Emily Dickinson's It Was Not Death, For I Stop Up
“It Was not Death, for I Stop Up’’
“It was not death, for I stop up’’ is a poem by Emily Dickinson, where she describes what it is like to suffer from depression. Through the use of literary devices such as similes, metaphors, juxtapositions, imagery, alliteration, etc. she tries to express and portray the chaotic circumstances of her emotions. In the first stanza, she describes her state of mind. She is alive, and she acknowledges it, even though she feels as if she was dead. She also describes time by the use of personification through the sense of sound. She writes that the bells are "sticking out their tongues'' (ringing) which suggest that it was noon, and not night, as mentioned before; yet she said she feels darkness.
In the second …show more content…
Furthermore, she mentions that she was "fitted to a frame" feeling like she was trapped in a coffin, again suggesting death. She suggests that she was not being able to breathe "without a key". It is known that keys are a symbol of liberation, and freedom, but also of knowledge. As a result, she metaphorically communicates she feels trapped into her own emotions, waiting to be liberated from this suffering, or to gain knowledge on how to escape from these unpleasant emotions. "And 'twas like Midnight, some" Then again everything felt like darkness and death.
The fifth stanza, she describes how time has stopped for her, metaphorically meaning that her condition has not gone better, frozen in time. Further, Dickenson writes "Or Grisly frosts - first Autumn Morns". Emily uses some wordplays, to darken the mood. For instance, the use of ´grisly´ or the word ´morns´ which means morning. Using this abbreviation permits setting a darker tone because it sounds like the word ´mourns´ as in ´grieving´. Mornings are being portrayed as dark, and cold by mentioning they are during Autumn. Autumn mornings, were plants begin to
“It was not death, for I stop up’’ is a poem by Emily Dickinson, where she describes what it is like to suffer from depression. Through the use of literary devices such as similes, metaphors, juxtapositions, imagery, alliteration, etc. she tries to express and portray the chaotic circumstances of her emotions. In the first stanza, she describes her state of mind. She is alive, and she acknowledges it, even though she feels as if she was dead. She also describes time by the use of personification through the sense of sound. She writes that the bells are "sticking out their tongues'' (ringing) which suggest that it was noon, and not night, as mentioned before; yet she said she feels darkness.
In the second …show more content…
Furthermore, she mentions that she was "fitted to a frame" feeling like she was trapped in a coffin, again suggesting death. She suggests that she was not being able to breathe "without a key". It is known that keys are a symbol of liberation, and freedom, but also of knowledge. As a result, she metaphorically communicates she feels trapped into her own emotions, waiting to be liberated from this suffering, or to gain knowledge on how to escape from these unpleasant emotions. "And 'twas like Midnight, some" Then again everything felt like darkness and death.
The fifth stanza, she describes how time has stopped for her, metaphorically meaning that her condition has not gone better, frozen in time. Further, Dickenson writes "Or Grisly frosts - first Autumn Morns". Emily uses some wordplays, to darken the mood. For instance, the use of ´grisly´ or the word ´morns´ which means morning. Using this abbreviation permits setting a darker tone because it sounds like the word ´mourns´ as in ´grieving´. Mornings are being portrayed as dark, and cold by mentioning they are during Autumn. Autumn mornings, were plants begin to