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Difficulty: MediumThematic Argumentation in Poetry

Read the following poem by Emily Dickinson (1830–1886), written around 1862:

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 -

In the poem, how does the sudden intrusion of the fly in the third stanza contribute to the speaker's thematic argument concerning the nature of death?

  1. It subverts the expectation of a grand, spiritually transcendent transition by introducing a mundane, sensory distraction that highlights the physical reality of dying.Answer
  2. B
    It documents Emily Dickinson's personal biographical journal entries concerning her own physical ailments and fear of dying alone.
  3. C
    It maintains a uniform tone of sacred anticipation by symbolizing the fly as a divine guide sent to usher the speaker into the afterlife.
  4. D
    It serves purely as an auditory ornament through onomatopoeia to set the scene, having no effect on the poem's thematic argument about mortality.
  5. E
    It uses line breaks strictly to indicate that the speaker is breathing heavily, ignoring how the enjambment between the third and fourth stanzas connects the fly to the loss of physical sight.

Answer

The correct option is the one stating that the fly's intrusion subverts the expectation of a grand, spiritually transcendent transition by introducing a mundane, sensory distraction that highlights the physical reality of dying.
The correct option is correct because the second stanza establishes a solemn and reverent atmosphere, with onlookers waiting for 'the King' (representing God or a sublime death). The sudden presence of a common fly in the third stanza disrupts this expectation. The fly's 'uncertain - stumbling Buzz' blocks the light, indicating that the speaker's final moments are occupied by a mundane, physical nuisance rather than a grand spiritual transition, which supports the poem's thematic argument that death is a physical, sensory dissolution.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the speaker's expectations of death established in the first two stanzas.
The room is described as having a solemn, quiet atmosphere ('Stillness') where onlookers are preparing for 'that last Onset' and the arrival of 'the King,' suggesting anticipation of a grand, spiritual moment.
Understanding the baseline expectation is necessary to evaluate how subsequent elements disrupt it.
2
Examine the transition and the intrusion of the fly in the third and fourth stanzas.
Just as the speaker completes the worldly business of signing away assignable keepsakes, a fly 'interposes' with a 'Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz' between the light and the speaker.
Analyzing the specific details of the fly's appearance reveals its trivial, physical, and distracting nature.
3
Synthesize the contrast between the spiritual expectation and the physical reality to determine the thematic argument.
The contrast between the expected spiritual climax ('the King') and the actual experience of a fly blocking the light demonstrates that the poem argues death is ultimately a physical dissolution of the senses rather than a grand spiritual revelation.
This links the structural device (the transition/intrusion) directly to the broader thematic argument.

Key Concept

Analyzing how contrasts and structural shifts contribute to the development of a poem's thematic argument about mortality.
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Thematic Argumentation in Poetry

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