I Heard a Fly Buzz (When I Died)
I Heard a Fly Buzz (When I Died), by Emily Dickinson, might be interpreted as describing a tragic time in Miss Emily's life. This poem seems to be an observation, where Ms Dickinson is talking in the third person. She might be describing her husband's death as though she were her husband experiencing his death. This poem may have been written at the time of her husbands death, thus Miss Emily could be symbolized as a fly buzzing. Several clues lead us to this conclusion, all of which will be explained. In the first line if the poem, Ms Emily says "I heard a fly buzz when I died". She could be talking here as if she were the dying person, her husband. The fly that Emily is talking about could be herself; she could be yelling or crying about the fact that her husband is dying right in front of her; and he is paying no attention to her. "The stillness in the room / was like the stillness in the air / between the heaves of a storm(lines 2-4)." could very easily be translated as the moments between death and life when everything is completely silent. It resembles the eye of a hurricane. She could be describing here, a place where it is peaceful, maybe the gates of Heaven; but then again, the fly is still buzzing. Perhaps,
As the lights go out, the window closes. "I willed my keepsakes, signed away / what portion of me be assignable. Now, he cannot see to understand what if anything is infront of him!. She describes the last moments of his death, and the last sounds and feelings he had. "And then the windows failed, and then / I could not see to see. The first line in the next stanza expresses much confusion when it says, "They eyes around had wrung them dry. This writer admits that there is no proof at all that Miss Emily Dickinson is actually talking in the 3rd person; it is just a theory. "And then it was / there interposed a fly", one can see that as she was thinking in third person as her husband, the fly started buzzing again, Miss Emily starts crying again, and as she morns for her dying husband, she goes back and makes sure everyone is ready for his death. As he is in such a peaceful state, he only hears a buzz of what is going on. And the "stumbling buzz," could be her loss of power; she is unable to stop her husbands death. This second quatrain has re-inforced the first one by still describing the surrounding area, and why it is in this silent state. The King she is talking about could be her husband, the king of the house. This poem has to do with a death of some sort, and as Ms.
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