The poem was written in 1862. However, we are not given any information as to the time in which it is set. The poem is set entirely in a single room where the speaker lies on her deathbed, surrounded by mourners. The speaker does not provide many details about the room, aside from the fact that there is a window. The setting of the poem is therefore largely universal – as Dickinson attempts to dramatize the experience of dying, she chooses a common location, thereby emphasizing the naturalness and universality of dying.