A Study on the Rhetorical Features of Emily Dickinson，sDeath Images.docVIP

A Study on the Rhetorical Features of Emily Dickinson，sDeath Images 　　【Abstract】Dickinson was praised as “one of the greatest English poem poet” （Whicher George Frisbie， 1957）， from which we can see her position in the history of American modern poetry. She created 1775 poems in her lifetime. According to statistics， a quarter of the poems are associated with death images. Image construction in Emily Dickinson death poems is one of the elements forming the charm of her poetry. It is essential to study the death theme and its rhetorical features for further exploring the spirit and mind of Dickinson’s poetry， and is particularly important for the understanding of Dickinson’s artistic achievement. In this paper， four main rhetorical devices are discussed including metaphor， personification， symbolization and synesthesia. The use of a variety of rhetorical devices， combined with skillful composing techniques， give special charm to the death image in her poetry. 　　【Key words】Emily Dickinson； death image； rhetorical features 　　As a saying goes， “If Walt Whitman can be called the father of modern American poetry， then Emily Dickinson must be the mother of modern American poetry.” They worked together to open a door， which have attracted modern poets to seek new forms of poetry representation. 　　1. Introduction to the Image of Death 　　Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus held that “Death is nothing to us. When we exist， death is not； and when death exists， we are not”， representing the views of the traditional Western concept of death. While modern German philosopher Martin Heidegger proposed that “death is its own death.” （1927） Dickinson pulls the notion of death from the end of life to the process of life， so that death becomes an existence with which life is faced： death is no longer an inaccessible future， but an objective reality in existing world. And actually death becomes a part of life， as Hegel once said， “to think of life as particles of death”（1806）：