Because I Could Not Stop For Death By Emily Dickinson

The poem “Because I could not stop for Death” was written by Emily Dickinson in the 1800’s. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10th 1830 where she passed away at on May 15th 1886; she was 55 years of age when she died. Dickinson’s poems were influenced Metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England. When Emily died she left behind forty hand bound volumes with about 1,800 poems in it. Her first poem was not published until in 1890 which was four years after she was deceased and the last was published in 1955. The poem because I could not stop for death is poem not about war but it’s mainly about love. This poem has six stanzas and is a lyrical poem which shows the deep feelings and emotions that Dickinson was feeling at the time. There is no rhyme scheme in any of the 6 quatrains. Dickinson explains how death is approaching but doesn’t think that death is the last part of life.
Dickinson opens up the poem by saying, “Because I could not stop for death – He kindly stopped for me” (1-2).
When she started off with because, I immediately knew she was about to give an explanation to an argument. This made the poem seem alive unlike others that I’ve read. Dickinson capitalized Death with mad me think of it as a person, as I kept on reading she goes to say, “He stopped for me” (2) which answered my thought that Death was a person. Death was a kind gentleman who stopped to pick Emily up in the Carriage, “The Carriage held but just ourselves – And Immortality.” (3-4) I assume that it’s just Emily and Death riding in this carriage alone. She’s riding with death so instead of mortality she uses immortality which makes me think that she doesn’t think that death is the end but as a step to eternal
life. Dickenson and Death continue to take their time on their ride in the carriage “We slowly drove – He knew no haste” (5). The shift from we to he in line five let me knew that she had no control over the speed that they were going. Dickenson explains to us that she has given up work and free time “And I put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility –” (6-8). This guy death is bad boy; I say this because he is so polite and charming that he made Dickenson give up all work and free time for him. If this was a first date death would be the man with the plan. Dickenson gives us a visual of what she is riding by “We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess—in the ring—” (9-10). This makes the poem weird to me because now she mixes unreal and real makes the poem so strange. I think she is just trying to make death and dying seem like an ordinary part of life. She gives us more visual of what she sees now “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—We passed the Setting Sun—” (11-12). This lets us know this poem is not at a standstill but it mimics the slow possession of the carriage ride. Emily gives us an idea of how slow their really going “Or rather—He passed Us—” (13). The fact that she used or after the stanza break let me know that the mood was about to change from a sunny ordinary day into something more grave. Dickenson lets us know that the weather has changed and the sun went down “The Dews drew quivering and chill—For only Gossamer, my gown—My Tippet—only Tulle—” (14-15). She lets us know that she is under dressed by saying my Gossamer my gown, my tippet only tulle. A Gossamer is a very thin and delicate material, a tippet is an old fashioned shawl or shoulder cape and tulle is a silky and thin like a gossamer. Now we notice that Dickenson is going to die, Death led her to her burial spot, “We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground—” (17-18). My first thought was run he is about to kill you but, if you go back and re read Emily is easy about death and think that death is just before you get to eternal life. She continues to expalain the burial house “The Roof was scarcely visible—The Cornice—in the Ground—” (19-20). The cornice is the point of the roof and it is in the ground so if the highest part of the house is in the ground that lets you know that the rest is to; evidence to grave. Dickenson starts to reminisce, “Since then—‘tis Centuries—and yet Feels shorter than the day” (21-22). This whole poem was a memory which lets us know that Emily Dickenson was already dead when this poem was published. The last lines recall the first time the she first saw the horses on the carriage and had a feeling that these horses were irregular, “I first surmised the Horses’ Heads Were toward Eternity—” (22-24). This stanza was a surprising stanza. We found out that Emily has been dead and we got introduced to and was left with images of the horses pushing forward.