Dying by Emily Dickinson...can someone paraphrase?

Question

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,
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
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
could not see to see.


I need to compare it to another poem on how different authors portray their personal voice. but I really don't understand this poem.

what I got is that maybe he didn't really notice things like flies when he was alive. but now that he's dying, everything is going slowly. for that one moment. but maybe he's saying that death and life go by too quickly...idk...I probably waaay off!

ok I'm still unbelievably lost. can someone give me some sentences or something to get the gist of how to describe this poem in my paper? if I understood this poem, my paper would be a piece of cake!

Answer 1

Best if I gave you a link about this poem of hers :)

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/fly.html

Good luck! the link explains it really well! :)

Answer 2

Dying By Emily Dickinson

Answer 3

well, when in doubt, check it out!!! you can research anything on the web nowadays, and i think it is amazing, this question caught my eye, i am a fan of dickinson, you should read about her life also, i am dazzled by literature, what can i say....anyway, here are some analyzations i found, but i think poems are like the bible, it depends on "who" is analyzing.... and here is the link to this info.... http://www.eliteskills.com/c/4622 ******* This poem is basically saying when she died she heard a fly buzz by and it caught her attention because in was in the way of her seeing the light to heaven and getting their. I think the fly was an obstacle in her way and she had to get to heaven in a certain amount of time, but unfortunately time ran out and she did not get to reach heaven.

| Posted on 2007-05-04 | by a guest



.: Alternative :.

******* Perhaps the fly is symbolic of Beelzebub; the Lord of the Flies. Could Beelzebub be trying to come between the dying girl and God, trying to block her view of the light, rendering her uncapable of physically seeing God before her "windows" (eyes) failed her?

| Posted on 2007-05-01 | by a guest



.: buzz :.

******* In this first stanza, the scene of a deathbed is set. No specifics are given about the room, the dying speaker, or the people that wait in the room for an outcome. The fly is introduced and its significance is not explained as of yet. One detail that is heavily stressed is "stillness in the room." The word stillness is repeated and compared with the calm in a storm. This suggests two things: the motionlessness of death and the anticipation of something yet to come. The calm within the "heaves of storm" is a waiting period for something to happen. That something could be the actual event of breathing a last breath or what happens either simultaneously to the last breath or immediately after. One would assume that this event is being accepted into heaven or meeting God. The stillness signifies both the nearly deceased speaker and the people in the room. They await the death completely still out of respect and fear of death.

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The second stanza discusses the state of mind of those waiting by the deathbed of the speaker. They have obviously been crying by the suggestion that their eyes had "wrung them dry." Through this description that they have stopped their weeping it is implied that they have now accepted the death of the speaker. In the second line of this stanza, the people are holding their breath for "that last Onset - when the King be witnessed." The King is probably God in this context and they are all awaiting his entering the room to take the soul of the speaker. The word onset as defined in Webster's Dictionary is "a setting out; start; beginning." This suggests that the death of the speaker is a beginning of an eternal life in heaven and not necessarily just an end to mortal life. Everyone in the room is expectant of the presence of God to carry the speaker to the this celestial afterlife.

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The focus is returned to the speaker in the third stanza where it says "I willed my Keepsakes." These keepsakes could be material goods that the speaker collected during life. There will be no use for these goods in heaven so this line discusses the tradition of willing away property and material belonging. As the speaker goes on in this stanza, she discusses the act of having "signed away what portion of me be Assignable." The meaning of this event changes in this line. The word assignable from Webster's is "the ability to give out or allot, as a lesson." From this definition it can be assumed that the speaker hopes to leave the people awaiting her death something other than just material goods. The keepsakes that the speaker hopes to give away become the positive virtues that she possessed during life rather than belongings. She hopes that these virtues will serve as the lesson to those that outlive her. The last line of the stanza reintroduces the fly to the scene. The fly "interposed" which means to come between or intervene.

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The fly and its purpose are paramount to the final stanza. As previously described, the fly intervenes between the speaker and the light. The fly possesses a "Blue-uncertain stumbling Buzz" that the speaker takes very specific notice of. This earthly insect serves as a reminder or warning that the speaker is soon leaving the earth. The uncertainty of the fly could be symbolic of the speaker's own unsure feelings about death. The stumbling denotes a movement that is lacking in grace or beauty. But the fly, as a creature of God, does possess the beauty of earth that the speaker last sees before dying. The color blue serves as a tranquil and soothing color for the speaker to feel comforted at these last living moments. Many relate heaven to the sky, which is also blue, so this specific color could be an assumption of the state of heaven by the speaker.

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Dickinson's opinion of death in this poem is not entirely tragic. While it is apparent that both the speaker and the people at her deathbed do feel great loss, Dickinson emphasizes the beginning of a new life and the importance of recognizing the beauty in life. The fly serves as a symbolic inhabitant of earth that is not typically examined for the beauty and grace of God. In this poem, however, the fly is a messenger to the speaker. The fly's presence both comforts and informs the speaker about death and the appreciation of life. By choosing this creature, Dickinson portrays the beauty in every living thing: even the pesky fly has a purpose and a place on earth and in life. The poem also explains what the dying is experiencing, but it strays away from describing pain and fear and concentrates on how the speaker pays close attention to those that will continue to live. The speaker hopes to leaving something significant behind other than just material goods. She also notices that in the surreal moments before death, the stillness in the room encompasses everyone and everything, including even the air that fills the room. These elements work together to expose the beauty and serenity of death.

| Posted on 2005-05-06 | by Approved Guest

Answer 4

Its more like the person is dying and at the last moment she sees this fly and shes not really consciencely thinking it or anything but shes witnessing the self same creature that will devour her once her "windows" shut forever more. Its a pretty morbid poem as you can see. the first two stanzas are just saying everyone (her family) is in the room waiting in horror and anticipation. "the king be witnessed in his power" = God. "I willed my keepsakes..." just talking about making her will and settling her estate.

Answer 5

Basically and literally, the speaker is on the verge of death and indeed dies:

I heard a fly's buzzing (sense of sound not sight)
Everthing around my body was quiet and still like the air becomes between torrential storms

My eyes were tearless and sunken
and the last breath was filling my lungs for the beginning of the end and ameeting with God (king) in and experience His power.

I beckoned my caretakers to my bedside to show them my love as best as I could, (like showering them with kisses). . . . and Lo! Just then a fly (of the first stanza) emerged (note sense of sight now).

The indifferent fly made an eerie buzz sound that sounded my death knell, "Between the light and me" (note the double -edged metaphor of 'light' - light as new rebirth of the soul's entry into glory and light as meaning ability to use sense of sight - eyes). The fly made an appearance (sight) between the light and me ie between me and final sight/new light . . . ."And then the windows failed," (another double meaning: window through which light reaches the room where the patient is and window as meaning eyes closing for good, shutting down in death - eyes are windows of the body!)
and then "could not see to see." This tautology conveys powerfully the fact of FINALITY, the speaker's eyes could not experience sense of sight. The eyes failed (windows).
As the fly emerged and buzzed, it is as if it portended the final omen: the final loss of sense of sight and sense of hearing!



good luck

Answer 6

I know someone who loves this poem. Unfortunately he has stepped out - maybe he'll be back before you close the question. I'll star it.

Answer 7

Your going nowhere in school if you cant decipher this poem, its the simplest thing ever