“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – Summary”
Emily Dickinson’s poem “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –” presents a calm, eerie reflection on the moment of death, but with an unexpected twist. The speaker, who has already died, recounts the moments just before death, offering a rare and intimate first-person perspective of dying.
The atmosphere is still and silent, as if waiting for something sacred or final to happen—like the arrival of “the King” (which may symbolize God, death, or eternity). Loved ones are gathered around, tearful but composed, and the speaker has already willed away her possessions, signaling she was prepared to go.
But just then, a common, trivial fly buzzes in the room, interrupting the solemn moment. This small and annoying creature becomes a symbol of the randomness and ordinariness of death, contrasting sharply with the expected spiritual grandeur.
The final image is that of darkness descending—“the Windows failed”—signifying the speaker’s sight fading and perhaps the soul passing away.
More Summary & MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- Because I could not stop for Death – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- Hope is the thing with feathers – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- I’m Nobody! Who are you? – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- A Bird came down the Walk – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- I cannot live with You – – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- Success is counted sweetest – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- I died for Beauty – but was scarce – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- I felt a Funeral, in my Brain – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- There’s a certain Slant of light – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- This is my letter to the World – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- Much Madness is divinest Sense – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- I taste a liquor never brewed – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- They shut me up in Prose – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- Tell all the truth but tell it slant – – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- Wild nights – Wild nights! – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- The Soul selects her own Society – – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- After great pain, a formal feeling comes – – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
- I like to see it lap the Miles – – Summary MCQs by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson