To Die
To Die - meaning Summary
Death Framed as Brief Absence
Emily Dickinson treats death as a brief, painless transition likened to sleep. The poem downplays suffering and frames mourning as a temporary social response — a ribbon, a crape — that soon yields to sunlight and forgetfulness. The absent person is imagined as a peaceful, almost mystical sleeper who left out of love and without fatigue. The tone is consoling, seeking to lessen fear by normalizing death as gentle and brief.
Read Complete AnalysesTo die–takes just a little while– They say it doesn’t hurt– It’s only fainter–by degrees– And then–it’s out of sight– A darker Ribbon–for a Day– A Crape upon the Hat– And then the pretty sunshine comes– And helps us to forget– The absent–mystic–creature– That but for love of us– Had gone to sleep–that soundest time– Without the weariness–
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