How Emily Dickinson Creates a Descent into Madness in "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"

This analysis of the first three stanzas of Emily Dickinson's poem "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" performs a close read of word choice and symbolism to explore the poem's description of a descent into madness.

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Bridget's feedback:

"You've done a great job really digging into Dickinson's words and phrasing to create a close read of this poem. I have a few main areas of feedback. First, I noticed that the final paragraph doesn't use direct quotations as thoroughly as the first two paragraphs. I would suggest keeping your use of direct evidence consistent across the paragraphs. (Also, check that third paragraph--some of the phrases like "Boots of Lead" are directly from the poem, so make sure quotation marks make this very clear for the reader.) Second, this analysis only covers the first half of the poem. If this is the assignment from your professor, that's fine. If not, I would finish this analysis by either continuing on through the last two stanzas using two further close-read paragraphs, or at least let the reader know at some point how the rest of the poem proceeds (perhaps in a concluding paragraph, or a note at the beginning of the essay explaining what part of the poem you will be analyzing--this will help solidify a thesis and conclusion as well). Your word choice and flow make a compelling reading experience, but I found some local areas that could be streamlined. I would suggest reading over your essay to consider efficiency. For example, in the third paragraph, you write: "...meaning it is important and not just a box. It signifies more than just a box." I could see that being streamlined down to something like "meaning it is important and more than just a box." So, take a look and see where some concepts overlap--sometimes it makes sense to repeat for emphasis; other times, it makes more sense to keep the syntax momentum going forward."

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(Kibin, 2025)

Reference list entry:

Kibin. (2025). How emily dickinson creates a descent into madness in "i felt a funeral, in my brain". http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-emily-dickinson-creates-a-descent-into-madness-in-i-felt-a-funeral-in-my-brain-fDF9tGWt

Be sure to capitalize proper nouns (e.g. Egypt) and titles (e.g. Macbeth) in the essay title portion of your citation.

In-text citation:

("How Emily Dickinson Creates a Descent into Madness in "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain".")

Works Cited entry:

"How Emily Dickinson Creates a Descent into Madness in "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"." Kibin, 2025, www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-emily-dickinson-creates-a-descent-into-madness-in-i-felt-a-funeral-in-my-brain-fDF9tGWt

Footnote:

1. "How Emily Dickinson Creates a Descent into Madness in "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"." Kibin, 2025. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-emily-dickinson-creates-a-descent-into-madness-in-i-felt-a-funeral-in-my-brain-fDF9tGWt.

Bibliography entry:

"How Emily Dickinson Creates a Descent into Madness in "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"." Kibin, 2025. http://www.kibin.com/essay-examples/how-emily-dickinson-creates-a-descent-into-madness-in-i-felt-a-funeral-in-my-brain-fDF9tGWt.