A Comparison between Section 6 of Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died. . .”

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really no death,/ And if there ever was it led forward life, and does not wait at the end to arrest it" (125-127). Whitman displays his belief in Reincarnation in the above text. He's speaking of the grass, but also of the human life-cycle. By declaring that all deaths lead to new life, Whitman claims that each human life and death is equally significant. He refuses to view the death of a human as the end, but more as a humble stepping-stone in the circle of life. In contrast, Dickinson doesn't focus the afterlife of all individuals, but more on her personal scenario of breaking the boundary of life. The speaker in "I heard a Fly buzz" states, "I willed my Keepsakes -- Signed away/ What portion of me be/ Assignable -- and then it was" (9-11). The speaker is seen carrying out the common act of giving away her possessions before her death. But by utilizing the phrase "What portion of me be/ Assignable", Dickinson contradicts Whitman's philosophy of reincarnation. She refers to ...

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