The Theme of Death in Poetry by Emily Dickinson and Sylvia...

Death is a prevalent theme in the poetry of both Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson. They both examine death from varied angles. There are many similarities as well as differences in the representation of this theme in their poetry. Plath views death as a sinister and intimidating end, while Dickinson depicts death with the endearment of romantic attraction. In the poetry of Plath death is depicted traditionally, while Dickinson attributes some mysticism to the end of life. In the poem Two Views of a Cadaver Room Plath attempts to be objective in writing about death from the third person point of view. The poem is divided into two verses: the first verse depicts four men examining human corpses, the second verse speaks about†¦show more content†¦However, the author regrets for not being able to reach such condition being alive. Dickinson admires death as a perfect state of calmness of the mind while Plath use imagery to represent the horrific nature of death as a force which destroys the mind and life in the body. Plath believes that death leads to absence of emotions. Death takes away emotions and feelings, therefore it is the process of dehumanization, as Plath has written he hands her the cut-out heart like a cracked heirloom. Heirlooms are objects which embody the memory just like heart does which is the symbol of the persons identity. Death kills this identity. Death is self-destruction of the individual which should not be admired according to the poetry of Plath. Death means pain and suffering. The author also talks about individuals who chose the death themselves. It is especially evident in the poems Edge and I Am Vertical: her bare feet seem to be saying; we have come so far (Edge). The bare feet are the symbol of the authors vulnerability which is the result of the lack of protection by society. The depiction of death in this poem is sometimes compared to the Sigmund Freuds explanation of the self destruction. Dickinsons viewing of death is completely different even though the author also touches the idea of suicide. However, suicide for Dickinson is not full of pain and suffering, it is rather the desire of people to meet with the Death because it is the endShow MoreRelatedMy Favorite Poems On The Theme Of Poetry1000 Words   |  4 PagesTogether with four classmates in my English class, I created an anthology of five poems on the theme of Death. The authors of these poems are Alan Seeger, Emily Dickinson, Henry Scott Holland, Pablo Neruda, and Sylvia Plath. My favorite poem is Death is nothing at all and my favorite authors are Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath. While going over the poems and learning about the poets, my favorite poem is â€Å"Death is not all† by Henry Scott Holland. 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