Emily Dickinson’s Poem, Essay Example

Emily Dickenson was highly influenced by the events of the American Civil War.  She never titled her poems but rather the words in the first line indicated the subject matter.  This poem was no exception and covered the subject matter of death and suffering.  The author is trying to communicate suffering and loss of the death of those close to us.  The Civil War saw a terrible and bloody death toll on both sides.

And when they all were seated,
A Service, like a Drum–
Kept beating–beating–till I thought
My Mind was going numb–

A service like a drum indicating the beating of a military drum and the constant noise of battle numbed the mind, death was all around.

With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space–began to toll,

This might reference the boots of soldiers and the lead being the bullets and cannon shell that brought about death and destruction.  Toll being reference to the death toll of a church bell.

And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down–
And hit a World, at every plunge,

This might refer to the inability of the Union and Confederate armies to reach an agreement that resulted in the terrible Civil War, hence with the continued battles and loss of life you dropped into a state of despair, only falling deeper with every passing battle and soldier killed.

I believe the ultimate message that Emily is conveying here is the futility of war and how this only causes untold pain and suffering to all concerned.  It drives people to the very depths of despair  and the near loss of one’s very soul.  ” The year of greatest stress was 1862, when distance and danger threatened Emily’s friends – Samuel Bowles, in Europe for his health; Charles Wadsworth, who had moved to a new pastorate at the Calvary Church in San Francisco; and T.W. Higginson, serving as an officer in the Union Army.”  (Anon)

In the later years of Emily’s life she was confronted by a prolonged period of peoples deaths and many of these very close to her.  She then later confronted a terminal illness and her work turned with a morbid obsession towards death.  ” The later years of Dickinson’s life were primarily spent in mourning because of several deaths within the time frame of a few years. Emily’s father died in 1874, Samuel Bowles died in 1878, J.G. Holland died in 1881, her nephew Gilbert died in 1883, and both Charles Wadsworth and Emily’s mother died in 1882. Over those few years, many of the most influential and precious friendships of Emily’s passed away, and that gave way to the more concentrated obsession with death in her poetry. On June 14, 1884 Emily’s obsessions and poetic speculations started to come to a stop when she suffered the first attack of her terminal illness” (Anon)

Works Cited

Anon. Biography of Emily Dickinson. 2009. 27 1 2010 <http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/emilydickinson>.