Just A Fly

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 –

This poem describes a dying experience from the first person narrator perspective. As a result, the narrator is the dying person. The death theme is one common aspect of Dickinson’s poetry, and she describes death in many of her poems. However, this piece of her work is distinct from her other death-theme poems because in other poems, she mostly uses metaphors such as things in nature or humanized characters to represent death instead of describing death directly. Using the first person narrative ingeniously draws the readers into the character of the dying person. The readers are able to immediately sense the experience created by Dickinson’s depiction.

In addition to the dying person, the fly is also considered the most essential character in this poem. The fly and its buzzing sound enhance the contrast between death and life, stillness and movement. The word "Stillness” embodies death because death and stillness share the features of coldness and motionlessness. The dying person on the bed, the quietness in the room, and “the Stillness in the Air” create the mood of deathly silence. However, the appearance of the fly breaks the silence. Due to the quietness and stillness of the room, the buzzing sound of the fly becomes piercing and even irritating, and the flying actions of the insect in the air are so lively and energetic. The movements of the fly make the stillness even more still; namely, the life of living beings creates a vivid image of death because people live in a dualistic world in which they understand concepts by using one image to define another. That life and death co-exist may be one of the messages Dickinson wants to convey in this poem.

Although the fly is a living insect, at the same time, it is a symbol of death. Why does Dickinson choose the fly among various types of flying insects in this poem? Why does she not choose a bee or a butterfly instead? A fly is related to death because it often appears where corpses are located. Moreover, the fly in the Bible is a representation of death and decay as it is described in Exodus, “The LORD did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies” (Exodus 93, 94). The fly in this poem could also be the god of death. In the second stanza, Dickinson writes, “For that last Onset – when the King/Be witnessed – in the Room” (87). The scene can be interpreted that while the dying person is struggling to breathe, the fly, the incarnation of the god of death, is watching the dying person in order to witness the death.

According to Dickinson’s biography, seeking the truth of life in Christian faith is one of elements that influences her writing. Based on the concept of her religious background, the fly in this poem can also be the incarnation of Satan, “King of the flies.” The lines describe in final stanza, “With Blue – uncertain – stumbling Buzz – / Between the light – and me –” (Dickinson 88). The buzzing sound is like the devil’s whisper that is terrifying and irritating. The dying person on the bed is waiting the approaching death and seeking the salvation of the Lord. The “light” in the quote may represent God, Heaven, and salvation. The fly is Satan who seems unwilling to let the dying person go to Heaven or be saved.

At the end of this poem, the fly reveals the most significant incident – the death of the person. From the dying person’s viewpoint, the buzzing sound is fading out, and the light becomes feebler. Finally, the buzzing sound turns into extreme quietness and stillness, and the eyesight comes totally dark. She dies because she loses her physical functions. Is it the end? It is not the end for Emily Dickinson. The last line of the poem says, “I could not see to see –” (Dickinson 88). “I could not see” refers to the failing physical functions. However, she is still able “to see” the truth beyond the physical world and death, as in another poem, “Because I could not Stop for Death,” where Dickinson says,

“Since the – ‘tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ heads
Were toward Eternity – “ (87)

A PSALM OF LIFE

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

A PSALM OF LIFE

WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN
SAID TO THE PSALMIST

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

A Midsummer Night's Dream_Close Reading

I think I like close reading. Even though the reading materials are relatively harder, I enjoy the inspiration generated by close reading.

We were discussing about the world of fairies in the play. The queen and king of the Fairies were the main focus today. In the play, the king and queen address each other differently. The king is gotten his name as Jealous Oberon, whereas the queen is called Proud Titania. The fight between them is the origin of the rest of the disorders developed throughout the play.

There are some reasons or issues they are fighting for:

1. Child “Changling Boy” 
2. Not faithful to each other
3. She is not meeting his needs
4. Jealous of Theseus
   Power struggle “Who is in control”
5. She is sick of fighting
6. Not doing her job (she is in charge of season changing)
7. Not doing his job (to be a good husband)
   She is inserting herself into humanity
8. Titania seems to be an angle; Oberon is a demon. Angle should be higher position than the demon, but in the society, male is higher than female.

The order is very important in the conflict. The order is the great chain of being. Supposedly, the boy should be taken by the king, Oberon. However, the queen insists to keep the boy in her site. Under the the order, the woman should obey what the male mate says; as a result, the king is saying, "Am not I thy lord?" which gives a sense of control. However, the relationship between Titania and Oberon is different because Titania is an angle and Oberon is a devil. In the great chain of being, the position of an angle is sightly higher then devil. Titania is unnecessary to obey what Oberon tells her to do.

The themes of Oberon are:

1. Jealous of child (Motherly affection)
2. Jealous of her affections
3. Jealous of Theseus (sexual affection)
4. Insecure
5. Jealous of emotion
6. Mother envy
7. He is being like a girl
8. Role reversal
9. Cuckold

 He envies that he may lose both motherly and sexual affections from Titania. Being a stepfather could make him feels be cuckold.

The themes of Titania:

1. Noble and responsible
2. Loyalty
3. Logical
4. Equality
5. Autonomy

We can discover that role reversal is occurring. The man acts like a girl, and the woman has more male characteristics. 

More Thoughts toward Sonnet 29 and 73

Sonnet 29

Who is the target person?
We all know that from Sonnet 1 to 126 are dedicate to the young man. However, what is about the young man. Is he a close friend or even a lover of Shakespeare or not?

What is the purpose?
The "outcast state" may indicate to some setbacks in his life.

According to Shakespeare online

However, an examination of Shakespeare’s life around the time he wrote Sonnet 29 reveals two traumatic events that may have shaped the theme of the sonnet. In 1592 the London theatres closed due to a severe outbreak of plague. Although it is possible that Shakespeare toured the outlying areas of London, it is almost certain that he left the theatre entirely during this time to work on his sonnets and narrative poems. The closing of the playhouses made it hard for Shakespeare and other actors of the day to earn a living. With plague and poverty looming it is expected that he would feel "in disgrace with fortune" (1).
Moreover, in 1592 there came a scathing attack on Shakespeare by dramatist Robert Greene, who, in a deathbed diary, warned three of his fellow university-educated playwrights: "There is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers heart wrapt in a Players hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse as the best of you; and, beeing an absolute Johannes fac totum, is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey." 

 These incidents may cause Shakespeare's distress.

For me, I think the sonnet may be a breaking up poem, and here I assume the target person is a lover for Shakespeare which no matter is he or she. The great sadness in the first quatrain may show the suffering of separation from the love one. "Curse" and "fate" may tell people that there were something unchangeable to Shakespeare, or something is not allowed at the society. For example, homosexuality.

The envy in the second quatrain may be caused by the love one is unfaithful to Shakespeare, or Shakespeare is not as good as the lover of Shakespeare's love one.


The third quatrain recalls the sweet memory of the relationship.


The last couplet shows Shakespeare is willing to choose the love one instead of something important.




Sonnet 73
There are three possible interpretations.

1. Death 
2. Sex
3. Old Couple (true love)
   

Shakespeare Sonnet 29

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

The themes of the sonnet may be jealousy and difficulty in life.  In the first quatrain, it shows a great sense of distress, hopeless, and helpless. An "outcast" man cries out for help but there is no one to assist or to comfort. "Curse" and "fate" show how helpless he is. 


The theme of jealousy comes in at the second quatrain.


The sonnet makes a turn at the third at the third quatrain which is kind of wire. Even though at the despising time, I feel happy because of you. And the last couplet concludes in the same concept.

Shakespeare Sonnet 73

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
   This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
   To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

I think the themes of the sonnet are afraid of aging and mortality. In the first quatrain, the yellow leaves represent the season of autumn. It also show the life clock for people. Autumn indicates the life is toward the end. "None" may mean no sign of life which means death. "Few" gives the sense of dying which means even though you are not die, but it is only about time. The "cold" wind is going to shake you down to the ground. 

The second and third quatrains reinforce the idea of aging and dying. "twilight," "sunset," and "west" are all about dying. They are all very beautiful but only last for a short time. "Black night" and "rest" work as the symbol of death. The passion of youth is fading as the "glowing fire." The ashes will be very hot shortly but cold down rapidly as the quick time the young time will pass away.


The last couplet makes a turn from the issue of aging and death toward the love and relationship. Because of the shorten life people have, the love and relation they have become more treasure.

New Inspiration From Sonnect 18, 116, and 130

It was glad to listen to peers' perspectives about these sonnets.

Sonnet 18
Eternal Summer is kind of saying that you are always "hot." The reason that the beauty of the beloved can remain forever is the credit of the writer because the beauty of a human can fade as the season changes. Because of this poem, the beauty becomes immortal.

Sonnet 116
Some folk mention that it is a breaking up poem because it gives a bitter feeling to people. The true love should not fade or change, but the love seems to fade toward the last couplet. The word "error" may indicate some implicit meanings of a broken relationship. On the other hand, some hold their position that they still considered this sonnet is a real love poem. And, some thought if you try to visualize the images in the sonnet, you can get a lot of sexual imageries.

Sonnet 130
It is the best true love poem amount these three voted by the entire class because people think it is a model of a longterm relationship.

So, if we put these three sonnets in a chronological order, we can get a very interesting outcome. Sonnet 18 represents the status of young people's love or the beginning of the relationship. The enthusiastic emotions is an upsurge of love feeling. As the season mentioned in the poem, summer, it is so hot.

When the love or the relationship last longer, the status develops into sonnet 116. At this time, Lovers need to "admit impediments," and "Love is not love." Love is still the most important reason keep each other accompany.

Sonnet 130 is a model of a longterm relationship because as soon as each other's shortcomings are not able to bother each other, the relationship can last longer. By admitting all shortcomings of a person is just a part of a person, the lovers do not argue that that much.