I heard a Fly buzz when I died, Emily Dickinson, Summary, Analysis, Themes
A Comprehensive Study Guide for "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -" by Emily Dickinson The Poem
I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air -
Between the Heaves of Storm -
The Eyes around - had wrung them dry -
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset - when the King
Be witnessed - in the Room -
I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable - and then it was
There interposed a Fly -
With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz -
Between the light - and me -
And then the Windows failed - and then
I could not see to see - Summary The poem "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -" by Emily Dickinson portrays the experience of the speaker's death and the unexpected presence of a fly in the room. The poem begins with the speaker's keen awareness of the fly's buzzing sound amidst the prevailing stillness. The room's silence is compared to the calmness in the air between intense m…