I heard a Fly buzz—when I died— Group

Question:

heatherashley88
heatherashley88
Student
College - Freshman

What is the purpose or meaning of the fly in the poem "I heard a Fly buzz--when I died"?

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Posted by heatherashley88 on Monday November 3, 2008 at 10:40 PM and tagged with fly, i heard a fly buzz—when i died—, themes.

Answers:


  1. eaglecat Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The fly represents the physical world, which the speaker is leaving.  The fly serves to commonize and belittle the occasion of death, it is a creature with no reverence for life, in fact it thrives on death.  It paints a picture of the absence of any great "white light" or other religious/cultural beliefs about afterlife. 

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    Posted by eaglecat on Saturday November 8, 2008 at 8:30 AM