I heard a Fly buzz–when I died
Emily Dickinson
I Heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.
The eyes beside had wrung them dry, 5
And breaths were gathering sure
For that last onset, when the king
Be witnessed in his power.
I willed my keepsakes, signed away
What portion of me I 10
Could make assignable,—and then
There interposed a fly,
With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,
Between the light and me;
And then the windows failed, and then 15
I could not see to see.
Making Meanings
Poems by Emily Dickinson
I heard a Fly buzz–when I died
1. Do you find this poem grotesque, moving, humorous, or something else? Look
back over your Quickwrite notes, and explain whether or not you were surprised
by the poem’s conclusion.
2. According to the second and third stanzas, how had the speaker and those
around her prepared for death?
3. What are the dying person and those around her expecting to find in the room?
What appears instead, and why is this ironic?
4. In line 4, Dickinson used the word “Heaves” to refer to the behavior of
storms. Why is “Heaves” an appropriate word to describe what is happening in the
poem?
5. How does the poet use pauses and specific words in lines 12–13 to make the
appearance of the fly dramatic and lively?
6. In the third stanza, what portion of the speaker is “assignable”? What
portion, by implication, is not assignable?
7. Who is the “King” (line 7)? What does the phrase “the Windows failed” (line
15) mean?
8. What tone do you hear in this poem? What feeling do you think the poet
expresses by inserting the fly into this deathbed scene?
Choices
1. Collecting Ideas for a Comparison/Contrast Essay
One interesting topic for a comparison/contrast essay would be an examination of how one of Emily Dickinson's poems compares with a poem by an earlier poet - perhaps "Huswifery" by Taylor, "Upon the Burning of Our House" by Gradstreet, or "Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant. Take notes on how one of these poems compares with one of Dickinson's poems.
2. Echoes of Dickinson
Write a poem that treats one of the themes that engaged Emily Dickinson: love and loss, the spiritual life, death and immortality, nature, or the power of the imagination. You might even use one of Dickinson's lines as your opener. Experiment with metaphors, similes, and slant rhymes. Try out Dickinson's style of punctuation and capitalization, or invent your own unique style.
3. Hymn to Her
Dickinson let the strict meters she found in her hymnbook provide the basic beat for her poems, but the variations she introduced gave her poems subtlety and prevented monotony. In a brief essay, analyze at least two of her poems to show how she uses this traditional hymn meter:
8 syllables in line 1
8 syllables in line 3
6 syllables in line 2
6 syllables in line 4
Then show how she also uses a short hymn meter of 6, 6, 8, and 6 syllables. To see how closely some of the poems conform to a hymn meter, you might try singing "If you were coming to the Fall" to the tune of "O God, Our Help in Ages Past."
4. Dickinson Onstage
Prepare a script for a performance called "An Evening with Emily Dickinson." In the script, let Dickinson tell about her life, her views of poetry and language ,and her feelings about nature, faith, and eternity. Include in your performance readings of selected poems.
5. Book of Poems
Dickinson sewed the final copies of her poems into the form of small booklets. To make your own small book, fold four pages of white paper in half. Then, gather them at the fold, which will give you sixteen pages. Select poems you would like to reproduce - either your own, or some favorite poems by Dickinson or by other poems. On the first page, design a book cover including a title. Then, copy one poem onto each the remaining pages. Try to match your penmanship or calligraphy with the feelings conveyed in the poems. Finally, sew your book along the fold.