"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"

"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"
by Emily Dickinson

The imagery of a funeral is present in the title and throughout the whole poem to describe what is going on in the speakers head.  A funeral is sad and depressing, but this is not about the speaker having sad or depressing thoughts, it goes farther than that.  The speaker is losing her mind, it is dying in a sense.  "And I dropped down, and down- and hit a World, at every plunge" (Dickinson, 776).  This quote describes the speakers sharp descent into madness.  The way the allegory is told and the initial style of writing allows the speaker to in essence, describe in common terms what is happening to her while alienating her personal feelings.  Personal feeling is clearly lacking in the description of the funeral because there is no mention of crying, attempts at comfort, or even a eulogy, only the strict relating of actions and sounds.
This poem relates to Bartleby's lack of feeling or any emotion and also Miss Brill's appearance of being very isolated and alone, even when surrounded by many people.
All the imagery tells the reader that the speaker was constantly beaten down at the hands of others, and they consistently tormented her.  The author successfully uses imagery and the unique rhyme scheme to relay in detail the inner workings and despairs of the speaker's mind, and how it goes awry.