Number+280

In this poem, Emily Dickinson is, yet again, talking about death. She herself has obviously never experienced actual death, byt this poem is what she believes is what death would be like. The most important discription in the poem would be in lines 6-8. She says: A Service like a Drum-- Kept beating-- beating-- till I thought My Mind was going numb-- These lines are significant because funeral services are usually really drawn out and long, but they usually aren't being discribed as boring, like she is saying; but they coukd possibly be boring for the dead person- that is, if they were alive. The most significant part of the poem is the last weo lines because they do not rhyme with the two previous lines. It signifies her death and burial. She says: And hit a World, at every plunge, And Finished knowing-- then- The dashes also show the importance of the last line because it is the last discription of her death before she is actually being buried. 1204073343

I was reading your post and the stanza's involved in it, I realized how Emily Dickinson might've been talking abuot a ceremony taken place after her death - such as a funeral. In the stanza it says "Service" which can obviously be indicated as a funeral or some type of event. Also, when she stated "My mind was going numb--" I wasn't sure if she was dying at that excat moment, or perhaps the reality of her death was hitting her which could've worn out her thoughts and mind. It seems as if she was finally put at ease during this poem, since the death she was describing was in effect. 1204132788

I liked this poem. I really liked how Emily decided to start out. I think that when she says " I felt a funeral, in my brain" She could either be talking about sadness or anger. Or she could be talking about a head ach. The reason why I think it could be a head ach is because of the last line in the first stanza..."the sense was breaking through". I also think that Dickinson could be thinking about what death is going to be like. She could be thinking of it and thats why "it is in her brain". This seems like a better explanation than my theory above. I like how Dickinson talks about the funeral and how it would be and the feelings of it and it also says how people will react. Like the way her body acts, just thinking about it could be how people who will go to her funeral will feel. I also like how she talks about being put into the ground. and then she goes into talking about heaven. This is kind of on a more positive note. It is kind of telling us that there is more to life. At the end of this poem I was kind of confused. Because when she says "and hit a world, at every plunge, and finished knowing--then-" In a way it seemed like she just figured out what death was going to be like. but in away it seemed like she was dying. 1204175341

I believe this poem, about death, was very interesting. My way of interpreting this poem was that Dickinson was obviously expierencing this in her mind, but I think it was her thoughts of what her funeral may be like, or a certain funeral she already expierenced replaying in her mind, for me one of those two was the only logical explanation of this whole poem. Of those two reasons the one I think that makes more sense is the one about this being Emily's own funeral and what it might be like. The lines that best support that theory are " And **//__I__//** dropped down, and down-- and Hit a World at every plunge, And finished knowing--then." The word I in the beginning of those lines is important because I believe that Dickinson is obviously referring to herself. The words "And Finished knowing-- then--." are interesting just because I believe what Dickinson is saying their is that she finished knowing right then and there, what her whole funeral would be like, that makes sense because its also the last line of the poem. Overall this was a very good poem and I would want to think my theory is right, it at least made plenty of sense to me, if brtom or anyone else wants to correct me I'd like to know what i misinterpreted, but this was poem was definitley intriguing. 1204240753

I think that this poem, wasn't necessarily about Dickinson actually being dead. I think she was using death as a metaphor to something that was breaking down inside of her mind. And when they all were seated, A service like a drum Kept beating, beating, till I thought My mind was going numb.

She is playing a funeral in her mind and but really is thinking about a regret or something that was tearing her down instead. “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” uses concrete language and imagery to explore abstract issues. I don't think that it was necessarily a mental breakdown in her mind, i think that it could be interpreted as many things; such as a problem she is dealing. At the end of the poem, she comes to a conclusion with the funeral finally ending. I think that this is an interesting comparison because when something goes wrong inside of you, sometimes it feels as though you are dieing and don't know what wil happen or what to do until you make a decision.1204246617ape2

This poem seems to be telling the story of the speaker's funeral after her death. I was not surprised at all that this poem was about death because most of the poems by Emily Dickinson are about that same subject. This poem was interesting because it describes a funeral from the deceased's point of view. Dickinson has written poems in which the speaker is dead, but they have not described their own funeral. I have never read any literature in which the speaker's own funeral is described. I found that describing one's own funeral was an unusual concept because no poet would really have wanted to describe how someone feels after they have died. Overall, I would have to say that this poem was OK. It was not as confusing as some of the poems by Dickinson that we have read. I was able to make some sense out of it.1204256478

---

I think that this poem is her dealing with something... whether it be a horrible past memory or something that is upsetting her, it's tormenting her brain. The tolling bell hurts her mind, it shows her inability to comprehend and figure out the situation. Then the bell stops, she's realized something, and finally at the end, she has come to terms with this thought or this memory, but doesn't share it with us.. It hits her and she moves on. 1204497304epa1