theme of death in  I Heard a Fly Buzz

theme of death in  I Heard a Fly Buzz

The theme of death looms in the poetry of Emily Dickinson, John Donne and Anne Sexton. Dickinson’s I Heard a Fly Buzz, first published in 1896, depicts a visualization of death and the events happening soon before life ebbs out of the speaker. Close two centuries prior, John Donne had composed his poem Death, be not Proud.  Donne personifies death at a time when it was forbidden to objectify death, hence its popularity. The poet describes how death is not final but rather a pathway to after-life. Sexton, on the other hand, identifies with his fellow suicidal artist, painter Vincent van Gogh in her poem The Starry Nights.

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died is another Emily Dickinson’s poem that touches on death. Although less dramatic than her previous poem, “Because I could not stop for him”, the poem is equally gruesome, if not more. Similarly, this poem also objectifies death nearly before it happens. The sonnet records the externalized understanding of the narrator during the brief period between the last snapshots of life and end of life. The fly is used as an image to evoke the feeling of transition from life’s final stage and cessation. Although the fly may be irrelevant and ugly in everyday life, it becomes very significant to the dying person, and thus it’s centrality in the poem.

The image of the fly rules the sonnet. The speaker is generally fixated on the whirling and buzzing of the fly. The speaker’s continuous disconnection with the outward things of life is symbolized by the fly. It further tells the speaker about her transition pace. In as much as the perishing person is aware of the lively gyrations and the humming commotion of the fly, the person is aware that she is not yet dead. Be that as it may, progressively when buzzing and whirling of the fly is no longer heard, life moves out of the narrator. The fly subsequently turns out to be indispensably significant for the sonnet. Its diverting noise and movements are a consolation to the speaker that she is not yet dead.

Before the poem starts, the speaker is already dead, and thus she is describing her experience of dying. She tells of the silence and stillness in the room and compares it with the centre of a storm. The speaker of this poem, therefore, proposes that between the storm of life and demise, there is a snapshot of outright quietness.

Donne’s poem of logic, Death, be not Proud presents end of life as a frail figure. He precludes the power of death with rational thoughts, confirming that truly death does not end lives. Rather, it frees their spirits and guides them to endless life. Donne dethrones death as the unbeatable conquerer. Rather, he refers to it as a poor fellow that has no free will. Unlike Dickinson’s poem, Donne compares the transition between life and death with recuperation that comes after a short nap. Donne’s unconventional approach to cessation of life shades a new light in the reader’s understanding of death.

The significant subject in the sonnet is the frailty of death. Donne writes about his feelings, deriding the authority of death and affirming that death is not worth our fears or worries. According to the writer, death births our spirits. Along these lines, it is not worthy of the power or the title of the invincible conqueror. In addition, Donne thinks of death as a source of enormous bliss, the same pleasure we get after a good rest. For the writer, the same experience can be found through drugs. The sonnet hints the practical view of death and immovably has faith in endless eternal.

Sexton’s poem The Starry Night begins with a quote from the painter’s composition to his brother, expressing his dire need for religion and how he steps out to “paints the stars” whenever this urge comes. Although Gogh was not highly religious, he was in a quest for something sacred and eternal.  In a painting sharing the same title as the poem, Van Gogh creates a feeling of sorrow and melancholy. Sexton’s first stanza depicts this dark melancholy and grief by describing a desolate and lonely town.

Sexton sees Van Gogh’s painting as a representation of her end of life wish. Nature’s brute force, as depicted by the tree at the side of the picture, represents her lack of fear towards death. Unlike the dark and sad prediction of death, she sees it as a relief from life’s burden. In the last stanza, the poet writes how she does not want to die for any cause, be it religion, country or as a martyr.

The three poets in their pieces have a different view on death and end of life. While Donne sounds highly optimistic about life after death, Sexton his highly pessimistic and eagerly waits for her life to end. Dickinson, however, provides a compelling explanation about the transition from life to end of life.