More than a common pest: The fly as non- human companion in emily dickinson’s “i heard a fly buzz when i died” and samuel beckett’s company

Abstract

The appearance of an ordinary fly in Emily Dickinson’s poem, “I heard a Fly buzz when I died,” and in Samuel Beckett’s short novel, Company, is a noteworthy example of the subtlety with which an everyday insect can offer nonhuman companionship to individuals in times of stress. In both works, the fly’s entrance provides a calming presence without overt symbolism or meaning. The nonhuman companion is a potent force of strength as the subject in Dickinson’s poem investigates the physical process of her dying. In Beckett’s tale, an elderly subject invokes a fly as a source of company as he muses on melancholy episodes from his past. In both works, the relationship of the speaker to the fly is communicated through paradoxical images that offer solace.