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Kimberly Susen
March 30, 2010
English 265, Section 004
Dealing With Death
Losing a family member, friend, or partner is an obstacle that everyone must
overcome in their lifetime, often times more than once, and everyone copes with this
obstacle in a different way. Some may fall into a deep depression, some may feel
extreme anger and frustration, and some may feel nothing at all. In Anne Bradstreet’s “In
Memory of My Dear Grandchild Anne Bradstreet, who deceased June 20, 1699, Being
Three Years and Seven Months Old” and Emily Dickinson’s “39 [49],” both describe
their emotions after the deaths of loved ones and how God gives them the strength to
move on. However, Bradstreet is more at peace with the death of her grandchild, while
Dickinson is still unsettled from the deaths of her loved ones.
Initially, looking at the poems, certain words jumped off their pages. In both “In
Memory of My Dead Grandchild Anne Bradstreet…” and “39 [49]” the speakers are the
authors, Bradstreet and Dickinson, and they both directly state God. However, in both
poems the authors word choice for God is very different. For instance, in line eighteen of
Bradstreet’s poem, she calls God, “thy Savior.” The word “savior” denotes a person who
has brought someone to safety or rescues someone from harm. Hence, Bradstreet
believes God has rescued her granddaughter from a harmful world. On the other hand,
Dickinson’s connotation of God is more ambiguous. For example, in line seven she
describes God in three words, “burglar,” “banker,” and “father.” Dickinson calling God a
“burglar” shows that she feels robbed by Him, because He took two people, whom she
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loved, out of her life. Also, Dickinson describes God as a “banker” which proves she
sees God as giving, also. When she is a “beggar” at his “door,” in lines three and four, he
provides her with stability. Even though, God has robbed her, Dickinson still relies on
him for comfort during the hard times in her life. Finally, Dickinson calls God “father,”
as in reference to the Heavenly Father. This, also, reveals who she is calling out to in
lines seven and eight.
In both poems the speakers are revealing their emotions, which changes the tone
of each poem suddenly. In both cases, the dash is used when they exhibit their guidance
from God. For example, within Bradstreet’s poem she feels “sorrow,” “disappointment,”
“fool[ish],” and then, suddenly, “cheer[ful].” Bradstreet utilizes a dash between lines
seventeen and eighteen, which signals the major change in her tone, from melancholy to
optimistic. She reveals her “throbbing heart” is “cheered up” when she thinks of God, or
“thy Savior,” and how wonderful it is for her daughter to be with Him surrounded by
“endless bliss.” Not only, is God her granddaughter’s savior, but also, Bradstreet’s savior
for easing her pain during the death of her granddaughter. Bradstreet’s poem ends
positively, which affirms that she is at peace with her granddaughter’s death. Despite
Dickinson’s poem not clearly stating her emotions, like Bradstreet’s, the change in tone is
distinctly shown by a dash in between lines six and seven. This punctuation mark
presents a change in tone from reflective to desperate. Dickinson reminisces over past
times when she has pleaded to God for help. Then, in line seven she cries out to God,
exclaiming she is “poor once more.” This connotes that she is emotionally poor, or
depressed, and needs God’s “reimbursement,” or support. Dickinson’s poem ends
negatively, which affirms that she is still emotionally unstable about the recent deaths in
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her life.
Meanwhile, another difference in “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Anne
Bradstreet…” and “39 [49]” is who their focus is on throughout the poem. For instance,
Bradstreet directly addresses who she is mourning for, which is her granddaughter Anne
Bradstreet. Throughout the poem, Bradstreet utilizes a personal pronoun to address Anne
Bradstreet four times. One of them being Bradstreet saying “farewell” to her
granddaughter, in line seventeen. Saying goodbye to her granddaughter shows
Bradstreet’s inner strength and courage, and it provides closure in her relationship with
her granddaughter. While, in Dickinson’s poem she does not name the two loved ones
she had lost. In fact, besides God, she only mentions herself throughout the poem, which
exposes her uneasiness with providing the reader with the names of the people who have
died She utilizes the personal pronouns “I” or “my” four times in her eight line poem.
Dickinson also describes herself as a “beggar” in line three. This term connotes an
unstable, helpless being who is unable to provide for themselves. Again, this shows
Dickinson is not at peace with the people she has lost in her lifetime.
In comparison, the imagery used between the two poets is dissimilar, as well. For
example, Bradstreet exhibits sensational imagery such as, “brittle glass” in line eleven.
The audience knows what breaking brittle glass feels like. Bradstreet also uses the
example of a “shadow turning” in line twelve. The reader can imagine what the air feels
like as a shadow passes over in the sky. Bradstreet does not stop there. She uses many
images such as, “bubble” and “withering flower.” These sensation filled words show the
reader of how quickly her granddaughter passed and allow the reader to empathize with
Bradstreet. In addition, many of Bradstreet’s words that have mournful sounds within
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them, such as “woe,” “below,” “go,” and “sorrow.” Again, this expresses Bradstreet’s
sadness and despair. The audience can hear the despair, which also allows the audience
to relate to the poem even more. On the other hand, one of the only imagery words that
Dickinson displays is “sod.” The word “sod” has no connotation or depth to it. The
reader can not imagine what sod feels, smells, or tastes like. It is an emotionless word
and makes it challenging for the reader to relate to Dickinson’s pain. This reflects more
upon how Dickinson feels about her recent losses. When she is not pleading to God in
desperation, she feels nothing, as if she is numb to the pain.
Overall, Anne Bradstreet’s “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Anne Bradstreet,
who deceased June 20, 1699, Being Three Years and Seven Months Old” and Emily
Dickinson’s “39 [49]” are similar because both poems describe the emotions they have
felt when they have lost someone they loved. Also, both authors acknowledge their
reliance on God to overcome the obstacles in their lives. On the contrary, the reader will
find that Bradstreet and Dickinson demonstrate a different state of mind, and their
reliance on Gods comfort is quite different. While Bradstreet imagines her
granddaughter surrounded by “endless bliss” in heaven, Dickinson pleads to God for
stability describing him with ambiguous qualities. Through their differing word choice,
use of personal pronouns, and imagery, the reader can identify that Bradstreet is in a
peaceful state of mind, while Dickinson is still very uneasy with the deaths in her life.
Next time you lose a loved one, how will you deal with the heartache?
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Works Cited
Bradstreet, Anne. "In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Anne Bradstreet, who Deceased
June 20, 1699, Being Three Years and Seven Months Old." The Norton Anthology
of American Literature. 7th ed. A. New York, NY: Norton & Company, 2007.
Dickinson, Emily. "39 [49]." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. B.
New York, NY: Norton & Company, 2007.