I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died

by Emily Dickinson

I heard a Fly buzz, when I died,
The Stillness in the room
Was like the Stillness in the Air,
Between the Heaves of Storm,
The Eyes around had wrung them dry,
And Breaths were gathering firm,
For that last Onset,
When the King was witnessed, I do not know.

I willed my Keepsakes, Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable, and then it was
There interposed a Fly.

With Blue, uncertain, stumbling Buzz
Between the Light, and me
And then the Window’s failed, and then
I could not see to see.

Summary of I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died

  • Publication: The poem was first published in 1890 in The Century Magazine, following Dickinson’s death in 1886.
  • Theme: It explores the moment of death, juxtaposing the solemn stillness of a dying body with the ordinary interruption of a fly’s buzz.
  • Imagery: Dickinson creates a sensory picture of a quiet room, the weight of silence, and the sudden sound of a fly.
  • Perspective: The poem is written from the viewpoint of the dying speaker, who observes the world around her with calm acceptance.
  • Symbolism: The fly represents the mundane distractions that can intrude even at the most profound moments.

Analysis of Literary Devices in “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died”

Emily Dickinson used several techniques to give the poem its distinctive tone and depth.

  1. Imagery: Vivid descriptions such as “the stillness in the room” and “the Heaves of Storm” create a palpable sense of atmosphere.
  2. Simile: “The stillness in the room was like the stillness in the Air” compares the silence before death to a pause in nature.
  3. Onomatopoeia: The word “buzz” mimics the actual sound of a fly and grounds the poem in sensory detail.
  4. Alliteration: Repeated consonant sounds, for example the “b” in “buzz, Breaths, Be”, add musicality.
  5. Consonance: The repeated “s” and “t” sounds in lines such as “stillness, stillness” reinforce the quiet mood.
  6. Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence across line breaks, as in “I heard a Fly buzz, when I died, The Stillness in the room”, creates a flowing rhythm.
  7. Symbolism: The fly, a small and ordinary creature, interrupts the profound moment of death, highlighting the clash between the ordinary and the extraordinary.
  8. Personification: In the line “the King was witnessed”, death is anthropomorphized, giving it a regal presence.

Analysis of Poetic Devices in “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died”

While the poem shares common poetic elements, it also features specific techniques.

  1. Structure: The poem consists of four quatrains, each with four lines, but it does not follow a strict rhyme scheme.
  2. Free Verse: The absence of a predictable rhyme or meter allows the poem to focus on imagery and sound.
  3. Use of Line Breaks: Breaks emphasize the pause and the sudden interruption of the fly’s buzz.
  4. Minimal Rhyme: Only a few internal sounds rhyme, such as “air” and “pair” in the original text, but this is incidental.

Quotes for Usage

These lines can be used to evoke a sense of peace, tranquility, or quiet contemplation.

Was like the Stillness in the Air,
Between the Heaves of Storm.

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