I heard a Fly buzz - when I died by Emily Dickinson: A Critical Analysis Emily Dickinson’s 'I heard a Fly buzz - when I died' is a haunting and realistic poem about the final moment of life. Instead of showing death as a glorious religious journey into heaven, Dickinson presents it as a quiet, ordinary, and somewhat anti-climactic event. The poem is famous because it mixes the grand topic of mortality with something as small and annoying as a housefly. The poem begins by setting a mood of intense silence and waiting. The speaker is on her deathbed, and the room is completely still. Dickinson compares this silence to the quiet air 'Between the Heaves of Storm.' This comparison creates a sense of heavy tension, like nature right before a violent thunderstorm breaks. In the second stanza, the focus shifts to the people gathered around the bed. Family and friends have finished crying; their eyes have been 'wrung them dry.' Everyone is holding their breath, waitin...