8

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,

Emily Dickinson

There are five stanzas in this poem. It is a funeral in one’s imagination. Maybe “I” am the omnipotent dead person in the coffin. The poem is narrated in the first person.

In the first stanza, I felt a funeral in my imagination. Many mourners come to mourn the dead person. They kept treading to and fro. The mourning hall is noisy and disordered. My sense was breaking through.

The second stanza is about the funeral service. All mourners were seated. The funeral service is like a drum that is beating. From the first stanza and the second stanza, it can be known that the funeral is not quiet and ordered. The funeral is even chaotic.

The third stanza is the funeral procession. “I” heard them lift the coffin(box) and creak across my Soul. People who are lifting the coffin are very sad as if they wearing heavy boots of Lead. Space began to toll. For whom the bell tolls? It tolls for you! It tolls for me! Maybe I am the dead person in the coffin. It sounds a bit horrible. But rich imagination!

The fourth stanza is the difficult one. Metaphors are used here. The Heavens were like a Bell and the bell of Heaven gave us some enlightenment. The human beings were like an Ear, who were listening to the enlightenment. “some strange Race” maybe refer to either human beings or the mourners. Maybe the funeral or death is wrecked. Human beings are solitary.

In the last stanza, the coffin is put in the grave. That is the ending of the story. It depicts the process. “I” expressed the feeling in the coffin. I dropped down and hit the wall of the grave at every plunge. Finally, I finished knowing. From then on, I will live in the grave. The grave is my new home.

The last word is very interesting. I ended my earthly life. Then I start my life in the grave. Or I go to another world. I go to Heaven. My new life begins in another world. “Then” is an excellent world. It makes the poem has an open ending. What will happen then? You can imagine.

2023-2-25 14:27

 诗歌原文

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,

Emily Dickinson.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, 我感到一场葬礼，在脑海里，
And Mourners to and fro 悲伤的人们来来往往
Kept treading -- treading -- till it seemed 不停地践踏 — 践踏 — 直到看来
That Sense was breaking through -- 神经被穿透 —

And when they all were seated, 当他们全都落座，
A Service, like a Drum -- 一种仪式，象只鼓 —
Kept beating -- beating -- till I thought 不断敲打 — 敲打 — 直到我感觉
My Mind was going numb -- 大脑越来越麻木 —

And then I heard them lift a Box 然后我听见他们抬起一口箱子
And creak across my Soul 吱吱嘎嘎地穿过我的灵魂
With those same Boots of Lead, again, 还是那些如灌满铅的靴子，
Then Space -- began to toll, 然后时空中 — 丧钟敲响，

As all the Heavens were a Bell, 整个天空是一口钟，
And Being, but an Ear, 生命，仅是一只耳朵，
And I, and Silence, some strange Race 我，和沉默，某个陌生的族类
Wrecked, solitary, here -- 毁灭，孤独，就在这里 —

And then a Plank in Reason, broke, 然后一块支撑的板子，破裂，
And I dropped down, and down -- 我向下坠落，坠落 —
And hit a World, at every plunge, 每次跌落，都撞进一个世界，
And Finished knowing -- then -- 什么都不再知道