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I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -

poem does have questions about whether there is an afterlife,
POEM TEXT it conveys its uncertainty by focusing on the actual moment of
death itself. Told from the perspective of someone who seems
1 I heard a Fly buzz - when I died - to have already died, the poem is mysterious and
paradoxical—obviously, no one has yet been able to describe
2 The Stillness in the Room
what it feels like to actually die! Dickinson tries to imagine it
3 Was like the Stillness in the Air -
anyway—and her take is decidedly less sentimental than most,
4 Between the Heaves of Storm - as the speaker’s final moments are interrupted by a buzzing fly.
Perhaps this suggests the sheer mundanity of mortality—there
5 The Eyes around - had wrung them dry - is nothing so ordinary as a bug—or that no matter how well one
6 And Breaths were gathering firm prepares to face the other side, it’s impossible to be ready for
7 For that last Onset - when the King something unknowable.
8 Be witnessed - in the Room - Though the speaker is reciting this poem after having died, what
the speaker describes takes place just before this, as the
9 I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away speaker is on his or her deathbed. In these final moments, the
10 What portion of me be room and the air are notably filled with “stillness.” This seems to
11 Assignable - and then it was anticipate the stillness of death, and suggests a sort of blurring
12 There interposed a Fly - of the border between these two states—as if the transition
between life and death isn’t a sharp jump cut but rather a slow
13 With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz - crossfade. Alternatively, maybe the other people in the room
14 Between the light - and me - are trying to remain still on purpose in order to make the
15 And then the Windows failed - and then transition from life to death as seamless as possible for the
speaker. This, in turn, creates a sort of tension, as everyone is
16 I could not see to see -
done with the sad part (their “Eyes” have been “wrung dry” of
tears), and is waiting with for “the King”—that is, God—to take
the speaker away.
SUMMARY Except, instead of God arriving to aid with the passage from life
to death, there is only the “uncertain, stumbling Buzz” of the fly.
I could hear a fly buzzing around the room at the moment I The timing of the fly’s arrival suggests that, surprisingly, it might
died. The room felt very still, like the calm, tense air in between be the ambassador of the underworld. Though some critics see
the gusts of a storm. the fly as an emissary of death—the grim reaper, perhaps—it
The people gathered around me had cried until they had no might also just be a literal fly. In that case, it represents the
tears left, and everyone seemed like they were holding their absence of “the King,” undermining any certainties that the
breath, waiting for my final moment and anticipating the arrival speaker might have held on to about the afterlife. Its annoying
of God in the room. buzzing sound is darkly funny, preventing the speaker from
I had signed a will that gave away all my possessions, dividing up attaining the state of spiritual contemplation or grace that
all the parts of my life that could be divided up. And then, would seem more fitting for the occasion. In other words, at
suddenly, a fly interrupted the proceedings. perhaps the most spiritually significant moment in life, the
speaker is distracted by a bug.
The fly looked blue and buzzed around the room erratically. It
flew in front of the light, blocking it. Then the light from the The fly, then, is a perfect symbol for spiritual doubt, its
windows faded away, and I could not see anything at all. seemingly aimless airborne wandering suggesting the earthly
wondering of the human mind. Indeed, part of the poem’s power
comes from the fact the fly is interpretable as both significant
THEMES and insignificant, symbolic and meaningless. Either way, the
moment of death remains shrouded in mystery. Whatever
people hope comes after life, they can’t know for sure.
THE MYSTERY OF DEATH Ultimately, then, the poem ends on an inconclusive note, with
“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” attempts to imagine the “failing” light of the window representing the speaker’s
the transition between life and death. While the

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inability to see beyond these last living moments—despite the the presence of the fly questions whether the “keepsakes”
fact that the speaker seemingly talks from the afterlife. Death really were important—or if maybe it was the un-assignable
remains as unknowable as ever. portion of existence that was important after all. Or perhaps
even none of it was important!
Where this theme appears in the poem: Indeed, if the pre-death rituals are partly about reassuring the
• Line 1 speaker that some part of him or her will continue to exist after
• Lines 2-4 death—whether in the afterlife, other peoples’ memories, or
• Lines 6-8 physical possessions—the fly disturbs these reassurances too.
• Lines 11-12 Flies are often associated with the decay of the human body.
• Lines 13-16 They are scavengers, happily feeding on decomposing fruit and
flesh. Here, then, the fly is a reminder of what will happen to
the speaker’s body once he or she is (presumably) buried. Over
RITUAL AND MEANING time, the physical features that made the speaker recognizable
Describing the speaker’s dying moments, “I heard a will waste away, leaving only bones. This is a stark reminder of
Fly buzz - when I died” presents a scene of ritual and the physical reality of death and seems to undermine what
ceremony. In essence, the speaker is going through the motions usually gives life meaning, whether that be possessions, beliefs,
of what people are supposed to do when they die, and the or interpersonal relationships.
people around the dying speaker are playing their part in this
ritual too—gathering solemnly around the speaker’s death bed, Where this theme appears in the poem:
crying, and dealing with the will. These last few moments are a
• Line 1
revealing commentary on the way people conceive of life
• Lines 5-12
itself—but the presence of the fly casts doubts on the priorities • Lines 13-16
and beliefs of human existence.
The deathbed scene the speaker describes is like a miniature of
humankind’s long-established traditions and customs around
death. Religion, family, and the law are all represented here.
LINE-BY
LINE-BY-LINE
-LINE ANAL
ANALYSIS
YSIS
The speaker and those gathered around the speaker believe in LINE 1
the norms of their world. Loved ones are gathered around,
suggesting the importance of human relationships, specifically I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -
of family. The crying “Eyes” suggest that life is something to "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died" opens with an intriguing
value—and that its loss is worthy of mourning. statement that draws the reader in immediately. The poem
The speaker hopes for spiritual salvation from “the King,” as is recounts a story from an unusual speaker—one that's dead!
the norm for the speaker's society. Thus the religious Instantly, then, the poem feels intensely par
parado
adoxical
xical, the
institutions of Dickinson's day, so integral to 19th century speaker offering a faithful account of the moment of death after
America and to Dickinson’s poetry, are also represented. And, the fact (even though that is, of course, impossible).
as though to underscore the importance of earthly possession, In just one short line, then, the poem establishes its main
the speaker’s final act is to "Sign[] away” his or her “Keepsakes.” juxtaposition
juxtaposition—between life and death mainly, but also between
This is a reference to the will that passes down all the speaker’s mundanity and profundity. Dying, especially for this speaker
property and possessions—but only what “portion of me be / (who can reasonably be understood as living/dying in the 19th
Assignable” (which subtly casts doubt on whether these century, the same as Dickinson), is meant to be a profound and
“Keepsakes” are all that important). serious occasion. Yet, as the poem will go on to explain, this
Everything is set up, then, for this to be a kind of picture- nagging, annoying fly seems to be literally and metaphorically
perfect death—the mourners are in place and the event is getting in the way. This first line places the fly front and center
unfolding according to traditions and customs of the time. But in the poem, so that the speaker's focus on the fly in turn
it’s then—and explicitly “then” in line 11—that the fly comes into becomes the reader's.
view and earshot. It disturbs this perfect scene in a way that The meter reflects the fly's irritating noise, with two stresses in
seems ironic, tragically comic, and incredibly well-timed. succession varying the poem's iambic meter almost
Flies, of course, are notoriously annoying; the fly, with its immediately:
meandering flight and high-pitched buzz, undermines the
gravity of the situation. It functions almost like a streaker at a I heard | a Fly | buzz - when | I died -
serious public event, farcically mocking the occasion. In turn,
The close stresses make the line itself noisier, suggesting the

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fly's buzz. If instead it was perfectly iambic, such as in the the silent "Stillness" of the room—as opposed to
following manner, conversation—intended to allow the speaker a dignified
transition into death and, perhaps, the afterlife.
I heard | a buzz
buzz- | ing fly
LINES 5-8
the line would be far less evocative. As it stands, the poem The Eyes around - had wrung them dry -
begins by evoking the disorder the fly creates. And Breaths were gathering firm
The poem's juxtaposition between life and death, and between For that last Onset - when the King
mundanity and profundity, is also developed by the first line's Be witnessed - in the Room -
caesur
caesuraa. On one side of the characteristic Dickinsonian dash The second stanza adds detail to the poem's setting, describing
there is the fly, and on the other the speaker's death. On one the people gathered around the dying speaker. They are
side, life (in the form of the fly)—on the other, death. referred to in line 5 by a synecdoche
synecdoche: "Eyes." This is a powerful
word choice because it creates the sense of both genuine grief
LINES 2-4 and a kind of self-conscious pressure to conform to the rituals
The Stillness in the Room of grief. The eyes are "wrung" "dry"—they have cried as much as
Was like the Stillness in the Air - they can.
Between the Heaves of Storm - These are truly the last moments of the speaker's life, the dry
Lines 2 to 4 begin to establish the poem's setting. The speaker, eyes suggesting that death has been imminent for a while. It as
telling the reader about the speaker's final moments, explains though the performance of grief, in which the loved ones prove
that he or she died in a "room" (in stanza 2 it also becomes clear to the speaker the extent of their emotions, is over—now there
that the speaker's surrounded by loved ones). The speaker, is only the mystery of what happens next. In general, these
then, is lying in bed awaiting death. The room is "still" because it observations suggest a hyper-awareness on the part of the
is a solemn occasion, but the "stillness" also anticipates the speaker.
"stillness" of being dead. Next, lines 6 and 7 describe the "Breaths" "gathering firm"
The poem employs a simile here, comparing the "stillness in the among the mourners as they await the moment of death. This
Room" to the "Stillness in the Air" of a storm between strikes of "gathered" breath is part of the "stillness" described in the first
lightning and thunder. This sets up the moment of dying—as stanza, a brief pause between two events (life and death, or the
opposed to actually being dead—as a kind of brief rest between "Heaves of Storm"). But breath, of course, is ultimately what
the "storm" of life and the "storm" of death. It's worth noting will divide the mourners from the speaker, the living from the
the similarity, or par
parallelism
allelism, between lines 2 and 3. The dead. The speaker is about to breathe his or her final breath,
sameness of the language conveys its own form of "Stillness" by while the others will keep on breathing.
being relatively unchanged. The attention to this detail evokes the mystery of death, the
These lines also make effective use of assonance
assonance, with the /i/ impossibility of grasping what really happens between the last
sounds of "Stillness" and "in" contrasting with the more violent breath and the one that never arrives. The similar (though not
sounds of line 4: identical) /th/ sounds in "Breath
ths" and "gath
thering" use a kind of
consonance to give the line a breathy quality, which the /f/" of
Beetwee
een thee Hea
eaves of Storm - "firm" contributes to as well.
Lines 7 and 8 explain just what everyone in the room is
These /e/ sounds convey physical power, conjuring nature's expecting. Here, the poem dials up its use of caesur
caesuraa, which
intimidating side and juxtaposing with the quieter sounds in the makes the lines flow less easily and perhaps mimics the dying
two lines before. Similarly, the poem's first use of rh
rhyme
yme speaker's difficulty breathing. The speaker here describes the
employs Dickinson's characteristic slant rhrhyme
yme to emphasizes actual moment of death as the "last Onset." This is an
how the still "Room" contrasts with gusty "Storm." oxymoron
xymoron, as "onset" actually means "beginning." This, then,
These lines don't reference the fly at all. Though the fly has characterizes death as a last beginning, a kind of journey—the
already been mentioned in line 1, it's not until line 12 that it's final one on which the speaker will embark.
mentioned again. These lines, then, are intended to build a Of course, death as a journey is a traditional idea that runs
sense of occasion and suspense for the reader. There is a through many eras and cultures. The second half of line 8,
solemn atmosphere in the room, one which is also quite self- however, ties the poem more specifically to the Christian
conscious. That is, the gathered loved ones and the speaker are tradition through allusion
allusion. The Bible frequently refers to God
expecting the speaker's death, but nobody knows exactly when as a King; Jesus is the "King of Kings" (Revelation 19:16). In
it will come. Accordingly, they are all engaged in a kind of ritual, other words, everybody gathered at the speaker's deathbed is

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anticipating the speaker's journey from life to the afterlife, a makes its entrance into the otherwise picture-perfect death
journey that is guided by God. scene. Everything so far, in terms of the social rituals of death,
These lines are like the set-up of a joke—with the fly's arrival as has gone according to plan: people are crying, spiritual
the imminent punchline. There is something darkly comic about salvation is anticipated, and the speaker has "signed away" his
the scene. Everyone present is fixated on life's deepest or her possessions.
questions—on what life means and what comes after—but The fly—a creature that humans tend to think of as small and
ultimately nobody is any closer to this kind of knowledge, not insignificant—is an unwelcome guest in the room, not to
even the speaker on death's door. mention an irritating sound. The speaker can hardly enter a
state of spiritual contemplation or grace with this distracting fly
LINES 9-11 around. The way the enjambment of line 11 introduces the
I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away word "there" helps make the fly's appearance seem sudden and
What portion of me be unmistakeable.
Assignable The choice of the word "interposed" to follow "There" in line 12
From line 9 to the caesur
caesuraa in line 11, the poem depicts the next is beautiful, especially given that so many other words could
stage in the playing out of death's customs and traditions. have filled its place. "Interposed" refers specifically to
However, this stage is distinctly more mundane than the something comes between one thing and another, and the fly
hoped-for arrival of "the King" in the previous stanza. Now the here interposes between the speaker and the significance of the
speaker makes the will official, "assigning" different moment of death. In other words, the fly's interruption
"Keepsakes," presumably to those gathered around the death represents the unknowability of what comes after death
bed. The enjambment between lines 9 and 10, and again Not only is the fly's sound annoying, but the way that it flies is
between 10 and 11, suggests the speed with which these distracting too. It is the one source of movement within the
"Keepsakes" are signed away, gone with a brief motion of the "Stillness" of the room. Its seemingly "uncertain" flight is an
hand as it signs the page. unwelcome reminder that the speaker's own journey between
There's something quite dry about this moment, compared life and death is "uncertain" too. Indeed, it may be that no such
with the momentousness in the previous stanza. It suggests journey even exists! Everything in this scene is uncertain.
that the speaker is perhaps more interested in material goods The two dashes around "uncertain" in line 13, both functioning
than spiritual transition. On the other hand, the speaker also as caesurae, intensify this sense of uncertainty, as though the
seems to suggest that the "stuff" of life is not as important as line itself may not find its way to its completion. The distantly
people think. The speaker signs "away" only "What portion of alliter
alliterating
ating /b/ sounds here also evoke the flight of the fly,
me be / Assignable," implying that perhaps there is something in almost placed at random through lines 13 and 14:
human life that is not assignable—that is, not able to be owned
or traded. This something that can't be sold could be the With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz -
Christian soul, or it could be more down-to-earth, such as love Between the light - and me -
or friendship.
The "apportioning" here also relates interestingly to the poem's Line 14 is almost psychedelically disorientating. The fly comes
focus on death. One of life's greatest mysteries is the question between the speaker and "the light" that shines through the
of what actually changes when people die—what part of a window. Of course, this is technically impossible: a fly is far too
person makes them who they are, and where it goes when small to block out a window. The poem is dealing in symbolism
they're gone. However, the poem aims to highlight these here, associating "light" with life and contrasting it with the
mysteries, not to solve them. Indeed, any attempt to answer dark unknowability of death. This image also suggests the
such profound questions on the speaker's part is undercut by closing of the speaker's eyes, the speaker's field of vision
the appearance of the fly. After all, the fly—and not the reality of narrowing as he or she takes the mysterious step from being
an afterlife—is the very first detail that the speaker gives to the into non-being.
reader in the entire poem. The power of the fly's interruption lies precisely in its
LINES 11-14 ambiguity. There are a number of ways to read this moment. A
fly is a scavenger, often found on decomposing flesh (whether
- and then it was animal or plant). It has a long-standing association with death
There interposed a Fly - because it often appears at the site of death shortly thereafter.
With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz - With this in mind, then, the fly serves as a stark reminder that
Between the light - and me - the speaker's body will rot away and leave a pile of bones.
The caesur
caesuraa in line 11 is perhaps the most significant in the If this first interpretation is relatively literal—indeed, literally
entire poem. This dash marks the precise moment when the fly

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down-to-earth—then the fly can also be interpreted more
figuratively: perhaps the fly is the emissary of death, arriving to SYMBOLS
take the speaker on a spiritual journey. Some critics even
interpret the fly as the grim reaper. THE FLY
A third interpretation is that the fly ultimately doesn't The fly appears at both the beginning and the end of
represent anything—and that's the point. Its insignificance the poem; it seems to be the last thing that the
serves as a comically timed reminder that life is ultimately speaker thinks about before dying and, apparently, something
meaningless—that no amount of "Keepsakes," loved ones, or the speaker is still obsessing over even after death! The fly is
religion can change that. thus undoubtedly important to the poem, but why is open to
interpretation.
LINES 15-16
On the one hand, flies have a long-standing association with
And then the Windows failed - and then
decay and death. In the Biblical book of Exodus, for example,
I could not see to see -
flies are one of the plagues that wreak havoc on Egypt. The fly's
Lines 15 and 16 describe the moments that are as close to presence is a reminder of bodily decomposition, the gruesome
death as possible. Part of the poem's power is in the way that, nature of which seems at odds with the hoped-for Christian
though it appears to come close, it never actually depicts the afterlife. So while the speaker is hoping for a dignified exit, the
precise moment of death. The actual transition from being into fly's "interposition" is a reminder of the stark realities of death.
non-being is still utterly mysterious. Right before the moment
Some readings of the poem take the arrival of the fly to be more
of death "the Windows fail[]," symbolically representing the
purposeful, however. That is, the fly is seen as a kind of
fading "light" of life. The lack of light also signifies the lack of
emissary of death—perhaps the grim reaper himself. Certainly,
knowledge that surrounds the poem's core questions: what
the fly's timing is impeccable, arriving just at the moment of
happens when people die, and is life meaningful despite death?
death (as a grim reaper would).
Here the poem makes effective use of diacope in the repeated
That said, the great power of the fly as a symbol is that,
phrase of "And then." This use of diacope creates a kind of
ironically, it might be utterly non-symbolic. Sometimes, that is, a
fragmentation (which line 15's caesur
caesuraa also contributes to),
fly is just a fly. To humans, flies are pretty insignificant
conveying the paradox of the poem's attempt to describe the
creatures, both irritating and small. The fly's arrival, then, can
moment of death. It's as if time is broken down into smaller and
also be read as a reminder of a lack of meaning. That is, its
smaller chunks, trying to nail down the moment of death. Yet no
matter how small these chunks get, the poem's never able to insignificance could stand in for the insignificance for human
depict the moment after death. life—precisely the opposite of what the solemn deathbed scene
is intended to make the speaker feel.
"And then" is a phrase that indicates the succession of one
Finally, the fly, though small and irritating, is also very much
moment to another. The final moment in the poem (and the
alive. Perhaps part of the speaker's fascination with it is based
speaker's life) seems to be in line 16. Except, it isn't! The poem
on the fact that, once the speaker dies, the fly will carry on
is told in the past tense, so technically the poem takes place
flying its "uncertain - stumbling" path around the room. The
after the speaker's death. And yet, as if to confirm the mystery
speaker, then, is confronted with the fact that the world will
of death, the speaker offers the reader no insider knowledge as
continue on after the speaker is gone.
to what actually happens (after all, the poem was written by
someone living).
Where this symbol appears in the poem:
The poem also employs diacope in the repeated "I could not see
to see,
see," distinguishing between two different types of seeing. • Line 1: “I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -”
On one hand, the speaker's literal sight has "failed." On the • Lines 12-14: “There interposed a Fly - / With Blue -
other, the speaker's ability to see beyond the moment of death, uncertain - stumbling Buzz - / Between the light - and me
or into the future, or to imagine anything at all, has also failed. -”
The speaker's mind has gone dark. The poem, then, ends in
literal and figurative darkness—and leaves the reader in the
same state.
LIGHT AND DARK
In the poem’s concluding moments, the speaker
The poem's only perfect rhrhyme
yme, between "me" and "see,"
describes the window light fading. This plays into a
mirrors this finality. Whereas the previous slant rh
rhymes
ymes always
well-established idea of light as symbolic of knowledge and life,
seemed to leave the speaker's questions unresolved, this final
and darkness as symbolic of mystery and death. For example,
instance indicates that there shall be no more questioning. The
the Christian God creates light in the opening of the Bible's
poem and the speaker's life are over.
Book of Genesis, thereby enabling the flourishing of all life on

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earth. Also think of the way the “Enlightenment” is the name for
a period of rapid advancement in scientific knowledge. The use • Line 2: “St”
of light in the poem here plays on both of these meanings, • Line 3: “St”
suggesting the speaker’s passage into death and the mystery • Line 4: “St”
therein. • Line 6: “f”
It’s also worth noting that it’s the fly that seems to mark this • Line 7: “F”
• Line 13: “B,” “B”
transition from light to darkness, “interpos[ing]” between the
• Line 14: “B”
speaker and the window light. This is, of course, physically
• Line 16: “s,” “s”
impossible, but represents the arrival of death and perhaps the
closing of the speaker’s eyes. It's also interesting that people
often conceive of dying as a kind of light; those who have had ALLUSION
near-death experiences often mention a bright white light “I Heard a Fly buzz – when I died” makes one allusion
allusion, found in
(such as a train coming through a tunnel). Here, the shift is into line 7. Here, the speaker describes how they and those
darkness, suggesting the speaker's uncertainty about what—if gathered in the room are awaiting “the King.” This is a reference
anything—comes next. to God/Jesus within the Christian tradition, which makes sense
given that Dickinson lived in in Protestant America. The world
Where this symbol appears in the poem: is often characterized in Christian texts as the “Kingdom of
God.” In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is referred to as the
• Lines 14-16: “Between the light - and me - / And then “King of Kings.” The allusion, then, shows that the people in the
the Windows failed - and then / I could not see to see -” poem are immersed in this Christian tradition, and are
following the relevant customs and social behavior.
The speaker expects—or feels that they ought to expect—some
POETIC DEVICES kind of sign from God to signal that it’s the end, some holy
emissary from the spiritual world to act as a guide. Whether or
ALLITERATION not the speaker really believes this or if it’s just part of the
Alliter
Alliteration
ation is used sparingly in “I heard a Fly buzz – when I social expectation of the occasion is unclear. But the allusion
died.” In the first stanza, the /st/ sound repeats three times serves a vital purpose in the poem: if the arrival of the fly is the
(though this includes repetition of the word "stillness," an poem’s punchline, then the expected arrival of the King is the
example of diacope
diacope). This sonically connects the "StStillness" in set-up. This questions whether religion really offers spiritual
the room to that between gusts in a "St Storm." The calm within or comfort for the dead, or just temporary solace for the living.
before a storm is a moment filled with tension, since the wind
and rain will soon return; as such, this alliteration subtly Where Allusion appears in the poem:
underscores that the "Stillness" in the room is also filled with
tension, with the knowledge that something big (the speaker's • Line 7: “the King”
death) is about to happen.
The other meaningful example of alliteration is in lines 13 and JUXTAPOSITION
14. The poem investigates the greatest juxtaposition of
all—between life and death. It sets this up immediately in the
With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz - first line, counterbalancing the opening of the poem’s
Between the light - and me - story—the buzzing of the fly—with the fact that this line (and
the others) appear to be spoken from the great beyond (death).
The fly has just arrived, disrupting the solemnity of the The fly is a small creature, not much loved by human beings, but
deathbed scene. Its noise is annoying, but so too is its flight, and It is alive nonetheless—it sits on one side of the first line’s
its erratic nature is an unwelcome reminder of the speaker’s caesur
caesuraa. On the other side of the caesura, and apparently on
inability to know where they themselves are going after death the other side of the border between life and death, is the
(if anywhere). Accordingly, these lines place three obvious /b/ speaker. However, the speaker offers no information how they
sounds in close proximity, but almost at random. This seems to are speaking or from where exactly, thereby only adding to the
emulate the way the fly’s flight path looks kind of aimless, and poem’s main argument: that what happens when people die is
also the irritating loudness of the fly’s buzzing sound. essentially unknowable.
The poem develops this juxtaposition in its setting. The speaker,
Where Alliter
Alliteration
ation appears in the poem: lying on their deathbed, contrasts with the people standing
around the room and crying. These people might represent the

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continuation of life, yet they are nevertheless intrigued by what
will happen to the speaker after death. The juxtaposition is then • Line 13: “u,” “u,” “u”
developed in the poem’s closing image, which describes the • Line 16: “ee,” “ee”
fading of the light from the window. Light is associated with life,
while darkness relates to the mystery of death. Accordingly, the CAESURA
juxtaposition between light and dark maps neatly onto the “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –“ is full of Dickinson's
poem’s main subject—the distinction between life and death, characteristic dashes, which often function specifically as
and their shared border. caesur
caesuras
as. The dash in the first line helps set up the opposition
between the fly and the speaker, with the fly occupying the first
Where Juxtaposition appears in the poem: part of the line, and the second providing the parparado
adoxical
xical
• Line 1: “I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -” information that the speaker is already dead. This also helps set
• Line 15: “And then the Windows failed” up the juxtaposition between life and death.
The caesuras in lines 5, 7, and 8 also feel significant. Here, the
ASSONANCE speaker describes how everyone in the room is practically
The poem first uses assonance with repeated short /i/ sounds holding their breath, expecting the speaker’s death to happen
of "Stiillness" and "iin"—a phrase that repeats in lines 2 and 3, at any moment. Presumably, the speaker is either ill or very old,
first in reference to "the Room" and then in reference to "the and so probably struggles with breathing too. The caesuras
Air." As with the alliter
alliteration
ation of /st/ sounds in these lines, the here break up the lines, making them feel difficult and effortful.
assonance here connects these two spaces—linking the It is as though the lines themselves struggle to breathe, as
atmosphere in the room to the spooky quiet at the center of a though the phrases might not make it to the end of the line.
storm, or those moments when the storm seems briefly to Indeed, put most simply, death is the moment that people stop
subside. The calm during a storm is indeed still but is also filled breathing permanently. Breath, then, is a clear marker that
with tension and a sense of anticipation—just as the room is still separates the living from the dead—and the caesuras here help
yet filled with anticipation for the moment of the speaker's build the sense of the speaker’s nearness to death.
death. The caesuras in the final stanza are also important. With not
Line 4 also uses long /e/ sounds—“Betwee een the Hea
eaves of one but two caesuras, line 13 both echoes the difficult
Storm”—which contrast with the established /i/ sound that breathing described above and conveys the erratic flight path
comes beforehand. These long vowels slow down the line, as do of the fly. The line itself seems to “stumble” in “uncertainty.” And
the round /o/ sounds of "o of" and "Sto
orm" (though these may or as the stanza continues, the use of caesura contributes to a
may not feel truly assonant, depending on how one pronounces feeling of fragmentation. Indeed, the poem is trying to get as
them). Altogether, then, line 4 plays out the calmness it close as is logically possible to the moment of death itself, and
describes via sound. accordingly the caesuras seem to divide the passing time of the
poem into smaller and smaller fragments, until it ends with a
The other key example of assonance is in the final stanza. Line final dash—the speaker unable to see any further into what lies
13 employs an attention-grabbing short /uh/ sound to evoke ahead.
the woozily meandering flight path of the fly: “u uncertain -
stu
umbling Bu uzz.” This a noisily assonant line, almost as if the line
Where Caesur
Caesuraa appears in the poem:
itself is clattering into the poem. And, in its way, the fly being
described is a violent interruption. It is physically small, of • Line 1: “-”
course, but highly impactful on this particular moment. With • Line 5: “-”
the speaker contemplating what happens after death—and • Line 7: “-”
whether they await a spiritual afterlife—the fly is an unwelcome • Line 8: “-”
distraction, and a reminder both that life goes on for everyone/ • Line 9: “-”
everything else and that the speaker has no certainties about • Line 11: “-”
what is coming. • Line 13: “-,” “-”
• Line 14: “-”
Where Assonance appears in the poem: • Line 15: “-”

• Line 2: “i,” “i” CONSONANCE

• Line 3: “i,” “i”
• Line 4: “ee,” “ea” For a Dickinson poem, “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died” is
• Line 10: “e,” “e” actually relatively light on consonance
consonance. As discussed in the
alliter
alliteration
ation overview of this guide, the first stanza employs

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alliterative consonance through a repeat of /st/ sounds across The other two instances of diacope happen in the poem’s
"St
Stillness" (lines 2 and 3) and "St
Storm" in line 4. The recurring closing two lines: the repetition of “And then” and later of the
sound is intended to emulate the recurring "stillness" in word “see.” The “And then” relates specifically to the poem’s
between bouts of thunder and lightning. This in turn builds a attempt to get as imaginatively close as possible to the actual
picture for the audience of the tension in the room, as moment of death itself. As a phrase, it signals the shift from one
everybody waits for the speaker to die. moment in time to another—but the actual division of time here
In the second stanza, the poem uses feather-light /th/ sounds is very small. Accordingly, it creates a sense of fragmentation,
to create a sense of breathlessness. This matches with the way as though the speaker’s world is dividing up into smaller and
in which those in the room are practically holding their breath, smaller pieces as part of the “onset” of death.
morbidly captivated by the imminent death. The “f” in “firm” is a The repeat of “see” is deliberately mysterious. It asks the reader
closely related sound that contributes to this too: to question why the poem uses “I could not see to see” instead
of “I could not see.” The diacope accordingly suggests two
And Breathths were gath
thering firm different types of sight. One of these is vision, with the
For th
that last Onset speaker’s periphery growing smaller and smaller as their eyes
close in preparation for death (though people often die with
The final stanza uses consonance, alliteration and assonance in their eyes open too). The other is more ambiguous. Most likely,
a way that is intended to feel deliberately un-patterned. This it relates to the inability of the speaker—or any human
comes when the speaker describes the intrusion of the fly, being—to see beyond death. To see and to be dead are
which in turn seems to impose itself on the sound of the poem. inherently contradictory, but humanity has of course come up
The consonance used to achieve this effect relies on /b/ and /l/ with many theories as to what happens when people die. The
sounds: speaker’s inability to “see” ends the poem on a doubtful note,
offering no attempt to claim certain knowledge about any
With Bl
Blue - uncertain - stumbl
bling Buzz - afterlife.
Between the light - and me -
And then the Windows faililed - and then Where Diacope appears in the poem:
• Line 2: “Stillness”
The /b/ here represents the buzzing sound of the fly, acting as a
• Line 3: “Stillness”
kind of irritating and unsubtle presence throughout the lines.
• Line 15: “And then,” “and then”
• Line 16: “see to see”
Where Consonance appears in the poem:
• Line 2: “St,” “lln,” “ss,” “n” ENJAMBMENT
• Line 3: “St,” “lln,” “ss,” “n” “I heard a Fly buzz - when I died –“ uses enjambment to great
• Line 4: “St” effect. While enjambment is often used to create a sense of
• Line 5: “r,” “r,” “r” movement or motion, this almost sarcastically undercut in lines
• Line 6: “r,” “th,” “th,” “r,” “f,” “r” 2 and 3. The enjambment speeds the reader on from the
• Line 7: “F,” “r,” “th” “Stillness” of line 2, but this is only met by another “Stillness” in
• Line 9: “w,” “K,” “s,” “k,” “s,” “S,” “w”
line 3.
• Line 10: “W”
• Line 13: “B,” “l,” “c,” “t,” “st,” “bl,” “B” The enjambment between lines 6 and 7 relates to the way that
• Line 14: “B” everyone present in the room is practically holding their breath,
• Line 15: “th,” “th” anticipating the speaker’s moment of death. The enjambment
• Line 16: “t,” “s,” “t,” “s” makes the phrase longer, accordingly taking up more breath
(especially if the poem is read out loud, since there is no
DIACOPE indicated pause between these lines). The caesur
caesuraa in line 7 thus
transforms into a kind of intake of breath.
Diacope occurs three times in the poem. The first time, the
repetition of the word "Stillness" (really, of the entire phrase The third stanza contains the most enjambment. It’s here that
"Stillness in the...") serves to draw a parallel between these two the speaker signs away their “Keepsakes”—their personal
spaces—the room and the sky during the calm of a storm. The possessions and artifacts—and the smooth enjambment
diacope underscores that this "Stillness" is not all that perhaps relates to the speed of a signature. Signatures are
comforting, because it's also characterized by a sense of often very significant, but take very little time to do. This hints
tension and anticipation. that material possessions, when faced with death, suddenly
seem far less significant. That is, there is a contrast between the

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serious formality between what the speaker has to do and the SIMILE
speed with which it is done. The poem employs one simile
simile, found in the first stanza. Here,
Though we have not marked it as such, line 3 is arguably also the “Stillness” of the “Room” in which the speaker is awaiting
enjambed given that the comparison is not just to "Air," but death is compared with the “Stillness” between strikes lightning
specifically to "Air - Between the Heaves of Storm"; line 3 thus and thunder (also relating to the calm at the eye of a storm).
spills over onto the next. It could also be read as awkwardly The simile describes the way in which the speaker themselves
end-stopped
end-stopped, however, with its final dash representing that is between two “Heaves.” They are awaiting one of life’s most
stillness—that pause or calm—"Between" those heaving winds mysterious events—dying—and do not know what is coming for
of the storm. them. Similarly, a pause in the storm always sets up a tension as
to whether another hit will come, or if the storm is actually
Where Enjambment appears in the poem: over. By comparing the "Stillness in the Room" to that during a
pause in a storm, the speaker thus imbues the room with a
• Line 2: “Room”
sense of anticipation and tension.
• Line 3: “Was”
• Line 6: “firm” Another interesting thing about this simile is that its two
• Line 7: “For,” “King” comparative elements are very similar—it’s comparing one type
• Line 8: “Be” of stillness with another, not the room with a storm per se. This
• Line 9: “away” similarity might equate to a kind of imaginative stillness,
• Line 10: “What,” “be” because it’s not much of a leap to understand what the simile
• Line 11: “Assignable,” “was” means. If the poem compared the room to an empty cup, for
• Line 12: “There” example, it would be more imaginative work for the reader. The
• Line 15: “then” lack of work required intentionally creates a powerful sense of
• Line 16: “I” stasis and inertia.

PARADOX Where Simile appears in the poem:

The poem is par
parado
adoxical
xical from start to finish. The fact that the • Lines 2-3: “The Stillness in the Room / Was like the
speaker says "when I died" indicates that the speaker is already Stillness in the Air”
dead—yet, somehow, this speaker is clearly still talking and
thinking about their final moments. The speaker seems both OXYMORON
dead and alive throughout the poem, which adds to its sense of
The poem uses what is arguably an oxymoron is used in line 7.
mystery. Indeed, the poem seems to backtrack from the
Here, the speaker describes how they and their loved ones are
moment of death—back to the speaker on their deathbed
awaiting the actual moment of death, in which the “King”
surrounded by others and the interruption of the fly. Just as the
(meaning God or Jesus) will come to take the speaker away. The
poem is about to circle back to where it began—the actual
speaker describes this moment as the “last Onset.” “Last”
moment of death—the poem ends, the speaker no longer able to
relates to finality and ending, while “Onset” means “beginning.”
"see." Yet, here the speaker is, talking about how they died.
So the speaker sees this as the last beginning of their life. They
Circular and confusing, isn't it?
think (or hope) that they are about to embark on the last
Dickinson opts not to try to describe an imagined afterlife and journey of their life, and that this will have as its destination a
instead has the speaker describe their actual dying moments; reassuring and spiritually fulfilling afterlife. That said, it’s not
rather than focusing on something unknowable (what happens clear that the speaker really believes this or is just relating to
after death), the speaker focuses on the exact point of transition the standard, accepted beliefs of the society that they live in.
between life and death (or, rather, gets as close as possible to Either way, the phrase means both ending and beginning,
this moment), allowing for a more nuanced commentary on capturing the mysterious nature of death and humankind’s
both subjects. This may make the poem somewhat confusing or inability to know what happens after.
ambiguous, but it also allows Dickinson to consider the extent
of human understanding and knowledge in the face of
Where Oxymoron appears in the poem:
mortality.
• Line 7: “last Onset”
Where P
Par
arado
adoxx appears in the poem:
SYNECDOCHE
• Lines 1-16
"I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -" uses synecdoche in line 5.
Here, the speaker refers to "The Eyes around," meaning the

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people that have gathered in the room to watch the speaker things to remember the speaker by).
die. The choice of "Eyes" is important for two main reasons. Assignable (Line 11) - Assignable here relates to the parts of
Firstly, focuses the reader's attention on the emotion of the the speaker's life that are physically and logically possible to
occasion—these are eyes that have done so much crying that give away (personal possessions, property, etc.). This part of the
they've been wrung dry and cannot cry anymore; they've used poem suggests there might be a part of human life that is
up all their tears. The dry eyes signal to the speaker that those unassignable, perhaps a soul.
in the room will miss the speaker.
Interposed (Line 12) - This means to get in the way, to get
But the other interesting effect is the way that the choice of between one thing and another.
"Eyes" paints a picture of the psychology of the deathbed
scene. The speaker perhaps feels self-conscious, noticing that Blue (Line 13) - It's not certain why Dickinson characterizes the
all of the eyes are looking at them. There is a kind of expected fly as "Blue." It could be that this is literally a blue-colored insect
behavior for both the dying and the observers which relates to (such as the bluebottle fly), or that blue has been chosen for the
the dominant social and cultural rituals of the day. The word's connotations of sadness.
attention foisted on the speaker signals that people care, but it
also means that the speaker is being closely watched and,
accordingly, under pressure to behave in a certain way.
FORM, METER, & RHYME
Furthermore, the "eyes" suggest curiosity, as though part of the
FORM
reason the speaker is watched so closely is because those in
attendance want to see what happens when somebody makes "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -" has a regular form comprised
the transition from life to death. of four four-line stanzas, or quatr
quatrains
ains. This is typical of
Dickinson's poetry and is closely aligned with the ballad stanza
format (based on an ABCB rhyme scheme and an alternating
Where Synecdoche appears in the poem:
iambic tetrameter and trimeter). This form also closely relates
• Line 5: “ Eyes” to church hymns, which seems appropriate given that the poem
is a kind of vexed meditation on what it means to die (and to
have lived).
VOCABULARY Perhaps the most significant aspect of the form is the poem's
chronology. The speaker announces the first line almost
Heaves (Line 4) - To heave means to use great physical effort to casually, but it is highly contradictory. The poem is spoken from
lift or move something; to haul. It can also mean to rise and fall beyond the point of death, describing the moment of dying (or
or to churn and seethe (as turbulent ocean waves might). Used as close to as possible). There is, then, the moment described in
in its noun form here, it is referencing the strong winds of a the actual poem itself and the mysterious moment from which
storm. the poem is actually spoken.
Wrung (Line 5) - Wringing is a twisting action that is usually The poem begins and ends with the fly, which underscores its
applied to a wet material, like a towel, which thereby drains that importance. The usual social rituals of death described in lines
material of water. The speaker is basically saying these people 2 to 11 are thereby given less significance, placed in the poem
have cried to the point that they are all out of tears. in order to question their value.
Firm (Line 6) - Strongly or resolutely.
METER
Onset (Line 7) - An onset is a beginning. The phrase here is
arguably an oxymoron
xymoron, because this is a "last Onset." In other "I Heard a Fly Buzz - when I died" uses a metrical format
words, a concluding beginning; the beginning of the end; death. common to many of Dickinson's poems. The basic scheme is an
alternating iambic tetr
tetrameter
ameter and trimeter (meaning each line
King (Line 7) - This is an allusion to the Christian God and/or has either four or three iambs
iambs, a.k.a. poetic feet with an
Jesus, who is described in the book of Revelation as the "King unstressed-stressed
stressed syllable pattern). This closely aligns the
of Kings." poem with the ballad stanza form and church hymns. The poem
Willed (Line 9) - This relates to the signing of a will, a legal is very regular in its meter for the most part. Take the final
document that would divide up the speaker's property stanza:
(presumably between the other people in the room) upon the
speaker's death. With Blue - | uncer
cer- | tain - stumb
stumb-| ling Buzz -
Keepsakes (Line 9) - This is a word for the objects that the Between
tween | the light - | and me -
speaker has selected to give to loved ones, specifically those And then | the Wind
Wind- | ows failed - | and then
objects that are small and meant to act as mementos (that is, I could | not see | to see -

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This regularity might be ironic, given that the poem is poem is told in the first person, announced by the poem's very
otherwise filled with a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty. first word. But just as soon as this is established, the poem
Perhaps the steady meter reflects the speaker's attempt to throws the reader something deeply par parado
adoxical
xical—the speaker
make sense of the world, even as the actual content of the lines explains that they are talking about the time that they "died." To
highlights the limits of human knowledge when it comes to the speak or to write is to engage in action, and to do so requires
afterlife. being alive. But this speaker is also dead, and so the reader
That said, the poem has what might be a variation in the very must work to understand this logical impossibility.
first line, with "buzz" arguably being a stressed syllable (though Readers also don't get any indication about the speaker's
it can be read unstressed in order to conform with the metrical gender or age. This is a person with loved ones or
scheme): caregivers—making up all those "Eyes" standing around the
room—and who owned enough stuff to warrant creating a will.
I heard a Fly buzz - when I died - Otherwise, the speaker's identity is very vague.
Also of note is that the speaker doesn't talk about their current
The placement of this stress conveys the disruption of the fly, situation—they want to discuss their dying moments. If people
the way in which its sound is an annoying and distracting could really talk to the dead, the first thing they probably would
presence. want to know is what it's like to be dead. But this speaker offers
It's also worth considering the way that the characteristic no such information, and instead seems endlessly preoccupied
Dickinson dashes affect the poem's meter. Arguably, they with the irritating presence of the fly.
dictate a brief pause, thereby disrupting the poem's rhythms.
This makes sense, because the poem's main subject is doubt
and the unknowability of death (and the afterlife). The way the SETTING
phrases unfold, then, has an awkward searching quality to it.
In a way, this poem has two settings. The first is the more
The final stanza, as quoted above, is a strong example of this.
obvious: the poem is a deathbed scene, probably in a 19th
RHYME SCHEME century Protestant home similar to Dickinson's own. The
This poem, like much of Dickinson's work, follows the ballad people in the poem conform to the expected social and cultural
stanza rhyme scheme: rituals of the time. These include the visible act of mourning,
with the loved ones of the speaker gathered around the death
ABCB bed; the expectation of spiritual assistance from God; and the
All but one of the rhymes in the poem are slant rhrhymes
ymes. Take legal organization of the dying person's property. The setting is,
"Room" and "Storm" in the first stanza; these words do sound in its morbid way, perfect, like a well-tuned example of how
alike, but they're not full rhymes. The ballad stanza is a common someone ought to die. But of course, this is interrupted by the
one, and as such the lack of full rhymes where the reader might presence of the fly, whose erratic flight and annoying noise
expect to find them perhaps suggests the poem's atmosphere seems to question the meaning of these social and cultural
of doubt and mystery—the way in which the speaker, rituals.
approaching death, isn't sure what is to follow (even though The other setting is far more mysterious. The speaker talks in
they speak from beyond death!). the past tense, implying that their vantage point is from
Only one rhyme pair in the entire poem is a perfect rh rhyme
yme, and somewhere beyond the moment described. This means that
this comes at the very end. This final rhyming pair—me/ the speaker is apparently speaking/writing from the
see—might make the poem's ending feel steadier than afterlife—but they offer no information about this at all.
everything that has come before it, like a surefooted conclusion Accordingly, this second setting reaffirms the poem's main
to the speaker's thoughts. That said, this line is saying that the point—that dying, death, and what comes after (if anything) are
speaker can no longer "see" at all (i.e., the speaker is dead), and inherently beyond human comprehension.
here any insight into the poem's subject, what it's like to die,
abruptly cuts off. Thus even as the rhymes seem to wrap up the
poem neatly, the poem remains anxious and doubtful from start CONTEXT
to finish.
LITERARY CONTEXT
Emily Dickinson lived in Amherst, Massachusetts in the 19th
SPEAKER century. She published very little during her lifetime—indeed,
published work was predominantly put out by men—and was a
The speaker's identity is one of the most mysterious and hotly
famously reclusive figure, choosing to stay indoors for most of
debated elements of "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -." The

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her adult life. Her posthumous influence was far-reaching,
however, and she is now considered one of the most important MORE RESOUR
RESOURCES
CES
poets in the English language.
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
She is known to have valued the writings of William
Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charlotte Bronte, and • Dickinson
Dickinson's 's Meter — A valuable discussion of Emily
Shakespeare. During her early life, Dickinson went to a Dickinson's use of meter.
(https:/
(https:///poemshape.
poemshape.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/emily-
wordpress.com/2009/01/18/emily-
religious school and continued to be preoccupied with
dickinson-iambic-meter-and-rh
dickinson-iambic-meter-and-rhyme/)
yme/)
questions about faith and the meaning of existence. Church
literature, then, was also a major influence on Dickinson, and • In Emily's W
Words
ords — An image of the only known draft of
her poems often employ a meter and diction similar to that the poem in Dickinson's own handwriting.
found in hymns. (https:/
(https://www
/www.themorgan.org/e
.themorgan.org/exhibitions/online/emily-
xhibitions/online/emily-
This poem is one of Dickinson's best-known, and is one of many dickinson/8)
of her poems that are preoccupied with death. Other key • The PPoem
oem Animated — A spooky animation of the poem.
poems on this subject include "Because
Because I could not stop for (https:/
(https://www
/www..youtube.com/watch?v=DzK0mQER28A)
Death
Death," "II F
Felt
elt a F
Funer
uneral,
al, in m
myy Br
Brain
ain," "As
As imperceptibly as
grief
grief," and "Death
Death is the supple suitor
suitor." Death, of course, is one • More FFrom
rom Dickinson — A link to numerous other Emily
of the oldest subjects in literature, and Dickinson is not the only Dickinson poems. (https:/
(https://www
/www.poets.org/poetsorg/
.poets.org/poetsorg/
poems/45673)
poet of the time to take an unflinching look at dying. Notable
American poems around the same time include Edgar Allan • The Dickinson Museum — The Emily Dickinson Museum,
Poe's "The
The Conqueror W Wormorm" and "Thanatoposis
Thanatoposis" by William situated in the poet's old house, has lots of resources for
Cullen Bryant. students. (https:/
(https://www
/www.emily
.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/)
dickinsonmuseum.org/)
The fly, too, is no stranger to the page. Flies appear in the Bible • On Pla
Playing
ying Emily — A clip in which actor Cynthia Nixon
(Book of Exodus) as the fourth plague of Egypt, and Jean Paul discusses playing Emily Dickinson on screen in "A Quiet
Sartre wrote a play in the 20th century called The Flies. William Passion." (https:/
(https://www
/www..youtube.com/
Blake has a fly poem as well (called "The
The Fly
Fly"), which is unusual watch?v=4_SId6che2k)
in portraying flies in a relatively positive way—most mentions of
flies usually associate them with impending doom, death and • In Our Time podcast — Experts talk about Emily
decay. Dickinson's life and work on the BBC's In Our Time
podcast/radio show. (https:/
(https://www
/www..youtube.com/
HISTORICAL CONTEXT watch?v=SDBADIHwchQ
watch?v=SDBADIHwchQ))
Dickinson grew up within a Puritan environment that placed LITCHARTS ON OTHER EMILY DICKINSON POEMS
great emphasis on Christian morality. Her father was a
• As imperceptibly as grief
congressman and the patriarch of the family—and Dickinson
• Because I could not stop for Death —
could only begin writing her poetry because her father gave her
• Hope is the thing with feathers
implicit permission. In this respect, then, Dickinson was a
• I felt a F
Funer
uneral,
al, in m
myy Br
Brain
ain
female author in a time and place when this was not • I’m Nobody! Who are yyou? ou?
encouraged. Dickinson's America was one of religious • Much Madness is divinest Sense -
revivalism, with competing ideas about the way in which people • My Life had stood - a LLoaded
oaded Gun
ought to serve God, including the temperance movement of • Success is counted sweetest
which her father was a part. The morality of slavery—and • There
There's 's a certain Slant of light
whether slavery should be abolished—was also an intensely • This is mmyy letter to the world
debated issue at the forefront of the political scene, and which, • Wild nights - Wild nights!
of course, led to the outbreak of the American Civil War.
The deathbed scene presented in the poem is typical of the
19th century New England Protestant world in which
Dickinson lived. Death was something to be prepared for,
particularly in the religious and spiritual sense. Dickinson lost
many loved ones during her life, observing scenes similar to the
one described in the poem. Furthermore, her "blackouts"
(considered by some to have been epilepsy) gave her a
pronounced awareness of death. Indeed, she herself was
bedridden for seven months before she died.

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HOW T
TO
O CITE
MLA
Howard, James. "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -." LitCharts.
LitCharts LLC, 8 May 2019. Web. 22 Apr 2020.

CHICAGO MANUAL
Howard, James. "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -." LitCharts LLC,
May 8, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2020. https://www.litcharts.com/
poetry/emily-dickinson/i-heard-a-fly-buzz-when-i-died.

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