Emily Dickinson

The Funeral

Summary


In "The Funeral," Emily Dickinson turns a sharp, sardonic eye on the bustle that surrounds a death. This short poem describes the brief stir each of us can cause only once, the illustrious commotion, and the éclat of the occasion. Her speaker calls it an unknown renown that even a beggar would refuse if he could. Dickinson blends dry wit with unease, leaving readers to weigh what honor and ceremony really mean.

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THAT short, potential stir
That each can make but once,
That bustle so illustrious
‘T is almost consequence,

Is the éclat of death.
Oh, thou unknown renown
That not a beggar would accept,
Had he the power to spurn!

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Credits

Emily Dickinson was a reclusive 19th-century American poet, famed for her compact, dash-filled verse and her unflinching fascination with mortality. Most of her work was published only after her death, which gives the sly, ceremony-mocking tone of this piece an extra layer of irony.