Comparising of I Felt a Funeral in My Brain and They Know My Name

Whether or not one is aware of it, literary canons permeate society on many levels and have undoubtedly shaped everyone’s world view. The term “literary canon” refers to a body of books, narratives and other texts considered to be the most important and influential of a particular time period or place. Emily Dickinson - among one of the greatest poets in English literature and is perhaps the most famous female poet - is well known for her unusual use of form and syntax and for being ‘the poet of paradox’. Her poem, I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain, depicts mental issues that are still apparent in today’s society; she was truly ahead of her time. Likewise to her poem, the song, They know my name, by Big Little Lions also takes on the same issue. By analysing both text extensively, their employment of textual features such as metaphors, produced deep and intricate masterpieces, deserving to be a part of the Western Literary Canon.

Emily Dickinson, during her life, was known to be eccentric with only a few people knowing of her immense talent. It was only after her death that her nearly 1800 poems came to light. Initially there were mixed responses to her poetry with some praising its “rare individuality and originality” while others disapproving her unusual non-traditional style. Interest in Dickinson’s poetry became widespread by the early 20th century and critics realized that the irregularities in her poems were consciously artistic. Her poem, I felt a Funeral, in my Brain were one of these. I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain traces the speaker’s descent into madness. Dickinson uses the metaphor of a funeral to represent the speaker’s sense that a part of them is dying, that is, her reason is being overwhelmed by the irrationality of being unconscious. A funeral is an appropriate image for this ordeal. The most prominent connotation with a funeral is death. The mourners evident throughout the poem are a metaphor to express her pain. Their treading indicates a pressure that is pushing her down. The speaker has a momentary impression that reason or their “sense” is escaping or being lost. The pressure of the treading is reasserted with the repetition, “beating, beating.” This time her mind, the source of reasoning goes “numb”, a further deterioration of her condition. Stanza three and four is the process of the speaker’s loss of rationality. The last two lines of stanza four assess her condition. Her descent into irrationality separates her from other human beings, making her a member of “some strange race”. Her alienation and inability to communicate are indicated by her being surrounded by silence. In the last stanza, Dickinson uses another metaphor of standing on plank to yet again describe the speaker’s descent into irrationality. As they fall past worlds, it indicates that they are losing their connections to reality. Furthermore, her descent is described as “plunges”, suggesting the speed and force of her fall into psychological chaos. Through the use of metaphorical language, Emily Dickinson’s I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain is an excellent piece of literature belonging in the Western Literary Canon.

Big Little Lions are comprised of Helen Austin and Paul Otten. Both artists have their fair share of awards with Helen and Paul individually winning the John Lennon Songwriting contest. Together they make up a ferocious songwriting duo that “mixes then new school folk of Mumford and Sons with a dance rhythm that keeps the music sounding light and upbeat.” One of their notable songs are They know my name. Likewise to Dickinson’s poem, the piece skillfully uses a main salient language feature to express their understanding of one slowly losing their self due to mental illness. Both Dickinson and the pair use an extended metaphor. Dickinson uses a funeral as the basis of her work while Austin and Otten applies the extended metaphor of a monster hiding within their brain as a reoccurring chorus. Both of these texts offer similar perspectives of mental illness with both having a negative connotation of death evident throughout their writings. Upon listening to They know my name, the upbeat mood created by the instrumentation juxtaposes with the deep and intricate lyrics of the song. Through this juxtaposition, it can be inferred that their sadness and mental illness is masked by their blissful exterior. The lyrics throughout support this claim. In the second verse, it implicitly refers to the mental illness that the person is dealing with. It affects them in their daily lives which starts to consume them and start to lose their sense of rationality. The repetition of “round and round” in the first verse and the second emphasises the daily occurrence of their mental illness. Likewise to Dickinson’s use of a funeral to describe the ordeal the speaker is going through, Austin and Otten instead use the negative connotation of monsters to do the exact same thing. The “monsters” which are hiding within the brain symbolises the mental illness, possibly even referring to the person’s own thoughts. Within the chorus, there are words that suggest that the person is dealing with anxiety. Despite anxiety being normal in stressful situations, it can become an underlying disease when feelings become excessive, all-consuming and interfere with daily lives. The words “roar, shout and screaming” suggest this as they can be indications of those feelings becoming excessive and overpowering. Moreover, the third verse is about not being able to save them anymore from their mental illness. Just like Dickinson’s poem, the text suggests that the person feels as if they are already dead and are buried. The “demons” can refer to the people that play a part in worsening the person’s condition, fundamentally declaring that they felt like they were in hell the entire time. Correspondingly to Emily Dickinson’s poem, They know my name also applies woeful metaphorical language. With the contrast between the deep lyrics and the upbeat instrumentation producing additional speculations of other possible meanings behind the song, They know my name is deserving to be part of the Western Literary Cannon.

The two pieces, I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain and They know my name, were both skillfully written. Both texts use a main salient language feature to express one’s experience with mental issues. Dickinson employs an extended metaphor of a funeral to vividly describe the speaker’s experience whereas Austin and Otten innovatively use the negative connotation of monsters to represent their mental problem. Their ingenious application of these extended metaphors creates a strikingly evocative description of the mental issues which has the ability to transcend the boundaries of words to allow for the readers or listeners to be put into the writer’s shoes. Ultimately, both the poem and the song show enduring qualities that are worthy of an admission into the Western Literary Canon.