“I heard a Fly Buzz When I Died” by Emily Dickinson

Summary of the poem

The poem “I heard a Fly Buzz When I Died” is one of the most remarkable and interesting poems written by Emily Dickinson. The poem describes the scene after the speaker’s death like her earlier poem “Because I Could not Stop for Death”. This poem dwells upon the thoughts beyond the grave.
The first stanza introduces us with the ambience and sets us for the ensuing events. The poem begins with the appearance of a fly. It interrupts the stillness in the room. The quiet in the room is not permanent.
The peace presented there is something before a big event. In the poet’s words she describes the stillness and peace in this way: ” The Stillness in the Room, Like the stillness in the air between the Heaves of Storm”.
The next stanza reveals the presence of many people in the room. Now we come to know that they are waiting for the speaker’s death. The room is so quiet that the speaker can hear a fly buzz. The near and dear ones present there have finished crying. In her line the poetess describes it like this: ” The Eyes around—had wrung them dry”. They are preparing for the speaker’s last moments.

This line describes the scene:” And Breaths were gathering firm, for that last onset”.

The speaker knows that it is presumed that the speaker will see God but there is a rhetorical question “Who will lead her to the afterlife?” The poetess writes When the King/ Be witnessed–in the room..”.
According to the Victorian tradition of death bed scenes, the speaker has drawn her will and given away all her material possessions. In her word,s the poetess says ” I willed my Keepsakes– signed away, what portion of me an Assignable.

The sudden appearance of a fly interrupts the speaker’s thoughts it distracts the speaker.

Finally, the speaker becomes unconscious. The poetess describes the scene in this way: “And then the Windows failed, and then, I could not see to see”. The poem ends with this line. The readers imagine that the speaker has breathed last.

Form of the Poem

The poem follows the pattern that identifies uniqueness of her writing. The poem has trimeter and tetrameter iambic lines. There are four stressed syllables in the first and third lines of each stanza, and three stressed syllables in the second and fourth line of each stanza. Long dashes cause interruption or pauses. This use of long dashes is quite intentional. The rhyme scheme is A B C B. This unique technique in her poem is quite intentional to build tension. When the poem is complete after the death of the speaker, a sense of true completion is there.

Critical Analysis