Question

PLEASE HELP!!! What is the tone of the poem “Dying” by Emily Dickinson? What is Dickinson’s purpose in using such a tone?

Answer 1

The tone of the poem “Dying” by Emily Dickinson is calm, and even flat. Her narration is factual and concise. Her purpose in using this tone is to make the readers believe that dying is not painless as everyone is imagining. She used this tone to send the message that dying maybe painless but the vision it is representing is horrifying. This poem started with the speaker already dead and describing then her death and what it feels when you die.

Answer 2

The tone of “Dying” is calm and detached. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker sounds relaxed about her condition. Dickinson uses this tone to convey to readers that the speaker has passed away and is observing the aftermath of death, as though it is an out-of-body experience. She notices that others are grieving but doesn’t convey how she feels about that fact. She uses an unsentimental tone, possibly to take away from the mystery and strong emotions of death and to shock readers with a detached tone.