Afraid! of Whom Am I Afraid?
poem 608
Afraid! of Whom Am I Afraid? - context Summary
Composed in 1862
Written in 1862, the poem stages a speaker who questions what she could possibly fear—Death, Life, or Resurrection—and rejects fear of each. Death is demoted to a mere porter; Life is too limited to frighten one who dwells in larger spiritual terms; Resurrection is likened to the reliable return of morning, too dignified to invite mistrust. The poem compresses Dickinson’s recurring concerns about mortality, faith, and the self into a concise interrogation that ends in calm assurance rather than dread.
Read Complete AnalysesAfraid! Of whom am I afraid? Not Death for who is He? The Porter of my Father’s Lodge As much abasheth me! Of Life? ‘Twere odd I fear [a] thing That comprehendeth me In one or two existences As Deity decree Of Resurrection? Is the East Afraid to trust the Morn With her fastidious forehead? As soon impeach my Crown!
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