Poem 1: Theres Been a Death in the Opposite

House by Emily Dickinson

Stanza 1:
Theres been a death in the opposite house
As lately as today.
I know it by the numb look

somber look gloomy

numb - having lost power to feel

Such houses have always.

Meaning of stanza 1:
There is a death in a house in front of the persona house. The death happens
early of the day. The persona recognizes this fact by the somber look of the
house. For the house that has a death, the house will have a sombre and dismal
atmosphere.
Stanza 2:
The neighbours rustle in and out,
The doctor drives away.
A window opens like a pod,

Pod part of a plant that contains

seeds when the flower has fallen.
Abrupt sudden

Abrupt, mechanically;
Meaning of stanza 2:
Neighbours are shuttling in and out of the house. The neighbours are moving in
and out mechanically to offer their condolence. A doctor who had come to certify
the death drives away. A window opens suddenly. The abruptness is a sign that
death has occurred in the house and a mattress would be flung out soon. It was
an acceptable tradition.

Stanza 3:
Somebody flings a mattress out, The children hurry by;
They wonder if It died on that, I used to when a boy.
Meaning of stanza 3:
A mattress is flung out of the window. Frightened children hurry by and wonder It,
the corpse, died on that mattress just as the persona used to wonder when he
was a boy. The used of It had reduced the deceased to a non-entity. It no longer
has a gender.
Stanza 4:
The minister goes stiffly in
As if the house were his,
And he owned all the mourners now,
And little boys besides;
Meaning of stanza 4:
Then the priest arrives to console and comfort the family. He enters the house as
if he owns it. The minister seems to have full authority as he has to in-charge the
mourning ceremony. Everyone at the house, the mourners and even the children
are giving the minister their full attention.
Stanza 5
And when the milliner, and the man
Of the appalling trade,
To take the measure of the house.
Therell be that dark parade

Meaning of stanza 5:
The milliner, a person who makes hats for women arrives. This is the only
inclination the reader has from the poem that the decease is a woman. The
milliner is followed by the undertaker, who has come to take measurements for a
coffin. The house refers to coffin. The persona knows that there will be in funeral
procession soon after. Its a dark parade for the participants will be in black and it
will be a somber occasion. The word dark may refer to images of gloomy,
depressing, sad and sorrowful expressions on the faces of the mourners as well
as the black attire everyone wears as a sign of respect to the dead as they follow
the hearse for burial.
Stanza 6

Coaches carriages

Of tassels and of coaches soon;

Tassels threads hanging from a

Its easy as a sign, -

cloth

The intuition of the news

Intuition understanding by

In just a country town.

instinct of feeling

Meaning of stanza 6:
Coaches with tassels will be part of the funeral procession. No one tells the
persons there has been a death. There is no cause. The rigmarole of the
procession and the paraphernalia of death are apparent enough to show the
people in a small neighbourhood that there is a death in the community

EXERCISES
1. Who is the persona in the poem?
A. Emily Dickinson
C. A woman
B. A young boy
D. A man
(The persona was young boy when he wondered saw a death so he would
probably be a man now. Take note to: I used to when a boy)
2. What is the poem main about?
A.
B.

A death in a house
The death of a neighbour

C.
D.

The death of Emily Dickinson

A death in a small neighbourhood

3. What is the main message in the poem?

A.
B.

A death in the opposite house

A death in a small town

C.
D.

A death witnessed by the persona

A death witnessed by the poet

4. What is the poem about?

A. It is about the life in a country town.
B. The persona observes the activities happening in the opposite
house and realise that somebody has died.
C. It is about the milliner who has to make preparations for the funeral.
D. It describes the activities that take place when a death occurs.
5. What is the tone of the poem?
A.
B.

Serious
Lyrical (romantic, poetic)

C.
D.

Matter-of-fact
Distressed

6. The word it in the expression I know it by the numb look refers to the
A. House
B. Death
7. What is the theme of the poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.

C.
D.

Doctor
Window

Neigbourliness.
The idea of death as an everyday occurrence.
Life in a country town.
Activities where there is a death in the opposite house.

8. How does the persona know that there is a death in the opposite house?
A. By the gloomy look of the house.
B. By the appearance of a coffin

C. By looking at the corpse

D. By word of mouth

9. When did the death most probably occur?

A. Yesterday
B. In the night

C. In the evening
D. Early in the day

10. What does the persona mean by describing the house as having a numb
look?
A.
B.
C.
D.

The house looks deserted (abandon)

He wants to convey the sad feelings of the people in the house.
The house seems to have lost all the feelings.
He wants to show he is an excellent observer.

11. What does Such houses refer to?

A. Houses without any feelings.
B. Houses with feelings of sadness

C. Houses opposite the personas house

D. Houses where death has taken place

12. Who are the people who are moving in and out of the house?
A. Doctors
B. Relatives

C. Neighbours
D. The minister

13. The expression A window opens like a pod means the window opens
A. Softly
B. Loudly

C. Suddenly
D. With a creaking sound

14. The word Its in the last stanza of the poem refers to the
A.
B.

The deaths house

The tassles

C.
D.

Funeral
Country town

15. They wonder is It died on that. The used of It had reduced the deceased to
A.
B.

An animal
A thing

C.
D.

A non-entity (si ti)

A corpse

16. The word It in stanza 3, lines 3 refers to

A. House
B. Boy

C. Corpse
D. Mattress

17. Who is wondering if the death occurred on the mattress that was flung out?
A.
B.

The boy
The persona

C.
D.

The children
The neighbours

18. Who is the man of the appalling trade?

A.
B.

The milliner
The doctor

C.
D.

The minister
The undertaker

19. Why do the children hurry by the house?

A.
B.

They want to look at the mattress

They want to see the corpse

C.
D.

They want to play

They are scared

20. Why does the minister owned all the mourners now?
A.

The mourners are afraid of him

C.

The mourners are mesmerised

B.

The minister is serious and formal

D.

(hypnotized) by his words

The mourners respect him

C.
D.

An authoritative person
A stiff person

21. The minister is described as

A.
B.

A proud person
A greedy person

22. Why does the minister behave As if the house were his, And he owned all the
mourners now?
i)

He is stiff and serious.

ii)

He is the person in charge of all the funeral proceedings.

iii)

He expects to be obeyed by everyone.

iv)

He is aware of his own importance.

A. I, II, IV
B. II, III, IV

C.
D.

I, III, IV
II, III
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23. The word stiffly suggest that the minister

A.
B.

Is proud and rude

Is efficient in his word

C.
D.

Walks slowly and clumsily

Does not show much feeling

24. The expression he owned all the mourners now probably means:
A.

Everybody had to listen to the

C.

Everybody respect the minister

B.

ministers instruction
The minister was the master of the

D.

The minister console the

house

mourners

25. What does the line And little boys besides; tell you about the feelings of the
persona?
A.
B.

He is very observant
He is very uneasy

C.
D.

He is rather frightened
He is feeling worried

26. The house in stanza 5, line 3 refers to the

A.
B.

Coffin
Coach

C.
D.

Neighbours house
Dead persons house

27. Why do you think the neighbours are shuttling in and out of the house?
A.
B.

To open the window

To find out what happened

C.
D.

To find out why the doctor came

To offer their condolences to
the relatives of the dead person

28. The word dark in Therell be that dark parade suggests:

A.
B.

I)

the kind of weather the mourners were having

II)

the gloomy and sorrowful expressions of the mourners

III)

the dark colour of the coffin and coach

IV)

the dark attire everyone wears.

I and II
II and III

C.
D.

I and III
II and IV

29. The children in stanza 3 in the poem wonder

A.

If a boy had died in the house

B. If the person had died on the

C.

Why the minister walks into the

D.

house stiffly
Why the neighbour walk in and

mattress

out of the house

30. What phrase does the poet use to describe the funeral procession?
A.
B.

The intuition of the news

The milliner, and the man

C.
D.

The appaling trade

That dark parade

31. What is proper reason from the following to describe the doctor drive away?
A.
B.

His patient has died

The neighbours were going out

C.
D.

The neighbours were coming in.

Theres been a death in the
opposite house

32. What thought did the other children and the poet have in common?
A.
B.

The thought of death

The feeling of numbness

C.
D.

The reason for the doctor

The reason for throwing a
mattress

33. What news is being referred to in stanza 6?

A.
B.

News of dark parade

News of coaches

C.
D.

News of a death
News of a country town

34. What does The intuition of the news mean?

A.

Awareness that somebody has

C.

Knowledge in a country town.

B.

died.
There will be a parade.

D.

The tassels and coaches

35. Why do the neighbours rustle in and out?

A.
B.

They visit the family in the house.

They are curious about the house.

C.

They pay their respects to the

D.

dead person.
They are busy helping with the
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funeral arrangements
36. What is the doctor probably doing in the house?
A.
B.

He is visiting the family.

He is treating a sick person.

C.
D.

He declares the person dead.

He pays respects to the dead.

37. How do we know someone has just died in the opposite house from the
reading stanza 1 alone?
A.
B.

The house look numb

The house look dumb

C.
D.

The house look empty

There are many people going in
and out of the house.

38. Why does the doctor drive away?

A. He has to go and attend to his sick patients.
B. He cannot do anything to help the family and so drives away.
C. He arrived too late to save the sick person and is now to depressed
(sadden) to stay.
D. He was in a hurry.
39. Why did the house have a numb look?
A. The dead person did not feel anymore.
B. The grief (sorrow) was too much for the mourners due to the
death.
C. It is to show that there were mourners in the house.
D. The house could not feel so it was numb.
40. The children hurry by, what does this line show about the childrens feelings?
A. They wanted to get to the house first.
B. They were competing with one another.
C. They were impatient.
D. They were uncomfortable and afraid.
41. Which line from stanza 3 shows that the poet has grown up?
A.
B.
C.
D.

Somebody flings a mattress out, -

The children hurry by;
They wonder if It died on that, -
I used to when a boy.

42. Why does the doctor drive a way?

A.
B.
C.
D.

The patient had died.

The patient has become numb.
The neighbours rush in.
The mattress of the patient has been thrown away.

43. Stiffly can be explained as

A.
B.

Awkwardly (uncomfortably)
Proudly

C.
D.

Stealthily (sneakily)
Authoritatively (firmly)

44. The poet says that he owned all the mourners now, and little boys besides
What does this mean?
A.
B.

He is in control
He is nonchalant (casual,

C.
D.

indifferent)

He is responsible
He is triumphant (successful,
proud)

45. The poem was written mainly about:

A.
B.
C.
D.

A neighbour
A funeral ceremony
A period of mourning for the dead
An account (explanation)of activities surrounding a death

46. The word stiffly in line 13 refers to:

A.
B.
C.
D.

The shock and sadness in the ministers eyes.

The expression of fear reflected in the ministers face.
The proud gestures of the minister when being in the public.
The emotionless facial expression in the ministers behaviour.

47. What phrase is used to describe that a person had just died?
A.
B.

It
I used to

C.
D.

A window
Numb look

48. There will be that dark parade. What does the word dark symbolise?

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A. Nervous
B. Sadness

C.
D.

Guilty
Anxiety

49. How does news of peoples death travel in a country town?

A.
B.
C.

People telephone their neighbours and friends to gossip.

People can just tell when someone dies.
People can tell from the kind of activities going on in the house that

D.

someone has died.

People can guess because the doctor has a sad look on his face.

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1. What mood best describes the poem?

(Sad, sombre, solemn)
2. What is the theme of the poem?
(The theme deals with how people respond when a death occurs in the
neighbourhood.)
3. According to the poet, how did the children feel about the mattress and why?
(The children felt scared/afraid/fearful because they knew someone had just died
on that mattress/ they do not want to be near anything that has been associated
with the dead.)
4. How does the poet feel about death in this poem?
(The poet views death as a natural occurrence that is as common as any other
human activity)
5. In what way, do you think, a house where death have occurred have a numb
looks?
(When a death has occurred in a house, the family members and those who
come to comfort and visit them are usually respectfully quiet as the family
members are grieving for their loved one.)
6. How did someone in the house get rid of the mattress? Why did he do that?
(He opened a window abruptly and threw the mattress out. He probably did not
want to keep the mattress on which the person had died.)

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7. For the last stanza of the poem, what is the first line referring to?
(The tassels and coaches are part of the funeral procession. The tassels are
usually seen on the coach carrying the coffin while the other coaches carry the
mourners.)
8. Why does the poet mention Its easy as a sign?
(It is because when anyone sees the tassels and coaches, he will know that it is
a funeral procession that someone has died in the town.)
9. Who are some of the people who will come visiting when there has been a
death in the house?
(neighbours, doctor, minister, and the man of the appalling trade)
10. What other activities will be carried out when there has been a death in the
house?
(They will be a funeral procession which will feature coaches decorated with dark
colour and tassels)
11. State in your own words how the persona feels about the minister.
(He feels that the minister is very formal and bossy)
12. Who is being referred to as the man of the appalling trade? What does this
description tell you about the personas feelings for this man?
(The undertaker. The description shows his feelings of repulsion and horror for
the undertaker.)

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13. Describe the manner the minister comes into the house. Why does he behave
so?
(He is described as entering the house in a stiff manner. This could probably
mean that he is rather formal in his behaviour because he is the person who is
going to officiate at the burial and he has the important duties to perform)
14. What can be said of the role of the minister?
(He has control over the situation because he in-charges of the mourning
ceremony.)
15. How can we tell that it is going to be a busy day from the poem?
(The milliner and caretakers will be coming to do their job. People will gather for
the funeral procession.)
16. What are the signs that tell the poet that someone in the house has just
passed away?
(These signs are the visits paid by the neighbours to the house, the coming of
the doctor, milliner, and undertaker.)
17. What is the significance of the opening of the window like a pod?
(When someone in the house has passed away, it is usual for the family
members to open the window abruptly to let out of the stale (sour) air.)
18. Why does the minister go stiffly into the house?
(To go stiffly means without emotion, as he is not supposed to get affected.)
19. Which word in stanza 6 shows that people look at all the signs around them to
conclude that a death has taken place?
(Intuition)

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20. Describe that dark parade. (Who and what will it be made up of?
(This would be the funeral procession made up of the cortege, the minister,
grieving friends and relatives, and the undertakers helpers)
21. What does the word rustle, tell us about the way the neighbours came into
the house?
(They came in quietly, without speaking/ They tried not to make a noise out of the
respect)
22. What can you tell from the expression: A window opens like a pod, Abrupt,
mechanically?
(It reflects the coldness of the ambiance of the home and its neighbourhood after
the death was confirmed. This is described in the abrupt, mechanical movement
on the window opening, more like a routine rather than out following an emotional
or sad incident.)
(People were numb from grief)
23. The poet wrote Somebody flings a mattress out, What does this line tell us
about the poets tone?
(The poets tone in the expression reflects bitterness, numbness and feeling of
indifference towards her surroundings and the scene, which she witnessed.
Flinging a dead persons mattress out of the window is considered harsh and
unloving and this is reflected in the poets words in the poem.)
24. What does the line And he owned all the mourners now, and little boys
besides; tell about the poets perception of the situation?
(The poets perception of how the mourners and children behave to please the
minister is reflected in the line. In this situation, it is likely that the poet feels that
the centre of the scene would be the minister instead of the dead)

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25. Describe the attitude of the poet in the expression of the appalling trade?
(The poet seems to be appalled and unpleased with the nature of the
undertakers work, which in the poem is described as to measure the coffin of the
dead)

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