain universality and recurrent patterns of human thoughts in the works

of art which are believed to have expression in the works.

The last approach is “Psychological Approach.” Critics that involve the

effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns of human psychology in

the works of art.

This study will apply the Biographical approach in the analysis.

Biographical approach is the most appropriate approach to apply in analyzing the

life of Emily Dickinson and its reflection in her poems. Based on the Biographical

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should learn as much as possible about the life and development of the author in

order to understand his or her writings (Rohberger and Woods 8).

b. Intrinsic Elements of the Poem

Guth and Rico say that poetry can be enjoyed and appreciated by everyone.

Sometimes with poetry we even can have communication. Poems demand our

attention. They use a language richer in meaning than ordinary talk. As we read

and study poems, we become more sensitive to the poet’s language (472).

Poem has some meanings that are usually different from the literal mea ning

of the words. Abcarian and Klotz says, “Words have dictionary or denotative

meaning as well as associative or connotative meanings; they also have histories

and relationship with other words” (1099).

Poems must first be read for their literal meaning. Then after we grasped

the literal meaning of a poem, we can proceed to its figurative language. “The

implicit, often hidden, reality that the poem is trying to suggest” (Parini, 9). To

give the poem a close reading, take as much as you can be open to whatever the

poem has to offer” (Guth and Rico 482)

It is important to understand the use of figurative language in this study. In

order to have one relevant information for the discussion, I believe it is necessary

to present a brief discussion on figurative language. Barnet, Bermon, and Bruto

state, “Words have their literal meaning, but they can also be used so that

something other than literal meaning is implied” (768).

In analyzing the poems I used the intrinsic elements of the poems that are

included in the figurative language. Since Emily Dickinson uses a lot of figurative

languages in her poems, therefore, here I limited the intrinsic elements into irony,

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simile, metaphor, personification, and symbol. The following is explication of

some intrinsic elements of the poems discussed in this thesis.

Simile is a comparison of two things, indicated by some connectives,

usually like, as, than or a verb such as resembles. A simile usually compares two

things that initially seem unlike but are shown to have a significant resemblance.

“Cool as cucumber” and “My love is like a red, red rose” are examples of similes.

“Simile, items from different classes are explicitly compared by connective such

as like, as, or than, or by a verb such as appears or seems” (Kennedy and Gioia

678).

The second intrinsic element is metaphor. Metaphor is a statement that one

thing is something else, which, in a literal sense, it is not. By asserting that a thing

is something else, metaphor creates a close association between the two entities

and usually underscores some important similarity between them. An example of a

metaphor is “Richard is a pig”. A metaphor asserts the identity, without a

connective such as like or a verb such appears, of terms that are literally

incompatible (Kennedy and Gioia 674).

Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an animal, or an

abstract term is endowed with human characteristics. Personification allows an

author to dramatize the nonhuman world in tangibly human terms. “Personification

is a metaphor or simile that treats something non-human as if it were human”

(Kennedy and Gioia 676)

Symbol can be defined as a person, place, or thing in a narrative that

suggest meanings beyond its literal sense. Symbol is related to allegory, but it

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significance. By contrast, a symbol usually contains multiple meanings and

association. “A symbol is something that you can see but that taken on a meaning

beyond itself” (Guth and Rico 561).

Irony is a literary device in which a discrepancy of meaning is marked

beneath the surface of the language. Irony is present when a writer says one thing

but means something quite the opposite. “Irony is defined as saying one thing and

meaning to another” (Parini 50)

2 . Death

Most of Emily Dickinson’s poems have death as their main theme. In

analyzing her poems it is important to have enough knowledge on death. This

section presents some definition, types and perception about death.

a. Definition and Types of Death

As stated in the Definition of Term section, death refers to an end of life, a

state where the being’s organs are not functioned to support the life system.

According to the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, death is “the

art of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital

function of an organism. “This definition is the closest in meaning to biological

death, the irreversible breakdown of respiration in an organism and the consequent

loss of the ability to use oxygen (Aiken 6).

Many medical authorities came to define death as the cessation of cerebral

function (brain waves) as well as of respiratory and circulatory function. It was

recognized that in some cases, such as when the brain is destroyed as a result of

anoxia (oxygen deficiency), a person is no longer capable of thought processes,

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awareness, or responsive to stimuli and may be considered dead even though the

heart continues to function.

There are several types of death. Physiological death occurs when all

physical processes that sustain life cease. Brain death is defined as total absence of

brain activity for at least ten minutes. Cerebral death means cessation of activity in

the cerebral cortex, and Social death refers to a process through which other

people relinquish their relationships with the deceased (Baron 366).

b. Various Views on Death

Death might bear meaning beyond the end of life. It can have different

significance upon each person related to his or her cultures and beliefs. Death is

viewed by primitive people as involving a separation of breath from the earth, a

separation regarded as a fundamentally reversible process. Among primitive

people the death of a human being is generally regarded as an unnatural process

and, if it does not occur as a result of an overt circumstance such as accident, it is

usually attributed to hostile magic of enemies or to the activity of demons (533).

People in many primitive cultures appear to be unaware of the naturalness

and inevitability of death. Living in culture in which people usually die of

accidents or diseases rather than old age, it is understandable how death could

come to be viewed as an unnatural consequence of something gone wrong (Aiken,

176).

For many centuries death bears dark mystery for all living human beings

and therefore is feared. People are still in big question on what happen to them

after they die. The most obvious thing is that death will separate them from the

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reasons of the fear of death. The oldest of it is the beliefs that death is painful and

that the soul may survive to experience pain and torture in an afterlife. But then

people know death is fearful because they are unwilling to lose consciousness

permanently (Edwards(ed) 308).

On the other hand, there are some beliefs and religions that have some

different perception about death. For Hindus, death represents a spiritual

opportunity to attain oneness with God and a component of the natural life cycle –

life, death and rebirth-, or we call it reincarnation. According to Buddhism, at

death both the mind and the body disintegrate. Only the character disposition, not a

permanent soul, remains to be reborn in another living being. This cycle will

continue until the nirvana is attained. Unlike these beliefs, Christianity underlies

the resurrection of the body after death comes. It is when Jesus comes for the

second time to redeem their sins (Aiken 182).

Death can also be seen in the Holy Bible. We know and understand about

life and afterlife through Bible. The Bible also reveals about death and what

happens after death. The Old and New Testaments of Bible do not much to say

about, but the attitude toward death expressed in the books of Job, Proverbs,

Psalms, and Ecclesiastes is one of resignation. From the time of Job to that of

Ezekiel and Daniel. The resigned attitude toward death gradually changed to one

of hope that the dead are merely sleeping and will awaken someday (Aiken 151).

Bermejo says, “the above offers us an inkling into what our own death will

be like, for the death of the Christian is necessarily patterned on the death of the

Christ (Bermejo 23). The Christian now should have no fear of death, for Jesus in

tasting death stood for us all. Therefore, the Christian believes that one day if they

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die, there is no need to be afraid of it.

Moreover, many philosophers view death not as something that should be

avoided or worried. They see it as something natural. Some examples are the

well-known philosophers as follows. Socrates and Epicurus see death as the release of

the soul from the body and is personal extinction. Spinoza adds that a free man

meditates on life rather than death. Hegel sees death as the reconciliation of the

spirit with itself and a reuniting of the individual with cosmic matter (Aiken 183).

c. Fear of Death

Death eventually comes to everyone -poet and peasant, saint and sinner, the

wise and the foolish. It is a fate that human being share not only with each other

but also with all living things. The inevitability of death and the shortness of life

have been expressed frequently in literature and art. Sooner or later, each person

must face his or her own vulnerability and inevitability of death. Distraction and

denial may postpone the realization and acceptance of the inevitable, but they

eliminate it (Aiken 3).

The fact that death is terrifying has existed for centuries. Fear of death has

become a common thing in human life. All of human being who is still alive has a

fear of death. The only thing that makes them different is the intensity of each

person toward it. Whatever the reason may be, elderly people are usually not as

afraid of dying as younger and middle age people (Aiken 266).

The fear usually is not so much on the fear of death itself but rather a fear

of what death represents or connotes – personal extinction, separation from loved

ones and things, the great unknown, the supernatural, uncertainty going to heaven

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than being a generalized fear of everything associated with death, the person may

be afraid of the process of dying because of the pain associated with it. The fear of

death may also be related to specific situations or objects, such as funerals,

chur ches or anything religious, spirits or anything supernatural, stories or dramas

in which someone dies, illness, injuries, hospitals, operations, or disabled,

disfigured, or handicapped person (Aiken 271).

Fears of death can be particularly intense in the people who are living

enjoyable, personally meaningful lives, but then they are suddenly suffering

seriously ill. Fears of death may be quite strong in elderly people who are in poor

physical or mental health or who have a disable spouse, dependent children, or

important goals that they still expect to attain.

As with any phobia, an extreme fear of death (thanaphobia) can be treated

to decrease its intensity. A program for treating the fear may then be designed,

which may include techniques such as systematic desensitization, self-monitoring,

and modeling. Systematic desensitization combined with progressive relaxation

and counterconditioning, has proven effective in the treatment of many phobias.

The patient is exposed to the hierarchically arranged stimuli or situations in order

from least feared to most feared. When the patient has learned to tolerate the first

feared stimulus, the next one in the hierarchy is presented, and so on until

desensitization hierarchy has occurred. One possible hierarchy for the systematic

desensitization of an extreme fear of death is:

1. Reading a book in which someone dies.

2. Looking at a painting of a deathbed or other dying scene.

3. Viewing a film in which people die.

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4. Walking through cemetery and looking at the tombstones.

5. Writing a will and making other plans for my death.

6. Attending the funeral of someone whom I know well.

7. Imagining my funeral and wondering what will happen to me when I’m

dead.

8. Getting sick and not being able to get well.

9. Discovering that I have a potentially fatal illness.

10. Being admitted to the critical ward of a hospital.

11. Being told that I have only a short time to live.

12. Hearing that I am expected to die in the next day or so.

The result of this systematic desensitization might be various. It

depends on the intens ity of fears of death and a personal history of the patient.

B. The Biography of Emily Dickinson

Since this study deals with Emily Dickinson’s perception toward death, it

would be better if we knew her life better. The reason is because there is a close

rela tionship between the life of the poet with the poems. The biography is taken

from American Poetry and Prose, The Norton Anthology of American Literature,

and “Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) written by Paul Crumbley.

1 . Emily Dickinson’s Life

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson is one of America’s famous poets. She was

born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She is the second

daughter of Edward and Emily Norcross Dickinson. In 1840 she attended Amherst

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Dickinson realized that her father had been a great influence to her life, while her

mother was a simple person who had dedicated her life to her family.

In 1847 – 1848 Emily Dickinson attended Mount Holyoke Female

Seminary at South Hadley, Massachusetts. She left the seminary after only one

year. During that period she had never been healthy enough. Actually, the real

reason of her departure from the seminary was that the students were asked to join

the church, and Dickinson did not want to take part in it.

Emily Dickinson began writing in 1850s and was inspired by the works of

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily (one of the Bronte sisters). Her formal education

was limited but somehow her writings were well versed. There were some short

visits to Boston and Philadelphia. Visiting her father, Dickinson and her sister

stopped off at Philadelphia where she met reverend Charles Wadsworth.

Wadsworth was married and also a father. This relationship is the focus of her

love those years. She also made connection with Samuel Bowels, the editor of

Springfield Republican who published her 1,852 poems.

In 1858 she began gathering her poems in packets which she called

“fascicles” which was bound in string. Fifty poems were written in 1858, 100 in

the follow ing year, sixty five in 1860, eighty in 1861 and 366 in 1862. In 1860 she

found out that Bowles derided her poetry as unhealthy and the product of a lonely

woman. Since then she began to withdraw herself from the world. However, she

still corresponded with a great number of friends and relatives. Also in the same

time Wadsworth informed her that he would move to the West. However, it was

assumed that Dickinson suffered an emotional trauma at this time. Her poetry

reflects this frustration and rejection of love and the acceptance of new love in

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Christ. Dickinson’s removal from the world gave her enough time in revising and

refining poems which she knew would never read by others. She also began to

dress in white. To neighbours in her hometown, Dickinson was an eccentric

figure, a spinster who after her early thirties never ventured beyond her family

home or garden.

Emily Dickinson was encouraged by an article about an advice to

prospective poet written by Higginson. Higginson’s rejection of her poetry drove

Dickinson further into her private world. In 1860s she made a new “touch” to her

poems. Inspired by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, she used quatrain with three

iambic feet. Language and imaginary was heavily inspired by the King James

version of bible and Shakespeare. However, she created her own poetic language

to express her own unique message. She began employing slant or off-rhymes, as

well as slant rhythms.

The year of civil war coincided with Emily Dickinson’s greatest output,

800 poems. The war did not inspire her. The death of Emily Dickinson’s father in

1874 was a shock to her, and from that time on she never left her house in

Amherst. The following year, her mother had a stroke and paralyzed. Therefore,

Dickinson took care of her mother. She had her routine activities: household tasks

during the day and then her writing and collection of fascicles at night. However,

this routine was broken by her relationship with Judge Otis Lord, a friend of her

father. This relationship was the closest thing she had to satisfying love.

Emily Dickinson’s final years were filled with the death of loved ones: her

mother died in 1882, a favorite nephew in 1883, and Lord in 1884. Dickinson

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diagnosed and suffered a bright disease (kidney disorder), and die in May 15,

1886.

There were only ten poems which were published during her life times.

After her death, her sister Lavinia discovered the fascicles containing some 1,800

poems and she wanted to publish it. Lavinia are astonished to discover that the

poems were written in odd and even paper-the back of envelopes and discarded

letters, bits of wrapping paper, and the edges of newspaper. With the help of

Mable Loomis Todd, she asked Higginson to publish Emily Dickinson’s poems.

Poems had to be printed twice within two months of publication in the next

eight year went 16 editions. The poems were so popular that Higginson and Todd

had to prepare for the second volume. The poems were published by subject

matter and theme: love, death, nature, and friendship. The second volume, Poems,

Second Series, also popular, and went through five editions by 1893.

C. Criticism

Emily Dickinson can be called a miniaturist because most of her poems

consist of no more than thirty lines. Her poetry displayed emotion. She always put

herself as the centre of her poems by the use of ‘I’. The way she wrote the poems

reflected a complexity of human emotion, such as conviction and hesitancy, desire,

sorrow. Dickinson often used unusual words that led the readers to different

interpretations. She was considered different from other poets because she lived in

her own world, solitaire, and that enable her to focus on her world more sharply

(Michelle).

Emily Dickinson also has a unique style in writing a poem. Most of her

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poems have their own characteristic. Moreover, she really knows how to talk to

her readers through her poems. Casey, Helen Marie on “Reports On What Emily

Dickinson Knew,” says that “Emily Dickinson knows the effect of poetry on

readers and listeners, if there is one thing Emily Dickinson knew for sure, it was

what a good poem should do” (http:// www. cswnet. com/ erin/ ed1.htm).

Emily Dickinson’s Poetry is a product of social condition in 19t h century.

Myers gave comments in Thinking and Writing about Literature, “Dickinson’s

poetry is challenging because it is radical and original in its reader rejection of

most traditional nineteenth-century themes and techniques” (http: // www. gale.

com/ freresrc/ poets. cn/dickinbio.htm). “She searched for truth and knew that the

nature of truth made it impossible to nail it down once and for all; one had to nail

it down a hundred times” (Magill 699).

Dickinson’s poems on death have several difficult words. In order to

under stand those words we have to consult our dictionaries. Like death itself is a

mysterious subject, Dickinson also wrote her poems on death in a mysterious way.

“This is why it is difficult to summarize Dickinson’s themes,” such as her view of

death, because for Dickinson, trying to understand death, or love, or God, was

continuous quest. If something was understood why she need to write about it

again and again?” (Magill 699)

Emily Dickinson is a person who believes in God. However, she once had

a skeptical believe about Christianity. I think it is not because God but rather it is

the followers. She even rejected to go to church when she was in Seminary school.

This is due to her inability to accept the orthodox religious faith of her day and her

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and the life after death.

Death is for Dickinson the ultimate punctuation mark, which, appearing at the end of life’s sentence, gives it all its meaning. It is a gateway through which one passes to a perhaps even greater type of existence. It also a mystery about which one can never be convinced, which is perhaps why she keeps probing (Magill 700)

Sharon Cameron in her article “On 280 (I felt a funeral, in my Brain)” says

that

We may speculate that the poem chart the stages in the speaker’s loss of consciousness, and this loss of consciousness is a dramatization of the deadening forces that today would be known as repression. We may further suppose that the speaker is reconstructing or currently knowing an experience whose pain in the past rendered it impossible to know. It illustrates the way which one can relate experience and, at the same time, suffer a disassociation past tense.

Pickard gives comments on Emily Dickinson’s poem “I felt Funeral, in my

Brain.” With its detailed presentation of a complete funeral as felt through the

ebbing sensations of a dead person, this poem borders on the morbid in portraying

the terrible struggle that the separation of the body from the soul occasions. Here is

only a despairing plunge into eternal abyss (Pickard 104).

Pickard gives comments on Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not

stop for Death.” He says that “This poem typifies many of her verses that

personify death, which is the finest. She closely examined the sensation of dying,

the response of the onlookers, and the terrible struggle of the body for the funeral,

the church services, and even the thought of the dead person” (Pickard 102).

According to Shackford, Dickinson’s poems could make the readers really

felt and saw what she said at the same time she wrote the poems. Dickinson could

figure out abstract things such as love, death, hope, loneliness and immortality by

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the use of words. Shackford stated that there were two major opinions about

Dickinson’s poems. The first opinion was based on the general readers. For them

Dickinson poems appeared to be imperfect. On the other hand, to the literary

students, Dickinson’s poems could be used to stimulate materials for examination

D. Theoretical Framework

This study applies some theoretical review on the intrinsic elements of

poems in order to help us understand the use and the function of figurative

language in Emily Dickinson’s poems. It will lead us to find whether Emily

Dickinson uses figurative language to express her view toward death.

This study also applies Biographical approach to analyze Emily

Dickinson’s background of life. By using this approach, this study tries to reveal

how Emily Dickinson’s life is reflected in her poems.

This ana lysis is supported by some theories and concept concerning death.

Concepts toward death and myths concerning death provide us some general view

or opinion about death. Those concepts and theories are compared to Emily

Dickinson’s view about death in order to know whether Emily Dickinson has a

different view about death.

It is important to be acquainted with Christian concept toward death. The

reason is because Emily Dickinson is a Christian. Therefore, it is possible that her

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology in analyzing the poem. There are

three subtitles in this chapter, which are discussed. The first is the subject matter,

second is the approaches, and third is the procedures of the discussion of Emily

Dickinson.

A. Subject Matter

This study focuses on poetry. The primary data of this study are the three

poems written by Emily Dickinson which are included in the book entitled The

Norton Anthology of American Literature (1989) by Baym and Wallace and was

published by W.W Norton and Company, Inc. They are , “Because I could not stop

for Death” (712), “I Died for Beauty” (449) and “I Felt Funeral in my Brain”

(280).

All of these poems are talking about death. There are different opinions

between Emily Dickinson and the society of her lifetime. I am interested in her

opinion concerning death, because Emily Dickinson sees death in a different way.

Emily Dickinson relates her idea on death to the reality of the human life. At the

time of her life, people see death as something frightening. Finally, I want to know

what Emily is trying to say throughout her poems.

The first poem of my study is entitled “Because I could not stop for Death”

(712). This poem is compiled in The Norton Anthology of American Literature

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Third Edition Volume 1. It has six stanzas. This poem deals with her favorite

subject, the effect of death upon a human being. Dickinson portrayed death as a

journey in which she was in it. A journey from the beginning until the end. Here,

she is trying to project the feeling of the dead person.

The second poem of my study is “I Died for Beauty”. This poem was also

compiled in The Norton Anthology of American Literature Third Edition Volume

1. Emily D ickinson still uses a journey to see the effect of death upon human

being. The difference is that this poem talks about her own death. Furthermore, she

also illustrates other people in the room next to her.

The third poem is “I felt funeral, in my Brain” (280). It was written in 1861

and compiled in The Norton Anthology of American Literature Third Edition

Volume 1. This poem has five stanzas. The death scheme can be seen as a feeling

of a funeral occurs in the speaker’s brain. Still here Emily Dickinson talks abut the

journey. She also describes the mourners who came into her funeral ceremony.

This study deals with literature and literary works. I use many books

concerning with literature especially poetry and books about theology and

psychology as well.

The secondary data of this study includes the biography of Emily Dickinson,

some literary theories and theory and concepts on death. This data were also

supported by another books. Some theories were also taken from theology and

psychology books in orde r to get sufficient data concerning death. the theory of

teaching speaking is also taken to support the implementation of this study in

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B . Approaches

Since this study deals with the life and the background of the poet, I used

the biographical approach. By applying the biographical approach, I tried to reveal

the intention of the poet in using certain theme in most of her poems. The reasons

are the experience of Emily Dickinson’s life had a big influence on her works.

I believe that Emily Dickinson’s life background and her belief in Bible

have significant influence on her works. The “death” issue from Emily

Dickinson’s point of view is the reflection of her belief in after life.

C. Procedures

The procedures in this study concern the steps that I took in doing the analysis so that I was able to obtain solutions to the problem formulation of this

study. Therefore, several steps were taken in this study. The first step was, I read

the poems several times. The aim was to grasp the whole idea of poem in a form of

summary. A poem cannot be read only once since we all know that it has deeper

meaning than just the ordinary meaning.

The second step was to find the literary meaning of the difficult words in

the poems since reading a poem has also to do with understanding the meaning of

each word. Therefore, dictionary was provided to consult some difficult words. In

doing this activity I used the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.

Third, in order to understand the poems, after I found the difficult words, I

explicated them. This step consists of some activities dealing with the analysis of

the poems. I read the theories of literature in order to analyze the poem.

Here I used biographical approach. I analyze the poems by referring to the

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biogra phy of Emily Dickinson. The biography refers to the life of Emily Dickinson

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter deals with the discussion on the questions formulated in

Problem Formulation in Chapter I. It consists of Emily Dickinson’s view on death

and the analysis of the poems. This chapter also provides the analysis on the

reflection of Emily Dickinson life in her poems.

A. Emily Dickinson’s View on Death

The work of Emily Dickinson gave a great contribution to the American

literature. However, her explorations within the human spirit deal with death and

immortality. The poems such as “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for

Beauty” and “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain” are some of the poems about death that

were written by Emily Dickinson. These three poems actually talk about a journey

to the end of life.

The poems deal with her favorite subject, the effect of death upon a human

being. Instead of the human being fear of, it is portrayed as a restful trip, a pleasant

journey with a courteous visitor and unnoticed third traveler, immortality (Pickard

52).

Emily Dickinson was fascinated with death throughout her life. She tries to

see death in a different way. Death is not something terrifying because it is the end

of everything; but death is something pleasant and full of hope because it is the

beginning of a new life.

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1 . The poem “Because I could not stop for Death”

In “Because I could not stop for Death,” Emily tells us about her journe y

along with death toward eternity.

Because I could not stop for death – He kindly stop for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality –

In this poem, from the very beginning we recognize death. Explicitly Emily

Dickinson shows the reader that this poem is about death. We would know it from

the initial line.

The second line of the stanza shows us how Emily sees death. She uses

words “he” to personify death as a human. She also uses word “kindly” to

illustrate that Death is a polite and c onsiderate gentleman.

The word “kindly” refers to the way death comes to the author. Death

comes in a kind manner to pick Emily up and bring her to a journey. This thought

is definitely different from the general thought of death at that time. People

imagine death as a bad creature which has a hollow face, wearing a black robe and

bringing a scythe. It will come surprisingly without any warning and suddenly cut

somebody’s life off.

Here, Emily Dickinson uses symbols to express her idea. The word

“Carriage” refers to the coffin which carries her dead body. The word coffin bears

a negative image on death and Emily wants to avoid it. She uses “Carriage” to

bring a positive image on death. Carriage is a vehicle pulled by horse or horses for

carrying people. Compared to a coffin, a carriage is a much more comfortable

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In the two final lines of the first stanza, Emily also wants to share her belief

in a life after death. It is written that death and she have a journey using a carriage

together with the Immortality. When the death comes to us, the Immortality comes

to us as well.

In second stanza, Emily Dickinson illustrates the attitude of death during

the journey.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too For his Civility

From the first line of this stanza we know that death takes Emily on a slow

and comfortable journey. It seems that death wants Emily to enjoy the journey.

Emily believes that death is not the end of life. It is the beginning of a journey to

an eternity.

Here Emily still uses personification. Emily personifies death as a man

who has a civility. Because of his civility, Emily is willing to leave everything

behind. It means that in her death Emily brings nothing but her body and soul. She

will no longer be able to do her daily activities. She has to put all of them aside

including her work (labor) and her enjoyment (leisure).

The third stanza tells us about how the slow carriage passed the school,

field and setting sun.

We passed the School, where Children strove At recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – We passed the setting Sun –

Here Emily Dickinson uses symbols. The poem signifies the three general

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stages of life; childhood is represented by “school”, youth or adult is represented

by “the Field of Gazing Grain” and the end of life is symbolized by “the setting

sun”. This stanza gives a clue that Emily has completed all those three stages of

life.

The fourth stanza is showing that Emily is no longer alive.

Or rather – He passes us – The Dews drew quivering and chill –

For only gossamer, my Gown – My Tippet – only Tulle –

The word “he” refers to death which would come to us anytime. Dickinson

realizes that she is now dead. But she doesn’t state it explicitly. She illustrates the

way she dresses to symbolize that she is dead. In the 19th century, when women

die they are usually attired with this kind of dresses.

Emily Dickinson illustrates death by using unusual words to give a weak

sense of death to the reader. By using words which have no direct correlation to

death, Emily forms a positive image of death. It is because she has a view toward

death which is different from general thought.

Emily Dickinson’s idea that death is not something terrifying is supported

by the fifth stanza.

We passed before a House that seemed A Swelling of the ground – The Roof was scarcely visible

The Cornice – in the Ground.

The word “house” symbolizes Emily Dickinson’s grave which becomes her

future home. All of Emily’s illustration in the second line of this stanza is about

the description of a tomb. Emily contrasts it with the idea of a house as it is stated

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peaceful. Here Emily tries to change the image of a tomb which is cold, dark and

scary become a house which is safe, warm and peaceful.

The sixth stanza tells us that all the time she experiences the three stages of

life is nothing compared to this death.

Since then – ‘Tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I First surmised the Horse’s Heads

Were toward Eternity

The first and second lines of this stanza illustrate how Emily Dickinson

feels after her death. After she dies, she feels that centuries are shorter than one

day. In other words, she feels that the day has no end. It could mean that there will

be no time boundaries after we die. This symbolizes Emily’s belief in the life after

death.

The third and the last line of this stanza emphasize that Emily Dickinson

has a belief in the life after death. The words “Horses Heads” refers to the Carriage

which brings Emily and the Death. It could also mean the death itself. Instead of

the Angel of Death, the Twin Brother of Sleep and the Gr im Reaper, one of the

most widely known personifications of death is the Rider on a Pale Horse. The

message of the last two lines of this stanza can be drawn as follows; at her early

ages, Emily did not believe in the life after death and immortality, but later she

believed it and finally experienced it by herself.

2 . The poem “I died for Beauty”

This poem has three stanzas. The first line of the poem is “I died for

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Beauty.” In the first stanza, Emily Dickinson shows the situation when her dead

body is adjusted in the tomb. Although she is now dead, she still has her

consciousness; therefore she also knows when a dead man was laid in the tomb

next to her.

I died for Beauty – but was scarce Adjusted in the Tomb

When One who died for Truth, was lain In an adjoining Room –

In “I died for Beauty” Emily Dickinson presents the same idea that death is

not something terrifying. The word “Beauty” in the initial line shows that death

has a positive characteristic. Emily tries to minimize the negative image of death

by using only few words dealing with death.

Emily Dickinson imagines herself in her own funeral. From this stanza

Emily presents the idea that although she is dead now, she still has her

consciousness. In her tomb she noticed there was another dead body laid in the

tomb next to her.

In the second stanza Emily presents her conversation with a dead body in

the tomb next to her.

He questioned softly “Why I failed”? “For Beauty”, I replied –

“And I – for Truth – Themself are One – We Brethren are”, He said –

Emily uses the word “failed” to replace word “dead”. Once again Emily

tries to give a positive image to death. In this stanza Emily no longer uses any

words dealing with death. She uses words which brings positive image such as

beauty and truth.

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after they die. Emily has a thought that death is good because it erases all

differences among one and another. Here Emily Dickinson uses word “Brethren”

to show it. In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, the word “Brethren” means

brothers (139).

The last stanza still talks about the speaker’s activity in her tomb. Here

Emily also does not use any words dealing with death.

And so, as Kinsmen, met at Night – We talked between the Rooms – Until the Moss had reached our lips –

And cover up – our names –

From the first line of this stanza, we know that Emily tries to show that

there will be a close relationship like family among one another (as Kinsmen), and

it will happen when we died (met at Night). In the second line, Emily uses words

“Room” to avoid the negative image of word “Tomb”.

In the last two lines, Emily talks about time. In Oxford Advanced Learners’

Dictionary, “Moss” means very small green or yellow flowerless plant growing in

thick ma sses on damp surfaces or trees or stones (807). We all know that it needs

years for Moss to grow. Here Emily Dickinson wants to say that there will be no

time boundaries after we die.

3 . The poem “I Felt A Funeral, in my Brain”

Life, death and reincarnation are portrayed in Emily Dickinson’s poem “I

Felt a Funeral in my Brain”. We can see that this poem talks about death from the

first stanza. It is shown by the use of words ‘funeral’ and ‘mourners’.

I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain And Mourners to and fro

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Kept treading – treading – till it seemed That Sense was breaking through –

Emily imagines herself of being the dead person. In her mind she portrays

a funeral will come soon enough. She is trying to reveal what is in the mind of the

dead body.

The use of the word “I” in the initial line shows that the poet wanted to

share her personal experience and feeling. The poet takes us into her confidence,

revealing part of the self that may be hidden.

“That Sense was breaking through – “ means that in the middle of the

funeral service, the soul of the dead body break through the dead body and

disintegrated from the body.

In the second stanza Emily Dickinson still focuses on the mourners. Now

she shows us what they were doing and how it changes her feeling.

And when they all were seated, A Service, like a Drum – Kept beating – beating – til I thought

My mind was going Numb

Although she is dead, she still has her consciousness. That is why she still

knows what happens in her funeral. She notices the mourners say the prayer

continuously. This is what Emily means by “like a Drum”. While hearing the

service, Emily Dickinson realizes that little by little she looses her consciousness

until she is completely numb.

The third stanza is illustrating how finally the coffin is carried out to the

final place.

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Then Space– began to toll,

Emily uses the word ‘box’ to replace the word ‘coffin’. The third stanza is

the last stanza which talks about the procession of a funeral. Here, she wants to

share that although she is dead, she still can control her mind until she finally

looses all her consciousness. It happens when her soul is completely disintegrated

with the body.

These last two stanzas talk about what will happen after we die.

As all the Heavens were a Bell, And Being, but an Ear,

And I, and Silence, some strange Race Wrecked, solitary, here-

And then a Plank in Reason, broke, And I dropped down, and down– And hit a World, at every plunge,

And Finished knowing– then

Throughout the rest of the poem, there is a strong sense that Emily

Dickinson needs to make a choice between a world full of trouble and pain or a

heaven that brings solitude and peace. This is all part of a vicious cycle.

Sometimes when life doesn’t turn out for the best, we need to wait until we reach

the upper level. It is reflected clearly at the end of the poem.

The word ‘finished’ is emphasized like other words throughout the poem.

But the use of ‘finished’ at the end of this poem fits accordingly. It also fits well at

the end of the poem because not only was the poem over but it also signifies the

end of life and the start of a new one.

B . The Reflection of Emily Dickinson’s Life in her Poems

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Emily Dickinson has a beautiful perspective toward death. It can be seen in her poems: “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and “I Felt a

Funeral in my Brain.” While other people see death as something terrifying, Emily

Dickinson sees death as something beautiful. She believes that death will come in

a nice and easy way. She also believes that death will bring us to an eternal life.

Death is the beginning of a new life.

This kind of point of view is not formed accidentally. Born in a Christian

family, Emily Dickinson lives in the family which is ruled by the spirit of

Christianity. Christianity underlies the resurrection of the body after death comes.

It is when Jesus comes for the second time to redeem their sins (Aiken 182).

Therefore, it is reasonable that Emily Dic kinson has a strong belief in the new life

after death.

Her father, Edward Dickinson, is a lawyer and also the treasurer of

Amherst College. By the time Emily Dickinson was a teenager, her father had

been a great influence to her life. Edward Dickinson has a library which is run by

Emily Dickinson in their house. But her father always selected all books read by

Emily Dickinson. Her father prevents her turning away from her faith.

The poem “I Died for Beauty” is the reflection of her fear towards death.

Alt hough she has a beautiful view on death, as a human being, Emily has a fear of

death. By using selected words which have no correlation with death, Emily

Dickinson portrays the dark side of death which is she fear of.

“Adjusted in the Tomb,” implies that tomb is not a comfortable place.

Something that needs adjustment shows that it does not fit there. It is the reflection

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“Until the Moss had reached our lips–“ also brings the idea that the tomb is

definitely not a comfortable place. As stated on the previous section, “moss” can

only grow on damp surfaces. Here, Emily Dickinson wants to say that the place in

which a dead body lies is a dark and cold place.

The verse, “And covered up–our names– “ reflects Emily Dickinson’s fear

on death especially on the personal extinction and the destruction of the body. If

moss is able to grow on the dead body, then it could not be a body anymore. The

verse also reflects Emily Dickinson’s fear on the separation from loved ones and

things. When one dies, by the time passes, he will be forgotten by the living ones.

After being diagnosed with a fatal illness, Emily Dickinson concerned on

death deeper than others. Moreover, there is a possibility that the disease will bring

her to her death. It is reasonable that Emily Dickinson has a quite strong fear of

death.

The poems, “Because I could not stop for Death,” “I Died for Beauty” and

“I felt a Funeral in my Brain” share one same idea. Those three poems are about

Emily Dickinson’s imagination on her own death and funeral. In her poems, Emily

Emily dickinson`s view on death as reflected in her poems ``Because i could not sotp for death``, ``I died for beauty`` and ``I felt a funeral in my brain``.