Emily Dickinson seems to be in dismay, contain grief, be confused, and even jealous that it wasn't her or another that died in the woman's place. With all of these emotions in place, Justin Bryant’s note seems appropriate. He noted, “"The speaker never has one solid and stated attitude toward the woman's death". She switches her attitudes back and forth throughout the poem in her utter confusion.
Dickinson starts by saying it was a “common night” until the death of a woman caused them to see “nature different”. They were awakened by the death of the woman that was a “great light”. The speaker seems to have had a naive life before the death that then transformed into a night where she noticed diminutive things. …show more content…
We can infer that the speaker can imagine the large amount of grieving this will cause when the death of the woman hits them tomorrow. Bridgette notes, “Death weighs on the shoulders of the dying until they depart, and clings to the living in remembrance of their loss.” In the fourth stanza, the speaker questions why that it is the woman and not someone else. The others will blame themselves because they can exist while she must finish quiet. The author concludes the poem in the last three stanzas telling that what occurred during her final passing. They “waited while she passed” to show respect and love in their final “narrow” moments. They found her body in “water” where she had drowned and “placed her hair” on a pillow so she looked comfortable. We inferred that this was a kind of gesture of respect and love. Family and close friends often mourn the death of loved ones with silence. Justin Dyke notes, “The speaker utilizes mournful diction in order to convey the speaker’s high regard for the dying woman, enough to cause a sense of guilt for her death, and intense pain they are experiencing due to her death; however, the speaker knows that they must cope and move on with their