How Does Emily Dickinson Use Allegory

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Lucy Boyadjis
English 1H
Ms. McGrover
5 November 2014 I Died for Beauty Death is a topic that is constantly frowned upon. Death scares people as it marks the end of one’s life on this Earth. But, there are people who believe there is a reason for death and that souls do not die along with the rest of a person. Many probably call this idea crazy or insane. But there are some other people, who in the midst of all darkness might simply call it hope. Famous poet, Emily Dickinson is one of those people. The poem “I Died for Beauty” by Emily Dickinson uses strong metaphors, complex imagery, and allegory to create a theme of death and soul immortality. Emily Dickinson frequently uses metaphors in her poetry to enhance the text. She
Allegory is a common aspect to many poems and other literary genres but it can also be much more difficult to identify. In this piece, Emily Dickinson uses allegory to portray the true meaning of sacrifice and embracing death. An example of this in the poem is the line “We brethren are” (Dickinson Line 8). Despite its briefness and lack of explanation, this line is powerful because the author uses allegory to show the relationship between truth and beauty.
Although the word brethren usually implies family relations, in this case it is used to represent the bond between two strangers who both died out of desire. Each character was
Emily Dickinson uses allegory to portray this and allows the reader to think for themselves. This is also evident in another part of the poem. “And so, as kinsmen met a night” (Dickinson Line 9). This is one of the many excerpts from Emily

Boyadjis 3 Dickinson’s work that displays the use of allegory and it’s importance. Kinsmen is technically another word for relative. Like the word brethren, the purpose of this word in the poem is to symbolize the relationship between beauty and truth.
“I Died for Beauty” by Emily Dickinson teaches the idea of one’s soul being eternally alive. Most everyone believes that everything comes to an end, and that when your body dies, your soul and your heart die with it. But Emily Dickinson is one of the few that believe otherwise. Dickinson expresses her view on embracing and learning about death through the use of literary devices in her work. “ … this poem supplies further evidence that the corruption of the flesh held little terror for her” (Huff). Her poetry speaks to people by inspiring them to believe in the immortality of the soul and that despite the death and decay of all things, the value of one’s true self can conquer all.

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