This poem really stresses sound imagery- "like a drum", "beating", "heard them lift a Box", "creak", "bell", "ear"- but has absolutely no mention of sight imagery. This is because the speaker is figuratively in a coffin. The speaker is having a mental breakdown of some sort. The evidence can be found in statements like "And then a Plank in Reason broke" and "And I, and Silence, by some strange Race Wrecked, solitary, here"- for most people who go mentally insane are alone, separated from the outside by their strange thoughts. Also, the drum Dickinson mentions that is continually beating could symbolize a headache, the strong kind, the kind that seems like you can hear your head pulsing. The way it stops so abruptly, midsentence-- "and Finished knowing-then-"-- makes me feel like the speaker either literally died or lost his or her sanity completely.
The overall tone of this poem is depressing and morbid. This is achieved through the vivid images of funeral and burial processes (how lovely).
Until Next Time,
Alysse
No comments:
Post a Comment