Listen to a Reading: “I heard a Fly buzz” by Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson, I heard a Fly buzz

Read by Robert Pinsky. Recorded by Bedford/St. Martin's with permission of Robert Pinsky.

I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—

I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air—

Between the Heaves of Storm—

The Eyes around—had wrung them dry—

And Breaths were gathering firm

For that last Onset—when the King

Be witnessed—in the Room—

I willed my Keepsakes—Signed away

What portion of me be

Assignable—and then it was

There interposed a Fly—

With Blue—uncertain stumbling Buzz—

Between the light—and me—

And then the Windows failed—and then

I could not see to see—

Emily Dickinson. "Because I could not stop for Death—" and "I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—." Reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of Amherst College from The Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Copyright © 1951, 1955 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copyright © renewed 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copyright © 1914, 1918, 1919, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1935, 1937, 1942 by Martha Dickinson Bianchi. Copyright © 1952, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1965 by Mary L. Hampson.

Suggestions for Responsive Reading

After listening to I heard a Fly buzz, consider the question(s) below. Then “submit” your response.

  1. To read along or not to read along. Either way is fine but for different reasons. If you read the text for the first time as you listen, you’ll likely find it more accessible and fluid, particularly if the syntax and style is unfamiliar to you or is set in a remote historical period. On the other hand, a first reading together with a recording might also short-circuit your own initial response to the work and interpretation of it. If this is a second or third reading as you listen, you’ll hear more clearly the interpretive possibilities the reader has chosen to emphasize, thereby making you more aware of the work’s (and the reader’s) subtleties. Which option did you choose? How do you think it impacted your understanding of the text? Do you wish you had selected the other option?

    Question

    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
  2. Consider how well the reader’s voice and overall style of delivery is matched to the literary work. Describe the appropriateness of any regional accents, inflection, pronunciation, volume, rhythm, and pacing of the reading in order to explain how the lines are spoken serve to reinforce what is said. The degree of appropriateness becomes readily apparent if you imagine, for example, how you would describe the difference between a rendition of Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly Buzz—when I Died” by Meryl Streep compared with, say, Sylvester Stallone (or Streep performing an audiobook version of First Blood). How well do you think this reader’s voice and style match up with this work? Why do you think so?

    Question

    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
  3. Determining the tone of a text is often the most challenging and important interpretive skill we develop as readers. Listening to a work read aloud, however, can be enormously helpful in establishing tone when we hear the nuances made apparent by an effective reader orally interpreting the text. Tone can convey any of the full range of human emotions. What do you think the reader’s tone contributes in this audio recording? How does it impact the way you understand the text?

    Question

    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
  4. If the oral reading isn’t what you expected, if it disappoints or surprises you, try to explain as specifically as possible why the performance differs from your expectations. Use the text to validate your own response, and indicate particular elements of the recording to support your assessment of the recording.

    Question

    pUmCHveXUmpwAMtriUXdAQ9Z/3V9zdiblPdv9euIOgFMmRdjiYST9A7lHw6fftOgFoXkdnUxDclCklGb3+nAgrK39TXe0zkKrvwZIlKYhB9oG/JwK7lyRZ57YQeFF+GUm6jFPRXXrQir1fmOpCc3Vwki3i3u82jIYhh7jAxuok3T8nXQ1iFBYXrS7ZujzA3UyIX59sk4I77zWyOPC4IgmRkij4Thj9RePu+1UxJvVagjHxArStaIyM2QWYgh59pYf0ZQl8W6MIB9BUiO0P7u0dTOtP0syYnxIwV5nmB+WSmQ1jLI1DIYaZ1cxgnhs9Jo28k1FHi8egzFqdMzBkTMcBrWoCnNp3nRPpDdB3Dxk9xkWhHQPYno0dhVUB4sL2hY3sQlcpFOyYq7m+bLN+UR+YS3hxj3r7gs34TRK6fZeH1eWW6L7j4adUyFH+jPsetHiiUB3ufB4wE=