New Criticism
Also called formalism, aesthetic criticism, textual criticism,
or ontological criticism, New Criticism focuses on what is in
the poem to discover its meaning. By examining the poem's elements
such as tone, repetition, and diction, New Critics develop a meaning
as to what the poet is trying to say. Outside influences such
as the poet's life and elements of history are not included in
a New Criticism reading. To understand New Criticism better, an
explication of Emily Dickinson's poem, "280-I felt a Funeral,
in my Brain," has been done for you. Keep in mind this is
not the only reading and you should explore this poem further
on your own.
280
Emily Dickinson
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, 1
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading--treading--till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through--
And when they all were seated, 5
A Service, like a Drum--
Kept beating--beating--till I thought
My Mind was going numb--
And then I heard them lift a Box 9
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space--began to toll,
As all the Heavens were a Bell, 13
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race
Wrecked, solitary, here--
And then a Plank in Reason, broke, 17
And I dropped down, and down--
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing--then--
By examining the text, the reader is able to draw several conclusions about the poem's meaning. The Speaker in this poem is suffering from a depressed or altered mental state, which is symbolized by the coffin. She feels that her anguish is like "a Funeral, in [her] Brain" (l. 1). It appears that others around her are trying to help her out of her darkness. This is evident in the lines, "And Mourners to and fro / Kept treading--treading--till it seemed / That Sense was breaking through--" (l. 2-4). With their pushing to bring the Speaker back, "[Her] Mind was going numb--"(l.8). She is unable to break out as they continue to metaphorically bury her. As they begin to give up and place her in the coffin, she is brought back by the sound of a bell. "As all the Heavens were a Bell, / And Being, but an Ear, / And I, and Silence, some strange Race / Wrecked, solitary here--" (l.13-16). The bell, which represents Heaven, is what saves her from her despair. The speaker uses the metaphor to compare herself to an ear that is receptive to the tolling of the bell even in her solitude of depression. After hearing the bell, "a Plank in Reason, broke" freeing her from her coffin and her mental anguish (l. 17). However, she "dropped down, and down-- / And hit a World, at every plunge" (l.18-19). Is the place she ends up better than where she started? She is not being elevated up, but is falling instead. The last line of the poem has the speaker "Finished knowing-then-" (l.20). Once she arrives, does she realize that she has then been removed from a place that was actually better?
The repetition in lines 3 and 7 add to the image of the drum.
By repeating the same word it conjures up the pounding in her
head and the detached focus she has. The off rhyme (rime) in lines
2,4; 6,8; 10,12; 14,16 further demonstrates her off mental state.
It shows how she is not "right in the head."
Christina M. Frank, Ohio University