I felt a Funeral, in my Brain - Emily Dickinson

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And then a Plank in Reason, broke,

And I dropped down, and down -

And hit a World, at every plunge, And Finished knowing - then -

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

Emily DIckinson

1st stanza-Breakdown

She uses "I" in the opening line to give a personal experience.

"to and fro" gives the feeling of thoughts replaying in her mind.

The word "reading" and it's repetition gives a sense of a pounding headache in her head.

She tries to make "sense of her brains activities but it's not "breaking through" clearly. She is so isolated from any understanding that we can connect to.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,

And Mourners to and fro Kept treading - treading - till it seemed

That Sense was breaking through -

And when they all were seated,

A Service, like a Drum -

Kept beating - beating - till I thought

My mind was going numb -

2nd Stanza-Breakdown

She describes the mourners as "they", contrasting from the "I" in the opening line, intensifying the experience.

This stanza gives us a view of the image she is seeing

The word "service" tells us that this experience is following the usual format of a funeral service.

"like a drum" emphasizes the emotional trauma she is experiencing.

The use of he word "Treading" from the first stanza repeats through the word "beating" in this stanza and this leads to the numbness felt in the end of this stanza.

In the first stanza she refers to her "Brain" and in the second stanza she moves to her "Mind", this describes a more intense feeling.

And then I heard them lift a Box

And creak across my Soul

With those same Boots of Lead, again,

Then Space - began to toll,

3rd stanza- Breakdown

She continues to describe the "service" in the 3rd stanza

She can feel her coffin ("box") being lifted.

The word "creak" is chosen to show her fearful experience

"Boots of Lead" is giving the same sense of the previous third lines. She uses "again" to show this

The word "space" is a away of describing another world beyond this one. A world that we cannot relate to.

As all the Heavens were a Bell,

And Being, but an Ear,

And I, and Silence, some strange Race,

Wrecked, solitary, here -

4th stanza- Breakdown

This stanza focuses on the sense of sound and the intensity of it.

The word "Heavens" continue the religious view.

She is comparing space to a "Bell" and comparing herself to an "Ear"

The "Silence" of space points to the isolation of the poet, who is on the other side of existence.

She describes her life as "some strange Race"

We are unsure about the meaning of "here"

She ends this stanza with the word "here", leaving us with a mystery.

5th/final stanza-Breakdown

The use of the word "plank" maybe reference to the coffin or even a plank beside the grave. It i put beside the word "Reason" to give emphasis to the intense emotions she is feeling.

This plank breaking might be describing her mind breaking through to a new understanding

The dropping down is in relation to "space" used in the third stanza.

The "World" that she has discovered is a mystery that is associated with death

The poem end when the poet ends..

"Then" leaves us wondering, is there life after death?

Dickinson has found some sort after life but we as living people cannot relate.

She ends with a dash that indicates an onward experience beyond our life.

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