Dickinson employs similes and hyperbole, as well as similar repetition techniques (of the first stanza's) in the second stanza of Poem 280 to accentuate the actual funeral service that is trampling across her mind. Dickinson implies that the narrator does not know what kind of people are attending this funeral, because no visual images are given, and she refers to the mourners with the vague pronoun, they.
And when they all were seated, .
A Service, like a Drum -.
Kept beating - beating - till I thought .
My mind was going numb-.
"A Service, like a Drum "Kept beating "beating till I thought my Mind was going numb- (Lns. 6-8) demonstrates to the close reader that these beating sounds of her funeral are driving the narrator to numbness, to deadness. The simile of the funeral service being compared to a drum emphasizes the next line in which the repetition of "beating "beating- mocks the thrashing of sticks against a drum. This repetition creates the monotonous tone and dark atmosphere - hearing the drums of one's own funeral. Once again, Dickinson utilizes capital letters to highlight the more imperative nouns of "Service,"" "Drum,"" and "Mind- to show that these are the main subjects of the stanza.
In the third stanza of this dark poem, Dickinson creates more of an auditory picture with use of "sound-verbs- such as creak (Ln. 10) and descriptive nouns such as "Boots of Lead."" .
And then I heard them lift a Box .
And creak across my Soul .
With those same Boots of Lead, again, .
Then Space - began to toll, .
The use of the word creak' implies how noisy the funeral is perceived to her. Here, the reader sees that the people at her funeral are lifting up the "Box- (Ln. 9), or coffin, to view her and she can hear every step they make with their heavy, lead boots. In addition, the word "again- in line 11 all the more emphasizes how this sound will not leave her head - how it is driving the narrator mad.
