I Felt a Funeral in My Brain: An Analysis
I Felt a Funeral in My Brain is a poem by Emily Dickinson, written in 1865 It is a meditation on the mourning process and the nuances of grief. In Dickinson's poem, the speaker is reflecting on their own death, acknowledging the rituals of mourning and attempting to accept the finality of it all. Dickinson's poem is a masterful exploration of the theme of death and the complexity of grief.
Through the use of vivid imagery and poetic devices, Dickinson is able to convey her feelings of mortality and the power of death. In the first stanza, she paints a picture of a funeral as it passes through the speaker's mind. She writes, "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain / And Mourners to and fro / Kept treading–treading–till it seemed / That Sense was breaking through." This symbolic imagery of a funeral passing through the speaker's brain serves to illustrate how the mind can be consumed by grief. The repetition of "treading" speaks to the relentlessness of the process, and its relentless force of attempting to break through the speaker's sense of awareness.
The second stanza focuses more on the speaker's sense of acceptance. She writes, "And when they all were seated, / A Service, like a Drum– / Kept beating–beating–till I thought / My Mind was going numb." Here, Dickinson speaks to the speaker's attempts to make sense of the funeral, and to process the sense of loss they feel. The mechanical rhythms of the drum serve as a reminder of the finality of death, and the numbness of accepting it.
The final stanza gives the reader the most insight into the speaker's emotional state. She writes, "And then I heard them lift a Box, / And creak across my Soul / With those same Boots of Lead, again, / Then Space–began to toll." The funeral box being lifted symbolizes the weight of grief and death, and the boots of lead signify the inevitability of death. The use of "Space" in the last line serves to further emphasize the vast emptiness of death.
In conclusion, I Felt a Funeral in My Brain is a powerful and moving poem that explores the nuances and complexities of the mourning process. Through vivid imagery and poetic devices, Dickinson is able to effectively convey her thoughts and feelings about mortality and the power of death.
Examples of I Felt a Funeral in My Brain
1. “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas: This poem is a powerful exploration of death and the speaker's attempts to accept it. Like Dickinson's poem, Thomas' use of imagery and repetition speaks to the relentlessness of death, and the speaker's struggle to face it.
2. “Remember” by Christina Rossetti: This poem is Rossetti's meditation on mortality and the process of mourning. Rossetti's use of symbolism speaks to the speaker's attempts to accept and cope with their own mortality.
3. “Crossing the Bar” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: This poem is a reflection on life, death, and what lies beyond. Tennyson's use of imagery speaks to the speaker's acceptance of death and their attempts to find comfort in the afterlife.
4. “Death Be Not Proud” by John Donne: This poem is a meditation on death and the brevity of life. Donne's use of imagery speaks to the speaker's attempts to understand death, and their search for solace in the afterlife.
5. “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” by Emily Dickinson: This poem is a reflection on mortality and the speaker's journey through death. Like her poem I Felt a Funeral in My Brain, Dickinson's use of imagery speaks to the relentlessness of the mourning process, and the vastness of death.