Stoop and Feel It, Stop..and Hear It

("I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain", Dickinson)

This description of a funeral/mental breakdown/mindless work/ death of spirit/ other interruptions, places heavy emphasis on the senses. Sight is required in the details of the treading mourners, lifting of the Box, the dropping being. The ability to hear is required to experience almost all of the poem, from the drum to the creak of the box, to the heaven bell, to the silence. Hearing is the focus of the poem, perhaps to best capture the feeling of being trapped by silence or lack of compassionate listeners. The eerie silence of death is interrupted by the loud drums and bells, further supporting a theme of feeling like an outcast. The one sense that is purposely not described is the sense of touch. Instead of touching the box or soul, the reader has to use other senses to experience this. The lack of feeling and touch helps strengthen the feeling of a funeral and being numb. Additionally, the theme of being an outcast is reflected in this untouchable aura. The senses bring this poem to life and capture its feeling.