The line ‘And then a Plank in Reason, broke’ from Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain’ serves as a powerful metaphor for the collapse of the speaker’s mental stability. The ‘Plank in Reason’ symbolizes the fragile structure of rational thought and sanity. When this plank breaks, it signifies a sudden and irreversible loss of control over one’s mind, leading to a descent into madness or overwhelming emotional turmoil.
This metaphor effectively conveys the speaker’s experience of mental breakdown. The breaking of the plank suggests that the speaker’s ability to reason and maintain a coherent sense of reality has been shattered. This imagery captures the abrupt and catastrophic nature of such a psychological collapse, emphasizing the fragility of the human mind and the devastating impact of losing one’s grip on reality.
In essence, the metaphor highlights the vulnerability of mental stability and the profound consequences when that stability is compromised. It paints a vivid picture of the speaker’s internal struggle, making the reader feel the intensity of the emotional and psychological distress being described.