Remember that your dash is still in the making, and you have the chance to control your story-now. When loss occurs, it's hard to see meaning in life. These are questions and thoughts that many people have during or around a funeral. It's easy to see where this poem's explosive popularity originates. There is no second chance, so it's important to remember to live life to the fullest.Īt the end of 'The Dash,' these questions are asked of the reader in the form of a challenge: 'would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?' (35-36). It's also a warning not to squander the time we have in life. There are no guarantees that anyone will live to retirement age, or have enough time for that one last apology. In spite of that inevitability, there are opportunities to make the most of life. Ellis reminds us that death is inevitable, and it can come at any time. The 'Dash' is effectively a big carpe diem to readers. The speaker urges the reader to remember to show appreciation, respect and love as readily as possible, 'remembering that this special dash might only last a little while' (31-32). Would I be satisfied with my legacy on earth if I were to die tomorrow?.When confronted with grief, and the threat of your own demise, difficult questions arise: Doing activities that you enjoy, going on adventures and spending time with family and friends, are what really matter at the end of your life.

It's not about 'how much we own, the cars.the house.the cash' (13-14). That dash represents the time we spend doing what we love in life. Ultimately, what really matters is compressed into one tiny line. The line between a person's birth and death dates on their tombstone represents the entire life they lived. He noted that first came the date of birthĪnd spoke of the following date with tears, This eulogist offers a funeral congregation wisdom on matters of life and death: 'The Dash' is written in first-person by a speaker who 'read of a man who stood to speak at a funeral of a friend' (Lines 1-2). Today we are exploring Linda Ellis' death positive poem-'The Dash.' 'The Dash' has become a memorial service staple that thousands of families recite each year when burying their dead. The 36 lines have since come to comprise a most beloved modern funeral poem. Linda Ellis wrote 'The Dash' in one afternoon in 1996. Norton Company, 2003.Carpe diem means 'seize the day' - are you making the most of your dash? (Shutterstock)ĭid you know Beyond the Dash's name is a literary reference?

The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. New York: Columbia University Press,1966. Critical C ompanian to Eimly Dickinson: A literary Reference to Her Life and. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. Verlag: university of Michigan press 1964. “ Emily Dickinson.'' In Cambridge History of American Literature in The Recognition of Emily Dickinson : Selected Criticism since 1890. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004.įorester, Norman. Literature Approaches to Fiction, poetry, and Drama. New York: Pearson Education, 2004.ĭiyanni, Robert. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Recognition of Emily Dickinson : Selected Criticism since 1890. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.īlake ,Caesar R.

Poems with dashes