On_Emily_Dickinson_“241”

On Emily Dickinson “241” Utilizing capitalization and unusual pauses to emphasize significant words and thoughts, the poem illuminates the absolute sincerity of death for the poet. Reinforcing this sincerity or honesty found through death, these devices create a fixed image of death itself. Through this image, death possesses a physical representation that solidifies the poet’s thoughts not only on death, but truth as well. Dickinson immediately creates atmosphere and tone with the opening lines, “I like a look of Agony/Because I know it’s true-“(1-2). The poet’s distinct diction and use of pauses in the first stanza lends the poem a serious, ardent tone. This tone sustains itself while creating the lack of uniformity that allows the reader to focus on only the things that posses real meaning for the poet. Not only do these pauses stress important words; they also contain meaning within themselves. The pauses emphasize the capitalized “Agony”(1), “Convulsion”(3), and a “Throe”(4) which are unable to be “simulate[d].”(4) Interestingly, these are all words associated with pain and death. This is not coincidental. Death presents itself throughout the entire poem: at first, only through allusion, but later brought in the foreground as a driving force. The poet appreciates the truth and honesty found in death, poet, itself, truth, poem, words, through, sincerity, poet’s, pauses, first, stanza, order, honesty, tone, thoughts, reader, meaning, lines, lack, image, found, focus, emphasize, death5, absolute, yet, towards, tangible, solidifies, representation, real, physical, one, man’s, line