“Joy in Death” by Emily Dickinson Blog #1

In “Joy in Death,” Emily Dickinson uses proper punctuation.  This is a short poem and is almost like a conversation between two people narrated by another person.  There is no rhyme scheme, and her sentence structure varies from line to line. 

She is straight forward in this poem.  There is little room for any misinterpreting or confusion.  She says what she needs to say and nothing more.  This was most likely a quick thought she had, and since, if I’m not mistaken, she wrote poems often, probably didn’t have to change it into poem form.  It was probably already structured perfectly when she wrote it down. 

The thought in this poem is a very good and firm thought.  She is saying that if someone dies, why should we be sad when heaven is happy.  She says “A soul has gone to heaven”  and then says something like that should be good news.  It really should.  If a person is suffering or is in pain enough where they should die, then shouldn’t they get the award of heaven.  Sometimes this senario doesn’t fit, but sometimes it does.  Like in cancer patients.  The death of someone who has suffered and suffered should be able to enter heaven with no more pain and have their loved ones be happy.  They should do it because it is a way of showing the person that was in so much pain that they loved them and are happy that they can rest well and no one has to suffer anymore. 

Even though the people still alive should be happy, that is easier said then done.  Even though they are happy the pain is gone, they have to live with the fact that they will never again, as long as they live, be able to feel the presence of the late person.  It is almost too much to handle when I think of someone I care so much about passing and never being able to feel their touch or hear their voice, until I am released to heaven.