Emily Dickinson

She Died at Play

poem 75

She Died at Play - meaning Summary

Sudden, Serene Departure

The poem presents a gentle, unexpected death framed as a playfully graceful passage. The speaker describes a life cut off amid frolic, then imagines the departed body and ghost transformed into light, floral, and watery images. Death is not violent but effortless, almost celebratory: movement and leisure continue in another form. The tone blends tenderness and wonder, emphasizing transfiguration and the continuity between earthly delight and spectral presence.

Read Complete Analyses

She died at play, Gambolled away Her lease of spotted hours, Then sank as gaily as a Turn Upon a Couch of flowers. Her ghost strolled softly o’er the hill Yesterday, and Today, Her vestments as the silver fleece Her countenance as spray.

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