Summary Poem Analysis of 'I felt a Funeral, in my Brain' by Emily Dickinson
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Course
Poetry
Institution
CIE
Here’s a full analysis of the poem ‘I felt a Funeral, in My Brain’ by Emily Dickinson, tailored towards A-Level students but also suitable for those studying at any level. Enjoy and feel free to leave feedback if you found it useful!
Includes:
POEM
VOCABULARY
STORY / SUMMARY
SPEAKER ...
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading - treading - till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through -
And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum -
Kept beating - beating - till I thought
My mind was going numb -
And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space - began to toll,
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here -
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down -
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing - then -
VOCABULARY
Mourners - people who grieve because of death
, Treading - stepping on something
Sense - reason, logical thinking
Service - an event held for an important function, such as a funeral
Lead - a dull, heavy metal
Being - the state of existence
Toll - ring out, as in the sound of a bell
Wrecked - to be destroyed or damaged, a word often used to describe a ship that
has washed up on shore after being damaged by a storm
Reason - the mind’s capacity to be logical and rational
STORY/SUMMARY
Stanza 1: In my head, it felt like a Funeral was happening - mourners were walking
backwards and forwards all over it, until it seemed that my mind started to make sense
of it all.
Stanza 2: When the mourners finally sat down and stopped walking, a funeral service
began - it was beating, beating, like a drum until I thought that my mind was going
numb.
Stanza 3: And then I heard them lift up a box, which creaked across my soul, with the
same heavy boots made out of lead, the universe began to make a heavy ringing
sound.
Stanza 4: It was as if the whole of the heavens and sky were a bell, and our existence
was just an ear, as if I was destroyed by the sound and abandoned on a distant shore,
along with Silence - a strange, foreign entity that was wrecked along with me there.
Stanza 5: And then a plank snapped in my mind, as if it lost its ability to reason and
think rationally, and I fell down and down - hitting different worlds at every step of the
way as I was falling - and when I finished I finally knew.
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