Emily Dickinson poem

Death is to be feared. Its inevitability is daunting, challenging the ephemeral nature of human life. The most notable feature of Emily Dickinson’s “Time and Eternity” remains the tone of the poem, which conveys a unique optimism towards death as well as contentment in the afterlife. Dickinson expresses an objection to the characterization of death as marking an end. Impassive to the obligation to mourn death, the speaker rather espouses the feeling of peace and gratification that arises from one’s passing. The speaker in the poem abolishes angst that arises from the idea of death, reassured nonetheless by the constant cyclic nature of life even following death. Dickinson portrays that in death there can be happiness in the assurance that life will carry on. In the first two lines of the poem, the speaker establishes a contrast between life and death. The speaker’s consideration of “If I should die” conveys a dark and heavy tone that is parallel to “And you should live” which conveys a hope and optimism (1-2). The contrast between the speaker’s statements demonstrates morbidity and promise that qualify Dickinson’s characterization of death as forlorn yet hopeful. The speaker then discusses that “time should gurgle on” even in the wake of her death. The word “gurgle” connotes an irregular or broken flow. Thus, Dickinson acknowledges that time is endless and eternal but but not constant. The speaker parallels the inconsistency of life with the constancy found in death. In death, the speaker states that “morn should beam’ and “noon should burn “further elaborating that time carries on even after one’s death. The imagery of the morning sunshine and the afternoon sun represents that the days will continue “as it always has done “and time will go on after death. The final twelve lines of the poem diverge from the tone expressed in the first section. The speaker transitions from reiterating that time is unchanging and infinite in the wake of death to praise of the constancy of life after death. If the speaker is to pass, she describes that birds “build as early” and the bees “as bustling go” (7-8). Life continues undisturbed by her death instilling in the speaker so much content that she feels as if “one might depart at option from enterprise below!” (9-10). Instead of a mourning for life lost, the speaker that her death would have no impact on the continuation of life. She further expresses the comfort received from knowing that life is uninterrupted absent of her presence. “Commerce will continue” and the economy will prosper (13). “Stocks will stand” even with her death (11) . Nevertheless, the speaker’s apparent feeling of insignificance in the layout of life is not a disturbing thought yet one of joy. Assurance in the continued prosperity of life makes her “soul serene”. The speaker’s reference to her soul is reminiscent of transcendentalist ideals in which the soul is a part of a universal spirit that returns to that universal spirit upon death. Thus, the speaker seems to express a desire in a spiritual elevation in order to escape the constancy of an earthly life. However, the consistency that the speaker tries to escape is also what creates pleasure in the continuing of “gentlemen so sprightly” carrying on after her death. Furthermore, Dickinson structures the lines of the poem in a way that parallels the idea that life is constant in death. In the first seven lines of the poem, the speaker discusses that time is infinite and days never ending even after her death. To parallel this idea, these lines have no rhyme scheme, conveying the eternal yet unpredictable nature of time. On the contrary, the last twelve lines of the poem discuss the speaker’s pleasure and hope in the continuation of life following her death. These lines have an ABAB rhyme structure that portrays the cyclical nature of life and death. Also, The ABAB rhyme scheme demonstrates that life and death are a continual pattern. This pattern is what the speaker wishes to maintain. Emily Dickinson offers a unique outlook on life and death in her poem. The speaker establishes that life is tranquil in its eternal, cyclic continuation. The infinite nature of time seems to dwarf the speaker’s will to live. Throughout the poem, the speaker expresses that life and time will undoubtedly persist even if she does not. The speaker’s hopeful attitude towards death transforms a usually morbid and depressive occurrence into an opportunity to find peace. This peace is found once she departs from mortality to an eternal spirit. The speaker seems to be reassuring the “you” that she addresses in the beginning of the poem that her death is not a time to lament for a life perished. However, she offers comfort in a promise that in her death, life will continue on unscathed. Death is not to be feared nor mourned because life will go on and order will remain as the cycle of life and death continues. Thus, Dickinson conveys an alternative message that death should be appreciated for the peace it brings, not sadness. Death is not a tragedy.