Program Notes

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What is the meaning of death? 

 

There is no definite answer — different people hold different perceptions towards death. 

Emily Dickinson wrote many poems about life and death. I picked three poems that are written by Dickinson to reflect three views of death.

 

The order of the song reflects a human life. I’ve Seen a Dying Eye, a view of the third person, who sees a dying man and guesses the world after death. I heard a Fly buzz, a view of a dead man, who tried to arrange everything before he died. He thought he could control life and death, but a fly interposed, which metaphor death is uncontrollable. Because I could not stop for Death -, it is also written from the first person's view. Death is a gentleman. He accompanied us to go through our lives. Death is not horrible. He accompanied us to eternity. 

 

People always guess How’s the world after death. When we become older, we hope to control our death by using different methods. However, Death is uncontrollable. We are scared about death. People want to escape from death or prolong their life, but death is not scary. It just a part of our life. It is peaceful.

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