Analysis on Death Poems of Emily Dickinson

Analysis on Death Poems of Emily Dickinson杨爽天津商务职业学院商务管理系Abstract: Emily Dickinson was obsessed with death, so about one third of ber pocms were relevant toit. In ber poems, ber atitude towards death changed gradually, which is very thought-provoking.Koy words: images; death; atitude[中圈分类号]H106 [文献标识码]A [文编号] 1000 -6167(2012)07 020201 Introductio“A long- -long sep- -A famous- Sse/That makes no showfor Mon/By stretch of Limb- or stir of Lid/An independentBorn in Amherst Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson was anOne”Futhermore, she even expressed her contempt for death inoutstanding American poetess. She was very mysterious becauseher poem:“To venerate the simple days/Which lead the seasonsshe lived a reclusive life and remained single all her life. ShebyNeeds but to remember/That from you or IThey may take theremained unknown to the publice whea she was alive, but thetifleTermed mortality "(57)publication of her poems alter her death brought bher a lot of23 Embracing Deathhonor. Nowadays she is regarded as one of the forerunners ofimagism, Her great contibution t如American ltraure is highlyDickinson bad a new perspective of it. She thought life was arecognized by most scholars. Some researchers even think herdoomed journey, 90 death was an inevitable phase to etermity.significance is equal to that of Shakespeare and Whiteman.Now that etemnity was waiting ahead, there was no reason tobe afraid of death. Therefore, she used her imagination boldly2 Atitudes Towards Deathand described death as a gentleman who wanted to marry ber.“Because I could not stop for death/Hc kindly stopped for melAbout one third of Emily Dickinson' s poems are aboutThe Crriage held but just Ourselves And ImmoralityWe slowlydeath, which proves that she was obessed with the theme. Thedrove- He knew Do haste/And I had put awayMy labor and myimages that she used in those poems reveal the gradual change ofleisure toFor his Civility "(#712) In this poem, she personalizedher atitude towards death.death and immortality. To the poetess, they were the companions222.1 Fearing Deathwho shared the same carriage in a journey. Furthermore, she wasDickinson' s home was near a graveyard. When someonecontent to sct out with death because the destination was eternity.died, people had to pass by her door to reach the cemetery.So far, readers have found nothing but poise and calm in herTherefore sbe ofen s8w the despair and pain which death broughtatitude towards death.to those people. Death meant borror and helplessness to thepoetes. Like the common people, Emily was fearful of death. In3 Conclusionpocm 315, sbe described the dreadful atmosphere vividly whendeath was drawing near:“He fumbles at your Soul/As PlayersDeath fascinated the petess. Experiencing the change ofat the Keys/Before they drop full Music on/He stuns you byher atitude towards death, Dickinson finished the transformationdegrees/Preparcs your britle Nture/For the Ethereal Blow/Byfrom an ordinary lady to a brave fighter. The inaginative imagesfainter Hummers- further heard/Then nearer- then so slow/sbe used to depict death not only reveal ber experience andYour brcath has time to straighten/Your Brain to bubble Coolfeelings but also her gteat talent in poety. No wonder she becameDeals- -One- imperial- Thunderbolt/That scalps your nakeda comunerorable poetess.Sou/When Winds take Forests in the Paws/The Universe- -issil'" ' Death was like a bunter who enjoyed the process of hunting,铐文献Before taking the life, he' d like to make the prey frightened by[] Johnson, Thomas H. The Complete Pocems of. Emily Dickinso[M].getting close to it Then he struck the fatal blow all of a sudden.Litle, Brown And Company, 1960.When the hunting was over, everything seemed in peace again.[2] Pollak, Vivian R. A Historial Guide to Emily Dickinson[M].2.2 Facing Death其|With the deepening of the exploration of death, DickinsonOxford Univensity Pras, 2004.[3] Martin, Wendy. The Cambridge Companion to Emilywas no longer fearful of it. Instad, she could face up to deathand depict the experience of death calmly. To her, death was notDickinson[M]. Cambidge University Press, 2002.painful anymore. When people died, it' s just like they were too[4] 刘守兰狄金森研究[M]. 上海外语教育出版社，2006.tired and needed a res:“To die- takes just a litle while/Tbey[S] 狄金森吴玲谦.孤独是迷人的:艾米丽.狄金森的秘密日记say it doesn' I hur/It' s only fainter by degrees/And then- it's中国煤化工out of light!" (#255) Death was compared to sleep in poem 6S4:MHCNMHG作者简介:韬爽.讲蛳。研究方向:英美文学、翻译。收稿日期: 2012-5-4