I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading—treading—till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through—

And when they all were seated, 5
A Service, like a Drum—
Kept beating—beating—till I thought
My Mind was going numb—

And then I heard them lift a Box
And creak across my Soul 10
With those same Boots of Lead, again,
Then Space—began to toll,

As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being, but an Ear,
And I, and Silence, some strange Race 15
Wrecked, solitary, here—

And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down—
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing—then— 20

“I Felt A Funeral, In My Brain”

If one does not know much about poetry, they might think that a sixteen-stanza poem does not have abundant meaning. Little do they know, although, there aren’t many lines, it can be the most meaningful text. The poem I Felt A Funeral,
In My Brain, is a sixteen-stanza poem that uses metaphors to describe a situation or feeling (depending on how the reader or critic interprets the poem). I Felt A Funeral, In My Brain by Emily Dickinson has substantial reviews and critics’ critical information on this poem. Each critic reviews a poem differently and all have a different interpretation on this particular poem. Although all of the interpretations are all on the same poem, they all have something different that critic distinguished. I, personally, viewed I Felt A Funeral, In My Brain, as if Emily Dickinson is mourning on how morose and depressed she is. But at the end she finds happiness (stanza 4) where she lets go of the gloomy funeral inside her brain. I found Emily Dickinson’s poem, I Felt A Funeral, In My brain, quite evasive at first. After picking apart the poem, and reading Dickinson’s summary of it, I realized it is mainly dealing the themes of madness vs. sanity and uncertainty. I Felt A Funeral, In My Brain portrays a mental disruption in the narrator’s brain.
A unique interpretation would be Goldfarb Sheldon’s. In the poem I Felt A
Funeral, In My Brain, Goldfarb finds positivity and negativity in each stanza depending on how the reader interpreted the lines. Sheldon views the poem in a narrative structure. Sheldon seems to view Dickinson to be in a crisis then a horrible encounter. But also states, that problems can be solved in the end. Finally she hits the resolution; she is then a “hero”. She reveals that she has broken through a crisis:
[…]
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down—
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing—then—
The speaker seems to be in pain from mulling over her problem, insists Goldfarb. Dickinson makes it clear to Goldfarb that she wants to embrace something new but needs to get rid of the old way although it may be unpleasant. To sum up Sheldon’s brilliant criticism, he states that the whole poem expresses a movement in ones life, through all the pain it creates, it brings a feeling of happiness and positivity in the end. Daniel Moran examines the ways Dickinson is having difficulty facing her mental problems. Moran first believes Dickinson is trying replicate madness in a very unordinary way. Later, then, he comes to a conclusion that Dickinson is trying to replicate a sense of sorrow in her mind. Moran believes it’s impossible to replicate mental illness. That is why Dickinson resorts to physical sensations. Throughout the poem it portrays devastation. The funeral service is not peaceful; it’s something heavy and hard like a beating drum. From beginning to end Dickinson hears loudness around her. Then, she hit her mental breaking point and “broke”. The casket drops

“Down, and down” (18). Then, finally, she reaches the world. Moran considers the word ‘world’ (19) to be “another world”.
[…] And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down—
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing—then— 20 Moran feels that the last line (line above) of Dickinson’s poem needed to be examined very critically. Either she “finished knowing” (20) everything that she’s ever thought she knew and now lives as one who wont ever assume anything about her own brain, till she is certain or her mental breakdown has brought her to the point where she can no longer use poetic language to describe her breaking experience.
Paul Pineiro approaches the poem by comparing the text to Mark Twains The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In Twains story, characters get the chance to witness their own death. Pineiro comes a conclusion that the characters view their funeral completely externally. Pineiro explains how in the story, he realizes, that people may fantasize about death from time to time to observe the mourning and the sadness at their funeral. In the poem, Dickinson is experiencing her funeral completely internally; which means that, there is no viewing others mourning. Dickinson feels the footsteps and the mourners inside of her brain. Pineiro analyzes the choice of words Dickinson used in her text. Why ‘brain’ and not mind? Pineiro sees the work ‘mind’ to be what occurs in the brain. The brain represents the physical organ that makes sense of the world and is able to break down. Since Dickinson’s voice is disembodied, she has no other way to experience the funeral but inside her brain. When Dickinson is experiencing the funeral she is not at the funeral she is “detached” from it. Works Cited
Dickinson Emily, "I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain." Poetry for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomason. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. 135-149. Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Goldfarb Sheldon, Critical Essay on “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” in Poetry for Students, The Gale Group, 2001.296 – 135.
Moran Daniel, Critical Essay on “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” in Poetry for Students, The Gale Group, 2001.269 – 141.
Pineiro Paul, Critical Essay on “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” in Poetry for Students, The Gale Group, 2001. 296 – 147.