Sound of "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"

Question 16: Discuss the adaptation of sound to sense.

"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" consisted largely of funeral imagery, applying mainly to sound and hearing. To create imagery, I most often feel that a description of appearances is necessary to evoke a sense of what is taking place. This poem, however, serves as a prime example of how sound, not only sight, can create effective imagery and sense to the reader. Many sounds are heard by the speaker including the following lines:

"...mourners to and fro kept treading..."

"...a service like a drum - kept beating..."

"And then I heard them lift a box and creak across my soul..."

"...and I, and silence..."

These sounds give the reader enough of a sense of what is occurring without having to use descriptions of appearances, smells, etc. We have no need to visualize events to understand the poem's meaning. Sound alone is sufficient enough. It also serves to further enhance the poem's underlying meaning. The speaker's journey to insanity keeps her isolated from the world, similar to how the speaker would be isolated inside the casket. She can hear the outside world, but she cannot physically see herself as a part of it.