Emily Dickinson Death Be Not Proud

Poetic Opinions of Death

The poems “Death Be Not Proud”, “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, and “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died”, all have the same theme: death. The two final poems are by Emily Dickinson, a well known American poet. Although people would expect these two poems to have a similar view of death, at closer inspection they prove quite different. The other poem, “Death Be Not Proud”, was written by a more obscure poet: John Donne. This poem appears to have the most similarities with the poem “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”. Although these three poems have different views of death, they still have much in common.

In the Poem “Death Be Not Proud”, death is portrayed as a power which has been defeated. This perspective gives the poem a triumphant voice, sometimes even mocking death. In spite of the disdain shown toward death, it gains a more formal air with the author’s use of the sonnet form. The view of death displayed in this poem shows similarities to the poem “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”. Like the first poem, this one portrays death as quite harmless; the author even “takes a carriage ride with death”. These two poems have a very similar perspective of death.

The poem “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” has a perspective of death which is almost too simplistic,
and maybe even misleading. It implies that death has nothing to fear, it does not even mention anything about pain, and it certainly does not suggest the reader’s need for a savior in order for death to lose its power over them. In “Death Be Not Proud”, Donne still makes death out as struggle, but in the end he shows that death becomes a way for believers to have unity with Christ. Additionally, “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” seems more like a fairy tale or a dream. Since Dickinson was the daughter of a preacher, and went to seminary herself, this trite view of death seems quite odd. Although Dickinson appears to hold this perspective of death, her other poem showcases a different view.

“I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died”, another poem by Emily Dickinson, has a perspective of death which does not fit with the view stated in her other poem. The morbid poet shows death in a more real way, but she does hint at the fact that there will be a reuniting with God after death. At closer inspection this idea of death holds closer to Donne’s view, at least in the fact that death reunites us with Christ. Other than that, it proves hard to tell many particulars of this idea of death, because, like a dying person’s mind, the poem keeps wandering back and getting distracted by the noise of a fly that continues to buzz around the room. This poem has a gloomier feel to it than Dickinson’s other work, which makes death seem like something to look forward to. The perspectives of death in Dickinson’s two poems conflict enough that her true view is hard to discern.

The poets John Donne and Emily Dickinson reveal their opinions of death through several of their works.
Donne’s poem “Death Be Not Proud” shows that death has lost its power and that it has nothing more that it can do to you. Dickinson’s first poem portrays death as nothing to fear, which conflicts with the view of her second poem. This second poem, “I Heard a Fly Buzz” shows death in a real light, but also shows that something exists after death. This second opinion is not easily found, and is still harder to prove. Although these poems have a common theme of death, the poets must still decide on the description and opinions of
death.