Background of the Poem
“I heard a fly buzz – when I died” is a poem written by an American poetess, Emily Dickson. It was published in 1862. Like most of her poems, this poem wasn’t published during her lifetime. It was published after her death and it became the most popular and ambiguous poem of Dickson as it explains the final moments of the speaker before her death from the perspective of the speaker herself.
Emily Dickson wasn’t much social. She lived a weird life and spent the major part of her life in her home. She wrote many letters and poems. After her death, this poem was found in her house along with the bundle of other poems tied up in the little packages. She was a serious and sensitive reader that’s why most of her writings have serious subject matter.
In the poem, “I heard a fly buzz- when I died” she showed her exquisite skills in poetic style and technique. Moreover, the perfect use of rhyme and meter in the poem makes it more interesting. This poem is thought to be the outcome of sentimental literature that was popular in the mid 19th century.
There are four stanzas in this poem and all are Quatrains, having four lines each. The rhyming scheme is not followed in the first three stanzas. However, the poetess has used the rhyme in the last stanza and the scheme is ABCB. She has also used the Trimeter and Tetrameter iambic lines in the poem. Besides, she has inserted the long dashes in the poem to interrupt the meter and make the poem unique.
I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died Summary
The poetess explains the last moments of her life in this poem. She says that she heard a fly buzzing around in her room when she was on her deathbed. The atmosphere of the room was calm and peaceful. The silence of the room appeared to her like the silence in the air that could be felt between the gusts of storm.
Friends and family gathered to see her for the last time. The eyes of the people then became dry because of continuous weeping and it seemed that everyone was holding his breath. They looked as if they were ready for what was going to happen. They were waiting for the final moments of the speaker’s life. They were looking for the arrival of God or His angel to ??? her life.
The speaker then signed a will in her last moments to divide all of her possessions that could be divided, among her relatives. Then again the speaker noticed the fly and it started buzzing again, hence interrupted all the proceedings going on in the room.
The fly seemed blue and the buzzing sound of it around the room was disturbing the speaker. The fly then flew and came between the speaker and the light. The fly blocked the light from reaching the speaker. Then the light coming from the windows also started fading away and the eyes of the speaker got closed forever. After that, she could see nothing at all.
Themes in I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died
Death
It is the main theme of this poem. The whole poem explains the death scene of the speaker. The speaker was shown lying on her deathbed, surrounded by her loved ones. Everyone including the speaker was waiting for the final moment of her life. When she was dying she observed a fly that blocked the light. Suddenly darkness prevailed everywhere and the speaker died.
Family
Though the speaker doesn’t mention her family directly, yet when she talks about the eyes around her, we can assume that she is talking about her family. The family is always the primary part of the deathbed scene. When the speaker talks about signing the will, it further assures us that she is surrounded by her loved ones.
The family and friends of the speaker mourned her last moments and they cried a lot until their eyes became dry. The speaker divided all her possessions among her family members before she died.
Sadness
As the poem is about the death scene of the speaker, the theme of sadness is found throughout it. The room in which the speaker was kept in her last moments was completely still. She was surrounded by her family and friends but no one was talking. They cried seeing the speaker on her deathbed. Even they were left with no tears and their eyes had become dry because of continuous crying.
The atmosphere was gloomy and everyone was sad. They knew what was going to happen and they were holding their breaths and waiting for the death of the speaker.
Darkness
The theme of darkness is also present in this poem. As the speaker explains her last moments, she tells how everything became dark before her death. She tells us that a fly came between the light and the speaker and it blocked the light coming to her. Suddenly the speaker noticed that the light coming from the windows also faded away and the darkness prevailed everywhere. Her eyes were closed and she couldn’t see anything else. It suggests how the world becomes completely dark for the person who dies.
Spirituality
As the poem deals with death and what comes after it, the theme of spirituality is also present in it. The theme of spirituality can be observed by the mentioning of the arrival of the king and the final onset. Moreover, the buzzing fly is the perfect symbol of the spiritual doubt in the poem.
Mystery
The poem is somehow mysterious too because the poem appears to be written after the death of the speaker which is an impossible thing and is narrated by someone who is already dead. Moreover, the arrival of the fly at the time of the speaker’s death suggests that the fly was the agent of death and came right before its arrival.
Ritual
The ritual is also the theme of the poem. As the speaker was on her deathbed, all her loved ones including her family and her friends were gathered in her room. No one was talking and there was complete silence in the room. Their eyes were dry. It means that they were crying for a long time. The speaker also signed her final will to divide all of her possessions among her loved ones. All these things show the rituals that are performed when someone dies.
I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died Analysis
Stanza I: Lines 1-4
In the opening lines of the poem, the speaker tells us about her death scene. The poem appears a little scary as if the speaker talks after her death and narrates her death scene to us. She tells us that when she was dying she heard the buzz of a fly.
Then she explains the whole scenario and atmosphere of her room. She tells us that the whole room was filled with silence. No one dared to talk and the room was still like the calm and silent air between the storm gusts.
It also gives us the idea that as the room was completely silent, the sound of the buzzing fly must have appeared harsh on her ears. In our daily routine, we don’t pay attention to these sounds but as the speaker was on her deathbed and the silence prevailed everywhere so, she could easily hear the buzz of a fly.
Stanza II: Lines 5-8
Now the speaker tells us about the people who surrounded her at that time. “The Eyes” here refers to the friends and family of the speaker who gathered to see her for the last time. The speaker says that now all the eyes around her are dry. It suggests that the people came to mourn her last moments and they were crying but then after too much crying their eyes became dry.
Even the people around her were breathing calmly and they were prepared for what was going to happen. It gives us the idea that the people around the speaker had been crying for so long and even their breaths were harsh and fast as they were weeping. But now no one was crying and there was complete stillness in the room.
In the last lines of this stanza, the speaker tells us that the eyes of all the people were dry, and with their dry eyes, they were watching and waiting for death. They were waiting for the time when death snatched the speaker and took her away from all of them and their chest heaved for one last time.
The speaker talks about the King. The king here maybe refers to the God who had the power to take her life away or maybe she talks about the death itself.
Stanza III: Lines 9-12
The speaker further explains the time when she was on her deathbed. She tells us that she signed her will and divided her wealth and all of her possessions among her relatives. Everyone including the speaker herself was ready for what was going to happen. While everyone was waiting for death and there was complete stillness in the room, the fly came buzzing to the speaker again. It suggests that the fly again came and disturbed the stillness and calmness of the room. Hence, the fly here is considered as an intruder.
Stanza IV: Line 13-16
In the last lines of the poem, the speaker tells us about the last moments of her life. She tells further about the fly. She says that the fly was blue and it started buzzing in the room and interrupted all the proceedings. Then suddenly the fly flew and came in front of the light and blocked it.
It suggests that maybe the fly flew and came in front of a lantern or candle that was providing light in the room, hence, the speaker couldn’t see the light. The speaker further tells us that the windows failed. It gives us the idea that maybe her eyes got closed and her connection with the outside world got disconnected. Now she talks about her death and says that the moment when death came, her eyes got closed and after that, she was no longer able to see anything.
Analysis of Literary devices in the Poem
Assonance
The repetition of the same vowel sound in the same line is called assonance. In the poem, assonance is used in the following lines:
“And breaths were gathering firm”
“I heard the fly buzz”
In the first line, the sound /e/ is repeating while the sound /i/ is repeating in the second line.
Consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sound in the same line is called consonance. In the poem, /r/ sound is repeated in the line “The Eyes around – had wrung them dry”
Enjambment
The technique in which a sentence is carried over to the next line without any pause, is known as Enjambment. In the poem, Enjambment is used in the following lines:
“The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air”.
Oxymoron
Oxymoron is the use of contradictory terms that are close to each other. In the poem, an oxymoron is used in the poem where the speaker talks about the “Last Onset” which means the last breath that a person takes before dying.
Onomatopoeia
When the sound of anything is used to represent its name is known as Onomatopoeia. The writer has used the word “buzz” in the poem that is an example of Onomatopoeia.
Synecdoche
When a part of something is used to represent the whole, this figure of speech is termed as synecdoche. It is used in the fifth line of this poem, “the Eyes around – had wrung them dry”. Here the “Eyes” represents a room full of people.
Imagery
The writers use imagery to enable readers to visualize the feelings and emotions of the writer. In this poem, Emily has used imagery in the following lines:
“Between the Heaves of storm”
“Between the light and me”
“There interposed a fly”
“I heard a fly buzz- when I died”
In these lines, the first two lines are the example of visual imagery while the next two lines attract the hearing sense.
Simile
The explicit comparison between two things using the words “like” or “as” is called simile. In this poem, the simile is used in the following line:
“The Stillness in the Room- Was like the Stillness in the Air”
In this line, the poetess has compared the stillness of the room with the stillness of the air by using the word “like”.
Metaphor
The hidden comparison between two things is known as metaphor. In this poem, the metaphor is used in the following line:
“And then the windows failed – and then I could not see to see”
In this line, the windows are used as a metaphor for eyes. The speaker says when her eyes got closed, she couldn’t see anything after it.
Personification
When the writer gives the human attributes to the non-human objects, it is termed as personification. Personification is used in the following lines of the second stanza:
“when the King be witnessed – in the Room” as if death is a human being that could be seen in the room.
Symbolism
The use of symbols to signify any object, idea or quality else than its literal meaning, is known as symbolism. Emily has used the following symbols in this poem:
The fly
As this poem is about death, the speaker explains the events that happened when she died. In the poem, she explains that the room was calm and peaceful. The mourners gathered around her and with their dried eyes they awaited her death.
The speaker also gave away all of her possessions. She was also ready for her new journey but just then a fly came and interrupted her. It blocked her sight by standing between the light and the speaker and started buzzing. Therefore, death is represented by the buzzing of the fly.
Dickinson represented physical death through the use of a common housefly. Moreover, when the fly came between the light and the speaker, it represents the last vision that the speaker saw before her death. While everyone was waiting for the King, a fly appeared bringing the news of death.
The Eyes
The speaker doesn’t mention the presence of any other character in the poem, except her and the fly but as she mentions “the eyes around” it clearly suggests the presence of other people in the room. So the Eyes symbolize the people or the onlookers who were present around the speaker to mourn her death. These people include her loved ones, family and friends.
The Storm
Dickson tells us about the room. She explains the quietness and calmness of the room and then compares it with the quietness of the air in the gusts of the storm. If we observe that air, it is calm and peaceful but we know that it is just temporary and the storm is coming again. Similarly, the speaker explains the temporary stillness of the room and the storm here symbolizes the upcoming death of the speaker.
The King
The speaker and the mourners with their dried eyes were waiting for the King. Here the King maybe refers to God or his angel to take the life of the speaker or maybe the King symbolizes death itself.
The Window
Just before the death of the speaker, she noticed that the light coming from the windows also faded away. Here the windows symbolize the eyes of the speaker. As she died, her eyes got closed and she couldn’t see anything after it.
Conclusion
In the poem “I heard a fly buzz – when I died”, the poetess explains her views and beliefs about death. By reading the poem, we come to know that the poetess believes in the calmness in death. According to her, the definition of death is detachment from the physical world and journey towards the darkness, calmness and oblivion.