Critically Analyze the Poem “I felt a Funeral in My Brain”

Answer

Critically analyze the poem “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain” by Emily Dickinson.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) wrote “I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain” in 1861. The poem tells the story of a funeral taking place inside the poet’s own mind. It is not a real funeral. She uses the funeral images to show the breaking down of her thoughts and feelings. So, the poem depicts the poet’s descent into madness.

The Funeral Inside the Mind: At first, the poet feels a funeral taking place in her mind.

“I felt a Funeral, in my Brain.”

The mourners are walking “to and fro” inside her brain. Their footsteps are heavy and endless. She feels that she is losing her sense. So, the first stanza clearly shows that she is in a deep mental pain.

The Service and the Drum: Then the mourners sit down, and a service begins. She compares the service to the beating of a drum. The sound is repeated again and again. At one point, she feels her mind is going numb. This shows how she is slowly losing control over her thoughts.

The Lifting of the Coffin: Next, the mourners lift the coffin. She hears the coffin’s creaking sound into her soul. The heavy sound of the coffin and the “Boots of Lead” give her a feeling of great weight. It means that she has a heavy burden inside her mind.

The Final Breakdown: In the final stanza, she says a plank of the coffin has broken. She also says that it is a plank in “reason.” It means the poet has lost her logical reasoning. Then, we see that she is dropping down and down very deep.

“And I dropped down, and down -”

This drop suggests a complete mental breakdown of the poet.

In conclusion, the poem tells the painful story of the poet’s mental breakdown through the image of a funeral.