Death Is a Dialogue Between

Death Is a Dialogue Between - context Summary

Written 1864, Published 1914

Composed in 1864 and published posthumously in 1914, this brief lyric stages death as a conversational contest between the immaterial spirit and the material dust. Dickinson compresses an age-old theological debate into a compact image: Death urges dissolution, the Spirit claims continued trust, while the Ground (matter) disputes and the Spirit simply "turns away," temporarily shedding an "Overcoat of Clay." The poem reflects Dickinson’s persistent interest in mortality and the soul, offering a quiet, enigmatic assertion of inward persistence amid bodily decay.