Because I Could Not Stop For Death By Emily Dickinson
“Because I could not stop for Death” “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson was published in 1890 by her family members. The poem consists of twenty-four lines that are divided into six quatrains. In all stanzas except stanza four, the meter switches back and forth from an iambic tetrameter to an iambic trimeter. In stanza three, the meter goes from iambic trimeter to iambic tetrameter then to iambic trimeter. The rhyme scheme of the poem is a slant rhyme. There are internal rhymes on lines 3, 5, 11, and 14. This poem is lyrical and reveals the speaker’s acceptance with Death. The speaker of the poem is a women who have passed away already recalling her moment with Death. The theme of the poem is one’s acceptance towards Death.
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Emily Dickinson is now greatly known for her unusual form and syntax.
She did not receive any recognition during her time because her poems were published in 1890, after her death. During her time in Amherst Academy she was interested in the entire curriculum that the school has to offer. Emily went several times to hear Edward Hitchcock speak about the relationship bonds between the world and God. She grew in to great depression, when her parents died. Emily would stay in her home and wear white clothing, which symbolizes innocence and purity. She died at the age of fifty-six in Amherst, Massachusetts. Even though she was not recognized at all, she is now one of America’s greatest poets.
The speaker, a woman who is already dead, tells her time with Death. Each stanza represents time of the day. Stanza one reveals a woman is in a carriage with Death and Immortality. Emily describes Death as a gentlemen waiting for a girl on a date. In the second stanza, it reveals that the woman is giving up her life into preparation for Death. Stanza four expresses how underdress the woman is when she is with Death. The diction is light and informal. The meter alternates from four beats to three
beats.
There is personification in lines 1 and 2. Death is given a personality of being kind and mannered. The speaker also uses more personification in lines 12 and 13, “Or rather, He passed us.” There is visual imagery in stanza five, “A swelling of the ground” and “The cornice but a mound.” The reader can picture a house that is being resembled as a grave. There is a repetition on lines 9, 11, and 12, in “We passed.” This shows how the days speeds up towards death. Emily uses irony as in Death. We normally see Death as a stereotypical scary fear, but she uses it as a person guiding her to eternity. She uses formal words to describe events relating to Death.
The speaker uses sound devices to create a strong visual imagery. There is alliteration in lines 11 and 12 “gazing”, “grain”, “setting”, “sun” and in lines 15 and 16 “gossamer”, “gown”, “tippet”, “tulle”. The other alliterations are in lines 1,5,20,23, and 24. There is a paradox in stanza six, “Since then ‘tis centuries, and yet each feels shorter than the day.” The speaker uses this to express how death lives on so fast rather than being alive.
The overall mood of this poem is calm and accepting. The speaker accepts that she is dead. Despite the gloomy outlook, the speaker is going into an eternal end. The woman is giving their loyalty to death as death is taking her to eternity. The tone of the poem is realizing the time when Death approaches her.
Emily Dickinson is now greatly known for her unusual form and syntax.
She did not receive any recognition during her time because her poems were published in 1890, after her death. During her time in Amherst Academy she was interested in the entire curriculum that the school has to offer. Emily went several times to hear Edward Hitchcock speak about the relationship bonds between the world and God. She grew in to great depression, when her parents died. Emily would stay in her home and wear white clothing, which symbolizes innocence and purity. She died at the age of fifty-six in Amherst, Massachusetts. Even though she was not recognized at all, she is now one of America’s greatest poets.
The speaker, a woman who is already dead, tells her time with Death. Each stanza represents time of the day. Stanza one reveals a woman is in a carriage with Death and Immortality. Emily describes Death as a gentlemen waiting for a girl on a date. In the second stanza, it reveals that the woman is giving up her life into preparation for Death. Stanza four expresses how underdress the woman is when she is with Death. The diction is light and informal. The meter alternates from four beats to three
beats.
There is personification in lines 1 and 2. Death is given a personality of being kind and mannered. The speaker also uses more personification in lines 12 and 13, “Or rather, He passed us.” There is visual imagery in stanza five, “A swelling of the ground” and “The cornice but a mound.” The reader can picture a house that is being resembled as a grave. There is a repetition on lines 9, 11, and 12, in “We passed.” This shows how the days speeds up towards death. Emily uses irony as in Death. We normally see Death as a stereotypical scary fear, but she uses it as a person guiding her to eternity. She uses formal words to describe events relating to Death.
The speaker uses sound devices to create a strong visual imagery. There is alliteration in lines 11 and 12 “gazing”, “grain”, “setting”, “sun” and in lines 15 and 16 “gossamer”, “gown”, “tippet”, “tulle”. The other alliterations are in lines 1,5,20,23, and 24. There is a paradox in stanza six, “Since then ‘tis centuries, and yet each feels shorter than the day.” The speaker uses this to express how death lives on so fast rather than being alive.
The overall mood of this poem is calm and accepting. The speaker accepts that she is dead. Despite the gloomy outlook, the speaker is going into an eternal end. The woman is giving their loyalty to death as death is taking her to eternity. The tone of the poem is realizing the time when Death approaches her.