EMILY DICKINSON

1. EMILY DICKINSON ‘I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain’

2. BIOGRAPHY • An American poet born in 1830 in Massachusetts. Her family was wealthy. She lived a very reclusive life, hardly ever leaving the house and meeting people. She wrote almost 1,800 poems, although less than a dozen were published in her lifetime. Her poetic style is very distinctive. She uses short lines and unusual punctuation, often using dashes instead of commas or full stops. Many of her poems deal with death and mental suffering. She died in 1886.

3. I felt a Funeral, in my Brain 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 -

4. FIRST READING: • What do you think the poet means when she says she ‘felt a funeral’ in her brain? • Read the first two stanzas. How do we know the poet is suffering? • The first three stanzas describe a funeral service. What aspects of the service are described in each stanza? • In the third stanza the mourners begin to move again. This time they are wearing ‘boots of lead’. What does this image suggest to you? • The fourth stanza contains some rather strange images. What do you think is happening to the poet here? • Something breaks in the final stanza and the poet is sent plunging downwards. What do you think she means when she says a ‘plank in reason broke’? What do you think happens to the poet at the end of the poem?

5. I felt a Funeral, in my Brain 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 -

6. Her mind is crowded and she feels the sensation of the mourners continuously moving back and forth This is an unusual statement. It suggests that something unpleasant is happening to the speaker. It is likely that she is describing intense mental suffering and compares this to a funeral. I felt a Funeral, in my Brain 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 - Is she on the verge of understanding something or about to break under the pressure of the mourners feet? Everyone else has settled down This dull, throbbing noise is overbearing and she begins to feel that her mind is going numb The first three stanzas of the poem follow the progression of a funeral, which the speaker says is occurring in her brain. The coffin She is uncomfortable and her soul feels heavy The burial is about to take place The ringing of the church bell becomes so intense that it seems to fill up the entire sky and everyone hears it In the second half of the poem everything becomes very strange. The poet’s world no longer seems normal. We might guess that she has suffered some kind of mental breakdown, and no longer has a sane grip on reality. She is no longer part of this world. She is detached and isolated. Something breaks within her mind and she falls through many worlds. She loses consciousness. Is she dead or will something follow?

7. LANGUAGE • EXTENDED METAPHOR – At the heart of the poem is the funeral metaphor. The poet uses the various stages of a funeral service to describe her own inner suffering. Comparing her mental turmoil to a funeral allows the poet to express the horror, isolation and intense discomfort that she is experiencing. • REPETITION – The image of the mourners ‘treading’ across her head in ‘Boots of Lead’ and the comparison of the funeral service to a ‘Drum’ that is beaten over and over again effectively conveys the pressure that is mounting within her. In both instances, the poet uses repetition to convey the strain she is experiencing. • STRANGE IMAGERY – The ‘Bell’ that grows until it fills the ‘Heavens’ is a bizarre image, as it is the enormous ‘Ear representing all existence. The third stanza ultimately creates a terrifying world, so far removed from reality: a place that shows us the horror and isolation that the speaker must endure as her mind falls apart. • ENJAMBMENT – This is were meaning runs from one poetic line to the next without terminal punctuation. This builds up tension and suggests towards Dickinson’s disturbed state of mind.

8. FURTHER READING: • Many readers consider this to be a poem about mental breakdown rather than actual death. What do you think of this interpretation? • The poem suggests terrible isolation. There is sense in which the poet is cut off from the rest of the world. How is this conveyed in the poem? • The poem makes good use of repetition. What effect does the repetition of certain words have in the poem? • How would you describe the atmosphere of the poem? What images do you consider to be the most powerful? • Do you think that the poet was effective in describing her inner feelings to the reader?

9. Imagine that you are Emily Dickinson. Write a letter to your church minister/priest about your concerns for your mental health.