There's been a Death, in the Opposite House: analysis
Introduction
"There's been a Death, in the Opposite House," is a poem of watching. The speaker looks across at a neighbouring house and reads, from outward signs alone, that someone has died. A window opens, a mattress comes out, a minister goes in, tradesmen arrive, and no one inside is named or seen. The poem is an inventory of what death looks like from outside, in "just a Country Town". Its interest lies in how practised and public these signs are, and in the cool eye that knows them.
Summary
The speaker announces a Death in the house opposite, "As lately as Today". He knows this from "the numb look" of the place. Such houses always have that look, he says.
The Neighbors "rustle in and out". The Doctor drives away. A Window then opens suddenly, and the opening is compared to a Pod.
Somebody flings a Mattress out. The Children hurry past and wonder whether "it died" on that mattress. The speaker recalls wondering the same thing: "I used to -- when a Boy".
The Minister "goes stiffly in", as though the House belonged to him. He seems to own "all the Mourners" as well. He seems also to own "little Boys".
Next come the Milliner and "the Man / Of the Appalling Trade". This man arrives "To take the measure of the House". The speaker then predicts "that Dark Parade".
The parade will be made "Of Tassels -- and of Coaches", and it will come "soon". The speaker says all this is "easy as a Sign". The poem ends by calling such knowledge "The Intuition of the News", found "In just a Country Town".
Themes and meaning
Death runs as a routine. Everyone in the poem has a part and knows it. The Doctor leaves, the Neighbors arrive, the Minister enters, and a Man comes to measure. The sequence is so settled that the speaker can predict what comes next. "It's easy as a Sign" states this flatly.
All of this is knowledge from the outside. The evidence is visible from across the way, and the speaker never meets the dead person or the family. The "numb look" is really his description of a building. The poem keeps the reader outside as well, so the grief inside is never seen.
Children learn about death by watching. "They wonder if it died -- on that" is morbid and practical at once. The pronoun "it" removes the person, and readers often remark on this. The speaker admits to the same curiosity in "I used to -- when a Boy", so this voice is a man's, not the poet's own. Knowledge of these signs passes from one generation to the next.
Authority moves in after a death. The Minister acts "As if the House were His". He "owned all the Mourners" and "little Boys" too, and that last touch sounds like a memory of childhood fear. The Milliner and the "Appalling Trade" bring commerce in behind him. "take the measure of the House" has a double sense. It can mean measuring for a coffin, a second house, or sizing up the household.
The small town makes this knowledge possible. The final line, "In just a Country Town", explains how the news travels without being told. "just" belittles the setting. It is also the speaker's dry comment on a place where nothing is private.
Tone
The tone is cool, factual and a little ironic. "There's been a Death" sounds like local news. "Somebody flings a Mattress out" is careless, and it matches a scene without tenderness. The speaker reports like a man at a window who has seen it all before.
The voice warms only once, in the memory at line 12. It then turns wry and slightly resentful with the Minister. The dashes in "The Minister -- goes stiffly in" act like a raised eyebrow. "And little Boys -- besides" sounds like an old grudge.
"Appalling" is the one openly emotional word, and even it is half a pun. "that Dark Parade" adds a shadow of dread and a touch of spectacle. The close flattens all this again with "easy" and "just". The speaker never expresses sorrow for the dead.
Form and structure
The poem has 24 lines, mostly in groups of four. It is written in a loose common metre. Longer iambic lines alternate with shorter ones, mostly of eight and six syllables. Lines run from 6 to 10 syllables, with line 1 the longest.
Rhyme falls on the even lines and is mostly slant, as with "by" and "Boy", or "Sign" and "Town". Only "Today" and "alway" at the start, and "Trade" and "Parade" on the grimmest subject, rhyme exactly. Dashes break many lines into stiff pieces. The sentence runs on from line 20 into line 21, so the parade seems to move on without stopping.
Poetic devices
personification line 3
the numb look A building is given the blank face of a person in shock. It lets the speaker describe grief without seeing a mourner.
simile line 7
A Window opens like a Pod A domestic act is likened to a seed case splitting. The comparison makes it sudden and impersonal, and a little strange beside a death.
diction line 8
Abrupt -- mechanically Two words strip the gesture of feeling. The person opening the window is not mentioned, so the house seems to work by itself.
imagery line 9
Somebody flings a Mattress out A blunt physical detail stands in for the death. The unnamed Somebody and the verb flings make it brisk and unsentimental.
diction line 11
They wonder if it died -- on that The pronouns it and that refuse the dead person a name or a sex. The children's question treats the body as an object.
caesura line 12
I used to -- when a Boy The pause marks a turn from observing to remembering. It is the one place where the speaker becomes personally involved.
hyperbole line 15
And He owned all the Mourners Exaggerates the Minister's presence into outright ownership. It gives the description a satirical edge.
periphrasis line 18
Of the Appalling Trade Avoids naming the undertaker directly. The adjective expresses dread and may also carry a pun on the funeral pall.
metaphor line 20
that Dark Parade Turns a funeral into a public show. The word that suggests everyone already knows the event.
synecdoche line 21
Of Tassels -- and of Coaches A funeral procession is reduced to its trimmings and vehicles. The mourners themselves are missing from the picture.
simile line 22
It's easy as a Sign Reading a death is compared to reading a posted sign. The word easy is chilling given the subject.
understatement line 24
In just a Country Town The small word just shrinks the setting. It closes the poem on a dry shrug about local life.
Words worth knowing
alway
An older form of always.
Pod
The seed case of a plant such as a pea, which splits open abruptly when ripe.
Milliner
A maker of hats, here presumably called in for mourning wear.
Appalling
Dreadful. It can also be heard as a pun on the pall, the cloth laid over a coffin.
measure
Size. The phrase can mean measuring for a coffin, or sizing up the household for the funeral.
Coaches
Horse-drawn carriages, here those of a funeral procession.
Context
It is number 389 in the Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. It was the site's Poem of the Day on March 30, 2002, and again on March 9, 2003.
What readers have said
Ellie hears a grown man's recollection, finds the word it trivialising, and sees Dickinson criticising the minister and the other trades that monopolise death. Ellie, 2005
Jo says the window opens as if to let the spirit travel to heaven, so the body is an it because the spirit has left. Jo, 2010
Louise finds the word it very cold, stripping the dead person of identity and dignity, the exact opposite of personification. Louise, 2010
Mohd Hafiz suggests "House" in line 19 suits the image of a coffin, measured by an undertaker, and hears the speaker reflecting on a childhood past. Mohd Hafiz, 2008
Immanuel contrasts the country town with a city, where people are too busy to notice a death in the neighbourhood. IMMANUEL, 2008
Mahsa is most struck by "There'll be that Dark Parade", taking it as a conclusion drawn from the signs that came before. Mahsa, 2020
This is one of Emily's poem that have a big theme on death. As we know she really like to write about something unusual and eccentric. She also had her own independent thinking about religious opinion. In this poem she uses a persona t describe a situation in a neighbourhood where the death occurs
erikaUnited States
I dont really understand this poem..im trying to analyze it but its just not my thing.can anyone tell me the theme of this poem besides just..death?
karltonUnited States
I have a lot of pain and misery in my life. The crying continues, locking in my room, the agony to hang myself. I can't continue my life. Nobody cares about me. People just want to hate me. I am a nobody. Just like Emily Dickinson, i feel left alone. Death is my only option.
Karlton, I don't know who you are but I hope you are ok. Death is never the only option and, there is always a chance that things will get better.
EllieUnited Kingdom
It is to be remembered of Dickinson that she uses many voices, in this poem in particular it is a grown mans recollection of death 'They wonder if it died- on that-/ I used to when a Boy-' the trivilising by calling the dead body 'it' encompasses the feeling of the poem. The mudane realities of death, such as taking 'measures of the House' for a coffin and making of the hats for the funaral, is far from the mystical…
Read the whole comment
It is to be remembered of Dickinson that she uses many voices, in this poem in particular it is a grown mans recollection of death 'They wonder if it died- on that-/ I used to when a Boy-' the trivilising by calling the dead body 'it' encompasses the feeling of the poem. The mudane realities of death, such as taking 'measures of the House' for a coffin and making of the hats for the funaral, is far from the mystical Interpretation of her other works. Dickinson critises the minister who 'goes stiffly in-/ As if the House were His-' and the monopolising he and the other proffesions do with death. There is a natural morbid curiosity, as the news is spread around the town. Here death taken down to its every day realities. In response to previous comments I recommend a more thorough reading of both this poem and Dickison's collective works. Her preoccupation with death and the after life stems not from continuous suicidal tendancies, but the strick Calvinistic enviroment in which she lived. The split between the elect and a damned caused Dickinson to question her own thoughts and believes. It is true that Dickinson's profound, but ordinary, desciptions of pain and loss are difficult to reproduce, hence the appreciation shown by any like minded sufferer. i refer such an appreciator to ' i shall keep singing' and suggest they try to emulate qualities suggested in 'Her Losses make our Gains ashamed' (Dickinson's homage to George Elliot') I hope this shall make for more intellectual discussion of Dickinson's works.
I understand the overall meaning of the poem and that she is trying to show the different reactions of various characters to death, but the last stanza throws me off, as does the mention of the "dark parade"
Well done, Karlton! I don't care about you either! Maybe I'll see you in the after life, except you might be in hell! Jolly good work! Keep it up! Nooses are great!
karltonUnited States
I am going to hunt you down and find you christ and sathappan, i dont appreciate what you said at all. You mock the status of my life and tempt me to kill my own self. You two are evil people. I will kill you.
Hahaha. You humor me. I am scared of you, Mr. I'm-Gonna-Kill-You-Then-Myself-Man. How are you going to hunt me down? I honestly don't think that an internet Comment Board is the right place to look for advice on whether or not to kill yourself. How about a psychiatrist? I'm sure TIMMY-C would be willing to give you a ride, because his car goes really fast, and everything. God doesn't love you.
*****Quote******I understand the overall meaning of the poem and that she is trying to show the different reactions of various characters to death, but the last stanza throws me off, as does the mention of the "dark parade"
matt from United States ******Quote*****
To matt a dark parade would be like a funeral procession we today have
kylieUnited States
I think that all Emily is saying is that basically, people are conditioned to deal with death from a young age because death has visible signs even when the actual “death” itself isn’t apparent. Because of this, much of the emotional aspects of death are non-existant in the onlookers of the scene because they have been desensitized to the whole concept of death. The use of "it" in line 11 (they wonder if it died on…
Read the whole comment
I think that all Emily is saying is that basically, people are conditioned to deal with death from a young age because death has visible signs even when the actual “death” itself isn’t apparent. Because of this, much of the emotional aspects of death are non-existant in the onlookers of the scene because they have been desensitized to the whole concept of death. The use of "it" in line 11 (they wonder if it died on that-) completely depersonalizes the persons death, and thus, the children who are wondering about "it" show no emotion towards the situation, but rather grimace at the thought of the dead body. Yet, the speaker states "i used to when a boy" showing that this non-sentimental attitude towards death is innate in children. In a nutshell, the theme is that the scene of death has visible signs even when a body is lacking, and beginning at a young age we pick up on the signs and thus become conditioned to deal with death.
Maylee>> The word 'house' in line 19 would probably suit the imagery of a coffin. From the previous lines we can see that the 'man of the appalling trade' (which probably be the undertaker) taking measures of the 'house'.
This poem is generally about a view from a neighbour opposite the house (obviously from the title). I agree with what kyle from US has posted. The attitude of the persona towards the whole situation is like a reflection of his past (when he was a child).
I think the poem deals with how death affects daily life in a country town as opposed to death occurring in a city. People hardly notice death taking place in their neighbourhood in a city because of the busy lives they lead. But in a town it is easily noticable and not only that neighbours pour in to pay their last respects and participate in the ceremonies associated with burial.Notice that the poem opens with the…
Read the whole comment
I think the poem deals with how death affects daily life in a country town as opposed to death occurring in a city. People hardly notice death taking place in their neighbourhood in a city because of the busy lives they lead. But in a town it is easily noticable and not only that neighbours pour in to pay their last respects and participate in the ceremonies associated with burial.Notice that the poem opens with the news of the death taking place that day and how the house takes on a 'numb look' and the poems closes with the idea that death taking place in a country town is 'easy as a sign', that people intuitively come to know about it as soon as it takes place. The implied contrast is to death occurring in a city, where neighbours may not even come to know about a death in the neighbourhood. Also, the use of 'It' to denote the dead person is worth commenting upon. I think from a young person's point of view old people look so different from themselves and young adults that they seem to be not human beings, but an 'it'. The boys may have seen this old person occasionally outside his home and they may have studied with curiosity his withered hands, stooping form and croaking voice. It would have been difficult for them to imagine him young, healthy and good looking as themselves once upon a time. So, he is just an 'it' for them.
Why is the mattress being thrown out from the window? What is the significance of it? I know it indicates someone has died, but is it some kind of ritual or tradition?
JoUnited States
'it'
i think that they refer to it as an 'it' because in the stanza before, the window opens up 'abruptly, mechanically' as if to let the spirit travel to heaven. they then refer to the body as an 'it' because the spirit has left.
LouiseUnited Kingdom
"IT"
The effect this piece of word choice creates is that the word “it” is very cold, it is like they do not care who “it” was and the person that has died has no dignity left, they are just “it”. The imagery technique used here is like the exact opposite of personification because by calling this person “it” they are being stripped from their identity, it makes them sound like and object.
maliyaMalaysia
pod
can anybody tell me...why the windows is opening like a pod???
I dont think dat the house in the poem symbolizes a coffin
Joseph StalinRussia
shittehn ondeeze nickuhs
contact [email removed] i like this poem, more then i like the other poem that i read when i use to write poems. hit me up if you dun feel the same way. nom sayn?
I personally loveeee her style of writing..You know the dashes, capitalisation,.. But what I found the most interesting was the line " There'll be that Dark Parade ". It's separated from the other lines. I think she's drawing a conclusion based on the preceding signs. It's like she's putting an emphasis on the fact that there will be a funeral soon. what do you think guys?
This is one of Emily's poem that have a big theme on death. As we know she really like to write about something unusual and eccentric. She also had her own independent thinking about religious opinion. In this poem she uses a persona t describe a situation in a neighbourhood where the death occurs
I dont really understand this poem..im trying to analyze it but its just not my thing.can anyone tell me the theme of this poem besides just..death?
I have a lot of pain and misery in my life. The crying continues, locking in my room, the agony to hang myself. I can't continue my life. Nobody cares about me. People just want to hate me. I am a nobody. Just like Emily Dickinson, i feel left alone. Death is my only option.
Karlton, I don't know who you are but I hope you are ok. Death is never the only option and, there is always a chance that things will get better.
It is to be remembered of Dickinson that she uses many voices, in this poem in particular it is a grown mans recollection of death 'They wonder if it died- on that-/ I used to when a Boy-' the trivilising by calling the dead body 'it' encompasses the feeling of the poem. The mudane realities of death, such as taking 'measures of the House' for a coffin and making of the hats for the funaral, is far from the mystical…
Read the whole commentIt is to be remembered of Dickinson that she uses many voices, in this poem in particular it is a grown mans recollection of death 'They wonder if it died- on that-/ I used to when a Boy-' the trivilising by calling the dead body 'it' encompasses the feeling of the poem. The mudane realities of death, such as taking 'measures of the House' for a coffin and making of the hats for the funaral, is far from the mystical Interpretation of her other works. Dickinson critises the minister who 'goes stiffly in-/ As if the House were His-' and the monopolising he and the other proffesions do with death. There is a natural morbid curiosity, as the news is spread around the town. Here death taken down to its every day realities.
In response to previous comments I recommend a more thorough reading of both this poem and Dickison's collective works. Her preoccupation with death and the after life stems not from continuous suicidal tendancies, but the strick Calvinistic enviroment in which she lived. The split between the elect and a damned caused Dickinson to question her own thoughts and believes. It is true that Dickinson's profound, but ordinary, desciptions of pain and loss are difficult to reproduce, hence the appreciation shown by any like minded sufferer. i refer such an appreciator to ' i shall keep singing' and suggest they try to emulate qualities suggested in 'Her Losses make our Gains ashamed' (Dickinson's homage to George Elliot') I hope this shall make for more intellectual discussion of Dickinson's works.
I understand the overall meaning of the poem and that she is trying to show the different reactions of various characters to death, but the last stanza throws me off, as does the mention of the "dark parade"
I love her work!!
Yea Karlton, youre right. Death is your only option. Go for it.
Well done, Karlton! I don't care about you either! Maybe I'll see you in the after life, except you might be in hell! Jolly good work! Keep it up! Nooses are great!
I am going to hunt you down and find you christ and sathappan, i dont appreciate what you said at all. You mock the status of my life and tempt me to kill my own self. You two are evil people. I will kill you.
Karlton, i will help you in your quest to find death, after i help you find Sathappan and Christ. i love my car. it goes so fast.
Hahaha. You humor me. I am scared of you, Mr. I'm-Gonna-Kill-You-Then-Myself-Man. How are you going to hunt me down? I honestly don't think that an internet Comment Board is the right place to look for advice on whether or not to kill yourself. How about a psychiatrist? I'm sure TIMMY-C would be willing to give you a ride, because his car goes really fast, and everything. God doesn't love you.
*****Quote******I understand the overall meaning of the poem and that she is trying to show the different reactions of various characters to death, but the last stanza throws me off, as does the mention of the "dark parade"
matt from United States ******Quote*****
To matt a dark parade would be like a funeral procession we today have
I think that all Emily is saying is that basically, people are conditioned to deal with death from a young age because death has visible signs even when the actual “death” itself isn’t apparent. Because of this, much of the emotional aspects of death are non-existant in the onlookers of the scene because they have been desensitized to the whole concept of death. The use of "it" in line 11 (they wonder if it died on…
Read the whole commentI think that all Emily is saying is that basically, people are conditioned to deal with death from a young age because death has visible signs even when the actual “death” itself isn’t apparent. Because of this, much of the emotional aspects of death are non-existant in the onlookers of the scene because they have been desensitized to the whole concept of death. The use of "it" in line 11 (they wonder if it died on that-) completely depersonalizes the persons death, and thus, the children who are wondering about "it" show no emotion towards the situation, but rather grimace at the thought of the dead body. Yet, the speaker states "i used to when a boy" showing that this non-sentimental attitude towards death is innate in children. In a nutshell, the theme is that the scene of death has visible signs even when a body is lacking, and beginning at a young age we pick up on the signs and thus become conditioned to deal with death.
its a hard poem to read. i have to read it for english. can someone please help me by explaining it?
the word 'house' in line 19 refers to?
Maylee>> The word 'house' in line 19 would probably suit the imagery of a coffin. From the previous lines we can see that the 'man of the appalling trade' (which probably be the undertaker) taking measures of the 'house'.
This poem is generally about a view from a neighbour opposite the house (obviously from the title). I agree with what kyle from US has posted. The attitude of the persona towards the whole situation is like a reflection of his past (when he was a child).
I think the poem deals with how death affects daily life in a country town as opposed to death occurring in a city. People hardly notice death taking place in their neighbourhood in a city because of the busy lives they lead. But in a town it is easily noticable and not only that neighbours pour in to pay their last respects and participate in the ceremonies associated with burial.Notice that the poem opens with the…
Read the whole commentI think the poem deals with how death affects daily life in a country town as opposed to death occurring in a city. People hardly notice death taking place in their neighbourhood in a city because of the busy lives they lead. But in a town it is easily noticable and not only that neighbours pour in to pay their last respects and participate in the ceremonies associated with burial.Notice that the poem opens with the news of the death taking place that day and how the house takes on a 'numb look' and the poems closes with the idea that death taking place in a country town is 'easy as a sign', that people intuitively come to know about it as soon as it takes place. The implied contrast is to death occurring in a city, where neighbours may not even come to know about a death in the neighbourhood. Also, the use of 'It' to denote the dead person is worth commenting upon. I think from a young person's point of view old people look so different from themselves and young adults that they seem to be not human beings, but an 'it'. The boys may have seen this old person occasionally outside his home and they may have studied with curiosity his withered hands, stooping form and croaking voice. It would have been difficult for them to imagine him young, healthy and good looking as themselves once upon a time. So, he is just an 'it' for them.
Why is the mattress being thrown out from the window? What is the significance of it? I know it indicates someone has died, but is it some kind of ritual or tradition?
'it'
i think that they refer to it as an 'it' because in the stanza before, the window opens up 'abruptly, mechanically' as if to let the spirit travel to heaven. they then refer to the body as an 'it' because the spirit has left.
"IT"
The effect this piece of word choice creates is that the word “it” is very cold, it is like they do not care who “it” was and the person that has died has no dignity left, they are just “it”. The imagery technique used here is like the exact opposite of personification because by calling this person “it” they are being stripped from their identity, it makes them sound like and object.
pod
can anybody tell me...why the windows is opening like a pod???
What a death in a village is like.
I dont think dat the house in the poem symbolizes a coffin
shittehn ondeeze nickuhs
contact [email removed]
i like this poem, more then i like the other poem that i read when i use to write poems. hit me up if you dun feel the same way. nom sayn?
I personally loveeee her style of writing..You know the dashes, capitalisation,..
But what I found the most interesting was the line " There'll be that Dark Parade ".
It's separated from the other lines. I think she's drawing a conclusion based on the preceding signs. It's like she's putting an emphasis on the fact that there will be a funeral soon. what do you think guys?