Dickinson’s Poetry Is Startling and Eccentric. Discuss. Essay Example

me almost of a Picasso painting. We are left in no doubt of her deepening crisis with her startling image of the coffin crashing downwards as a ‘’plank in reason, broke / And I dropped down and down—‘’. I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—... ” was equally eccentric and startling. Once again the imagery played a significant role in evoking this idea. The poem opens to a vibrant image of Dickinson lying in her bed surrounded by her nearest and dearest. ‘’The eyes had wrung them dry, / And breathes were gathering sure’’. I was struck by the startling contrast created here when she compares the stillness in the room to ‘’the air/ Between the Heaves of Storms’’ The poem strikingly describes the mental distraction posed by irrelevant details at even the most crucial moments—even at the moment of death.

The poem then becomes even more bizarre and more macabre by transforming the tiny, normally disregarded fly into the figure of death itself, as the fly’s wing cuts the speaker off from the light until she cannot “see to see. ” One of the most peculiar aspects of ‘‘I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—... ” is the odd introduction of the fly into this environment. Again, the imagery plays a significant role. Flies can often be associated with death and decay and I think that is the message Dickinson was trying to convey by using the image of the fly in this particular poem.

It is again linked to ‘I Felt a Funeral in my Brain’ to the psychological deterioration of Dickinson. Ironically, the buzz from the fly seems to be

the only sign of life in the entire poem. The passage of death has an unsettling, disconnected tone but is not scary or painful. The poet introduces the idea that death isn’t our salvation; it is simply a state of nothingness. I found this disconcerting. ‘’A Certain Slant of Light’’ initially suggested harmony and tranquillity. Dickinson, however uses ‘’A certain slant of light’’ in an altogether different fashion.

This poem is far from anything resembling harmony or tranquillity. It is characteristically depressing. In the first stanza it is described as “like the Heft/Of Cathedral Tunes –, “ which is not a common simile for something oppressive, making it clear that this light’s oppression is of a complicated nature. The solemn tone created through the strong assonance and Dickinson’s trademark dashes weighs us down. ‘’ None may teach it – Any – 'Tis the Seal Despair – An imperial affliction Sent us of the Air – ‘’ It is a poem that is severely distressing.

The personification Dickinson uses in the final stanza was unanticipated. She tells us ‘’the Landscape listens – Shadows – hold their breath – ‘’ It is powerful enough that even nature notices its presence and its departure allows for an unusual understanding of death “When it goes, ‘tis like the Distance / On the look of Death –“. Dickinson’s poem ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ is very different to most of her other poetry but, it is equally as startling and eccentric. The theme of this poem is more upbeat and cheery compared to the rest of her poetry.

It is a poem that examines what is possible with hope and how far hope can carry a person.

The poem uses a bird as a symbol to define the feeling that hope can give an individual. ‘’Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, ‘’ This proves that Dickinson is eccentric as most people would never compare hope to ‘the Thing with Feathers’. What is striking about the poem is its absolute simplicity, both in structure and in the words the poem presents. The idea of hope in the "chillest land/And on the strangest sea," is a quite philosophical way of viewing the world.

There is a contrast within the poem between hope, represented with words like "warm," "Soul" "sweetest" and the pain of life shown in words like "storm" "gale" "chillest". There is a battle between hope and the pain of life; it is clear which one comes out on top as hope can still be found through gales and storms. I think the poem is trying to convey that even though things can seem bleak, hope can always pull you through it. Dickinson’s poem ‘I Could Bring You Jewels -- had I a mind to –‘ is similar to ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ in regards to the tone of the poem. It is a joyful, optimistic poem.

In ‘I Could Bring You Jewels’, Dickinson is corresponding with an unknown person in a coy, teasing tone. This poem is very different to most of Dickinson’s poetry because unlike many of her other poems she is not discussing death or loneliness and is instead, conversing with someone and seems to be enjoying herself. She is talking to this person about what gift she is going to buy

him/her. ‘I could bring You Odors from St. Domingo – Colors -- from Vera Cruz -- Berries of the Bahamas –‘ Although I would not consider Emily Dickinson to be my favourite poet, I found her work intriguing and uniquely eccentric.

This could be because of the contrast between each of her poems and the different themes she uses in each poem. It may be as a result of its bleak, distressing nature. I personally felt that her fixation with physical and psychological death was quite shocking to be honest. The imagery Dickinson uses in her poetry could definitely be interpreted as very eccentric and startling. You would not expect all of the pain and hurt that is expressed in her poetry to be coming from a young woman from a well-to-do family who lived a very privileged existence.