Trapped!

"A Service, like a Drum -

Kept beating - beating - till I thought

My Mind was going numb."

("I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" - Emily Dickinson)

After a major discussion with my small group today, I think I finally have an understanding of this poem.  However, before I even knew what the poem was about, I still knew that imagery played a major part in this Dickinson poem.  Most of the the imagery appeals to the sense of hearing.  For example, "creak," "drum," and "beating" all refer to sounds.  Also, the author specifically leaves out the sense of sight.  The inner workings of the body are also described through the imagery.  In the excerpt above, the heart is compared to a drum that is constantly beating. 

Even from the title, a reader can see that the image of a funeral is involved with this poem.  The opening stanzas even describe the speaker as if he or she is inside the casket.  I think this poem's aim is to describe the process of going insane.  Even throughout the poem, Dickinson hints at the process of insanity through phrases such as "my Mind was going numb," and "Wrecked, solitary here."  The author's diction produces an image of being trapped and helpless.  This reminded me of an episode of Bones where two of the main characters who investigate criminal cases are buried alive.  Both the character in this poem and the characters in Bones feel the same exact way - hopeless.  However, Dickinson's character is trapped inside his or her own body, whereas Bones and Hodgins are physically trapped underground.