I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,: Analysis

Deviant Art: http://cleanup.deviantart.com/art/i-felt-a-funeral-in-my-brain-33650461

I chose to blog about this poem because I think it's reflective of most of Dickinson's poems. Her poems are almost always related to death and self-deterioration. What I find most interesting about her poems is her use of rich imagery in both visuals and sounds which contribute to the  meaning of the poem. Her use of imagery to describe the numbness in her mind is also emphasized through the use of a funeral procession and other objects connected to funerals and death.

Here are some poetry guidelines I used to further deepen my understanding of the poem:

Who is the speaker? What kind of person is the speaker?

I think the speaker in the poem is very ambiguous due to the many different pronouns used in ambiguous contexts. I feel that Emily Dickinson herself is the speaker because the poem could possibly be a way for her to express the "funeral" she experienced inside her mind in a very delusional way.

What is the occasion?

The occasion of the poem takes mostly inside the speaker's head but the funeral itself is a separate occasion and the mind is described with a funeral setting. There is no absolute location because the poem emphasizes on emotion regarding her brain, soul, isolation, and internal depression.

What is the central purpose of the theme?

I interpreted the central purpose of the theme to convey the presence of death inside her mind. More specifically, the poem references "That Sense was breaking through" and the "Plank in Reason, broke". The death taking place inside her mind causes her mind to go numb "And [she] dropped down, and down".


Discuss imagery of the poem.

The imagery of the poem surrounds the theme of death and funeral processions. Mourners are described to be walking "to and fro" and there's a "A Service, like a Drum". Furthermore, in the third stanza: "And then I heard them lift a Box" could make reference to a coffin or uncovering something that was hidden or ambiguous to reveal something clearer, perhaps relating to death.

What is the tone of the poem? How is it achieved?

I felt the tone of the poem was very pessimistic and morbid. There was a lot of descending motion and the idea of falling and dropping down. Overall, the language revolves around depression and death and there's a tone of indescribable suffering and pain.