I heard a Fly Buzz when I died.

1. I Heard a Fly Buzz
When I Died
BY: Emily Dickinson

2. About The Author
• December 10, 1830 – May 15,
1886
Common Themes of Death and
Morality
• Her poems were originally
written as letters to friends.
Most of them were not
discovered until after she
passed and were later
published.

3. What/Who is the Fly?
• The reality of death
“The King” or Christ
• Beezelbub the lord of flies or the devil

4. The reality of Death
• If in fact the reader
chooses to view the Fly
realistically then it
symbolizes the reality of
death.
These realities include:
death, decay,and things
such as the mourners
and seeing the light.
• This view of the fly
would mean the reader
read the poem in a
realistic view rather
than looking for
underlying meaning.

5. The King
• If the reader does analysis the
poem for a deeper meaning the Fly
would correspond with the later on
mentioned “King”
From a religious stand point
Christians would see this king as the
lord.
• This view makes sense considering
that later on she mentions that the
fly comes between herself and “the
light”. Which would be seen as the
light of God.
However this view is argued because
Dickinson describes the Fly as
having a “Blue,Uncertain,Stumbling
Buzz” meaning her destination is
uncertain.

6. Beezelbub
• Beezelbub is known a the lord of the
flies but also used as another word
for the devil. In Milton’s Paradise
Lost he is the chief lieutenant in hell.
The Fly becoming Beezelbub would be
a shock to the author and not what
she expected
• If the Fly is seen as Beezelbub then
the author is no longer left with an
uncertain destination for the
afterlife.

7. BUZZZZ!!!!!!