Emily Dickenson And The Theme Of Death Essay - 604 Words

Emily Dickinson And the Theme of Death nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Emily Dickenson, an unconventional 19th century poet, used death as the theme for many of her poems. Dickensons poems offer a creative and refreshingly different perspective on death and its effects on others. In Dickensons poems, death is often personified, and is also assigned to personalities far different from the traditional quot;horror moviequot; roles. Dickenson also combines imaginative diction with vivid imagery to create astonishingly powerful poems. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In the 1862 poem, After Great pain, a formal feeling comes--, Emily Dickenson presents death from the perspective of the bereaved. This poem is written in the third†¦show more content†¦Dickenson also excellently portrays the restlessness of the mourners in this following passage: nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;quot;The Feet, mechanical, go round-- nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Of Ground, or Air, or Ought--quot; Describing the feet as quot;mechanicalquot; shows the agitation and displacement of the mourners. Also, in the next line, quot;Oughtquot; most closely means quot;Emptiness.quot; Dickenson artistically shows us how the mourners are dealing with their loss in this next passage: nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;quot;A Wooden way nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Regardless grown, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A Quartz contentment, like a stone--quot; To deal with their loss, the mourners have separated themselves from the rest of the world. Their reaction to this catastrophe has become one of denial, causing each to develop quot;A...contentment, like a stone--.quot; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;quot;Because I could not stop for death--,quot; another famous Emily Dickenson poem, renders a highly unusual personification of death. At first, it seems odd that Dickenson capitalizes quot;Deathquot; as if it were a proper name. However, Death is described as a cordial and polite man throughout the poem, in sharp contrast with the traditional quot;grim reaperquot; bit. This next passage illustrates the difference between Dickensons Death and deaths traditional role:Show MoreRelatedAnalysis of Themes the Tenets of Romanticism Within Poetry1587 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of Themes the Tenets of Romanticism within Poetry The romantic period in literature started in roughly the 1790s and ended around the 1830s. This was a period when people’s imagination and love for nature flourished, prospered and then sky-rocketed. 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