Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson are two Modern American Poets who consistently
wrote about the theme of death. While there are some comparisons between the two
poets, when it comes to death as a theme, their writing styles were quite
different. Robert Frost’s poem, “Home Burial,” and Emily Dickinson’s
poems, “I felt a Funeral in my Brain,” and “I died for Beauty,” are
three poems concerning death. While the theme is constant there are differences
as well as similarities between the poets and their poems. The obvious
comparison between the three poems is the theme of death. Both poets, in these
works and many others, display a fascination with the death of themselves as
well as the death of peers, and loved ones. Both Frost and Dickinson experienced
a great deal of death throughout each of their lives. Frost’s greatest loss
was the death of his son, which is greatly depicted in his poem “Home
Burial.” Dickinson suffered the loss of many friends and family. She spent a
lot of her time in her room looking out upon the headstones of these people. The
only strong comparison between the poets, in terms of structure and technique,
is that the meaning of their poems run much deeper then the specific words on a
page. Even this can come as a contrast when looking at these three poems.
“Home Burial,” by Frost is a fairly straightforward poem, written in
dialogue, with the writer working as the narrator. The poem is about a married
couple dealing with the recent death of their son, who the husband had to bury
in their own backyard. It is a considerably long poem, which doesn’t require
one to read between the lines. Where as “I felt a Funeral in my Brain,” and
“I died for Beauty,” by Dickinson are considerably short poems, in which she
seals as much as she reveals. Emily Dickinson’s poetry was not that of any
traditional style. She was criticized for capitalizing words in the middle of
sentences, using inexact rhymes and only giving a partial understanding. She
loved to use ellipses, in order to let the reader finish a thought. Many of
these were actually eliminated in many of her first publications, which were
never published until after her death. In the two poems, “I felt a Funeral in
my Brain,” and “I died for Beauty” all of these characteristics are
present, including her usual four line stanzas in the meter of traditional
hymns. Written in first person, “I felt a Funeral in my Brain” is about the
thought of her own funeral. Imagining what is would be like in the coffin, where
only the sense of sound is present. The last word of the poem is ‘–then-‘,
a classic example of an ellipse, where the reader is left to finish the poem on
their own. “I died for Beauty also ends with an ellipse. The poem is about two
dead people, herself and another man, resting side by side, buried underground.
Like “Home Burial,” by Frost, this was written in dialogue with the writer
as the narrator. One died for Beauty and one for truth. Although it seemed as
though they died for an important cause, with time their names will be
forgotten. Unlike Dickinson, Robert Frost wrote in a traditional style. “Home
Burial,” like many of his poems, was written in iambic pentameter, giving five
beats per line. Using iambic pentameter gives the poem a monotone, rhythmic
feel. Because the poem reads very rhythmically, the seriousness of the poem is
exaggerated. This dramatically differs from the two poems by Dickinson. Emily
Dickinson’s poems, though just as serious, come across quite a bit lighter
then “Home Burial.” The structure of her poems gives a riddle-like effect.
The difference in length between the poems changes the mood as well. In
Frost’s poem the thought of death is drawn out simply by the length of the
poem, where as the abruptness of Dickinson’s poems give a much lighter feel.
Another difference between Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson’s poems is the
perspective taken by the poet. In “Home Burial” there is mourning over the
loss of a son. The poem is about dealing with another person’s death. In “I
felt a Funeral in my Brain,” and “I died for Beauty,” the poems deals with
the inevitability of ones own death. Both poems are imagining what it will be
like when she dies. In the poem “Home Burial,” by Robert Frost, and in the
poems “I felt a Funeral in my Brain,” and “I died for Beauty,” by Emily
Dickinson, there are similarities and differences between the two poets
perspectives and writing styles. Because there is a difference in perspective
and in writing styles, each of the poems gives a different feeling about death
to the reader. While the theme of death is consistent in both, Robert Frost and
Emily Dickinson’s poems, the differences heavily outweigh the similarities.