The Bustle in a House
The bustle in a house
The morning after death
Is solemnest of industries
Enacted upon earth, The sweeping up the heart,
And putting love away
We shall not want to use again
Until eternity.
By: Emily Dickinson
• Similar to I heard I Fly Buzz when I died.
• But, the main focus is that of the family
members, not the dying person.
Poem structure breakdown
• The Bustle in the House, the morning after death,- pretty selfexplanatory; implies about the commotion the day after the passing
of a family member.
• Is the solemnest of industries enacted upon the Earth,- this tells
you that deaths are the most serious of events that occur in the
world.
• The sweeping up the heart, And putting love away,- after an
emotional outpouring, everyone must rebottle up their emotions and
save them for a different occasion.
• We shall not want to use again, Until eternity,- the specific
memories and emotions towards the passing family member will be
used again when they meet in the next life
Literary Elements
Alliterations
• Enacted upon the Earth
• And putting love away
• We shall not want to use again
Personifications
• …industries, enacted upon the Earth
Metaphors
• Is solemnest of industries (serious aspects
of life)
• The sweeping up the Heart, and putting
love away (withdrawing the love felt)
• Until eternity (afterlife)
Household chore reference
• Dickinson uses sweeping an everyday
common task to put a subtle feel to the
poem.
The Real chore
• But, the real “chore” is grieving, dealing
with, and finally accepting the passing of
their loved one
Emily Dickinson’s belief
• Even though it was stated that Emily
Dickinson was agnostic, this poem proves
her belief in an afterlife
The brief structure of the poem suggests
that life is short, and death will come sooner
than most people want, so…
Second PoemFame is a Fickle Food
Fame is a fickle food,
Upon a shifting plate,
Whose table once a Guest but not The second
time is set.
Whose crumbs the crows inspect ,
And with ironic caw,
Flap past it to the Farmer's Corn –
Men eat of it and die.
Brief analysis and comparisons
The main point of this poem is to give a timeline of
fame, what it does to people, and how people will
remember you.
It is a rather dark and depressing interpretation of
being famous or popular, implying that it is an
unpredictable thing, short lived, and only end up and
being eaten up and thrown away.
The comparisons with the Bustle in the House would
be the gloomy mood and short span of the event.
Conclusion
• To sum is up the Bustle in a House is a
short poem about a family who was once
grieving for their loved one, then disregard
their emotions and save them for when
they meet the loved one again in the
afterlife.