Poetry
April 25, 1999
To Die or Not To Die
Suicide was not a widely discussed topic in the 1800's although, it commonly appeared as a theme in many literary works of that time. The action of killing one's self is not a classified psychological disorder, but there are many disorders where suicide is the end result. This is why suicide is a commonplace subject within the psychological field in present day society. The poem "I Started Early- Took My Dog," by Emily Dickinson, can be interpreted as making strange reference to a suicide. Freud says, "Suicide is a response to loss (real or symbolic), but one in which the person's sorrow and rage in the face of that loss are not vented but remain unconscious, thus weakening the ego."(Freud p.246). Dickinson uses several elements in her poem to relate this theme such as tone, imagery and rhyme. It is told through the first person point of view of an unknown speaker.
Dickinson begins the first line of her poem by......
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Approximate Word Count: 939
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |