Many people cope with the death of a loved one in different ways. American poet Emily Dickinson wrote poetry to deal with the death of those close to her, as well as the companionship of her religion. Dickinson wrote a variety of poetry dealing with nature, God, death, illness, beauty, suffering, and survival. In Dickinson's poem "After Great Pain", she expresses the theme of death through many different aspects, such as religion. In Dickinson's poem, she writes in free forum form, creating a poem of three 13-line stanzas. In his poem "After Great Pain", the rhyme scheme is very loose being ABCC in the first stanza rhyming "bored" and "before". Then, in the second stanza, the pattern is DEFGG, when “grown” and “stone” rhyme together. Then, in the third stanza, the pattern continues like the first two with IJKK with the rhyming words being "snow" and "go". In all three stanzas, there is a basic plan, with rhyming the last word of the last two lines. Additionally, Dickinson's poem includes an extended metaphor as well as two similes. The second stanza of Dickinson's poem is the extended metaphor, which explains how one would act at the time of the death of a loved one: Contentment with quartz, like a stone – (Dickinson 762). In Dickinson's poem, the aspect of religion is mentioned in the first stanza. Dickinson attempts to represent an image of Jesus in his tomb through the simile “Nerves are ceremonious like tombs”; (Dickinson 762). A different simile found in Dickinson's poem is found in the penultimate stanza when she writes "A contentment of quartz, like a stone –" (Dickinson 762). A source of imagery in the poem...... middle of paper ......feels of loss – as John Donne did in his poem “Death, Be Not Proud” – while still being content about the fact that your loved one has passed away and they are now in a better place. Not everyone copes with the death of a loved one in the same way, but everyone can empathize with each other. American poet Emily Dickinson shows through her poetry how she deals with the death of a loved one. Dickinson shows the reader that it is normal to go through the five stages of grief when death occurs, but she also explains to the reader that the entire process can be mechanical. The poem “After Great Pain” provides deep insight into the human condition through Dickinson’s eyes; that even through death, we must learn to be content and simply...let go. Works Cited Roberts, Edgar V. and Robert Zweig. Literature: an introduction to reading and writing. 5Ed. compact. Boston: Longman, 2012. Print.