Emily Dickinson for the CSET

If you are studying for the CSET English or the CSET Multiple Subjects, you should know about Emily Dickinson. In this lesson, we are going to briefly look at Emily Dickinson and study the famous Emily Dickinson poem I heard a Fly buzz — when I died with an analysis of the poem by David Jensen.

The reading and analysis of Emily Dickinson’s poem I heard a Fly buzz — when I died will help you not only answer any constructed response question on the CSET that asks you to analyze this specific Emily Dickinson poem, but in the broader analysis of any poem. The idea is to see a proper analysis of a poem, and then to emulate that style for the constructed response section of the CSET.

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life.

Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems in her life-time. The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson’s poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often utilize slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality.