Though the syntax of this line makes it difficult to know what subject each clause refers to, one could read “but an Ear” as the speaker claiming that she is “but an ear.” In this way, the speaker reduces herself to this single sense, hearing. She becomes only the mechanism through which she experiences this all-consuming noise.
" Mourners to and fro..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
Since the whole poem takes place inside the speaker’s head, the meandering “mourners” can be seen as the speaker’s wandering thoughts, pacing “to and fro.” This movement replicates the incessant, repetitive thought pattern that signals the speaker’s overwhelming obsession with death.
