Preview

"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" Analysis (Collected from Different Sites)

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
506 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
"Because I Could Not Stop for Death" Analysis (Collected from Different Sites)
"Because I Could Not Stop For Death"

"Because I couldn’t stop for death" is a lyric poem, composed of six quatrains. It is one of Emily's Poems that deal with death. Here we see death personified. He is not frightening, scary or threatening, but a gentle guide who lead her to eternity. The speaker feels no fear when Death picks her up in his carriage; she just sees it as an act of kindness and politeness as if she is his date. Death is introduced as the leading character and focus of the poem, performing a human action by stopping for someone on his way. Substitute Death as any guy's name: "Because I could not stop for Tom – He kindly stopped for me." Now the beginning of this poem seems like the first meeting of two lovers. Actually at first, the speaker was so busy, but she was willing to put aside her distractions and go with death. Here the speaker may point to the fact that people spend much of their lives busy with work or amused with play so they don’t get to think about their own death. Before they start their journey, we thought that the carriage hold just the two of them, but then we discover that it also hold "Immortality". This is another example of personification. The Death drives the carriage in a very slow speed due to many possible explanations. Perhaps, the woman is now dead and the carriage has been transformed into a hearse, & they are moving at the slow deliberate speed of the lead car in the funeral. Another Possible explanation is that it wasn't quick death, like from a gunshot wound. Perhaps this could be something more similar to death for long illness. The speaker doesn't really say, but we can look at the evidence she gave us to make guesses. During their journey, the speaker starts noticing common things she may not have noticed before: children playing in rings, wheat growing, and the sun setting which may refer that it's getting darker and colder which set the scene of death. Dickinson comforts

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson, was first published in 1862. Dickinson was known for writing poetry mainly about death. When we think about death, we imagine something terrifying, but in this poem it is seen in a different perspective. In the poem, the speaker comes upon death, but not in a scary or bad way. Yet, death has approached her in a gentleman-like way. In this poem it’s talked about as a kind human being, who is simply taking her along a journey around town and death is just a stop away. While reading the poem we believe that the speaker is going to her death bed but once we reach the last stanza of the poem, we are left in quite a surprise.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death In Casablanca

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Because I Could not stop for death” is a poem written by Emily Dickens. In the poem the speaker tells that Death lead her through past events in her life and on in to the afterlife. The speaker in the poem is not afraid of Death, if anything she speaks of him in a friendly manner. In the last stanza of the poem it is revealed that the speaker is dead. She sees her death not as a halting point but a way to experience her life again from the…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Dickinson, a chief figure in American literature, wrote hundreds of poems in her lifetime using unusual syntax and form. Several if not all her poems revolved around themes of nature, illness, love, and death. Dickinson’s poem, Because I could not stop for Death, a lyric with a jarring volta conflates several themes with an air of ambiguity leaving multiple interpretations open for analysis. Whether death is a lover and immortality their chaperone, a deceiver and seducer of the speaker to lead her to demise, or a timely truth of life, literary devices such as syntax, selection of detail, and diction throughout the poem support and enable these different understandings to stand alone.…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Because I could not stop for Death” 21. What is noteworthy about the things that Death’s carriage passes? 22. How is the way Death is portrayed ironic? 23. What is the speaker’s attitude toward death?…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson expresses the speaker's reflection on death. The poem focuses on the concept of life after death. This poem's setting mirrors the circumstances by which death approaches, and death appears kind and compassionate. It is through the promise of immortality that fear is removed, and death not only becomes acceptable, but welcomed as well. As human beings, we feel that death never comes at a convenient or opportune time. When Dickinson says, "Because I could not stop for Death," she causes the reader to ask why she could not stop. The obvious answer is that she was so wrapped up in her own life that she did not think about death. She makes it clear that it is inescapable, though, when she says, "He kindly stopped for me." The next lines, "The Carriage held but just Ourselves-/And Immortality," signify that the miracle of life is our most precious possession and promises the gift of unending life. Immortality's presence helps to remove fears as we exit the physical world and provides the recipient with the necessary assistance to assure that the transition from reality to spirituality is a pleasant experience. If the promise of immortality did not exist, one would never go along willingly, nor would one welcome death without fear. Death and the speaker ride along with absolutely no concept of the passage of time. They are not hurried, as they have forever to reach their destination. This is stated in the line "We slowly drove-/He knew no haste." Having completed all her earthly chores, the speaker states that they are no longer of any concern to her. Now there is no sewing, cooking, cleaning, farming, or caring for loved ones. The speaker has been allowed the luxury of rest and relaxation, as the next lines reveal: "And I had put away-/My labor had my leisure too." Therefore, the person and death share a reminiscent journey together as they stroll down…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In her poem 479, Emily Dickinson personifies death and takes the reader on a journey to eternity. The first stanza, “Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me.” (Dickinson, 2008, p. 1214-1215) Dickinson refers to death as a horseman driving a carriage to take her away to die. She then goes on to explain he's driving very slow as she carefully tries to make peace with her life's work. Dickinson describes the children and fields of grains she…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The first line indicates the theme by using the word "death". In a critical analysis of the poem by Allen Tate, he says that "every image is precise and moreover not merely beautiful, but fused with the central idea" which in the poem is death (Tate, 84). Engle's main point on "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" is that Dickinson uses the poem to refute death in its entirety. She begins by citing the opening line of the poem. Engle interprets this line to mean that Death, as an end point, ceases to be: "It is simply not her nature to stop for Death. She realizes that she cannot recognize Death's power over her. Once she reckons with that eternal or divine bent within her, Death stops; that is, Death ceases to be what Death is- and end," (Engle 74). This brings in the other character in the poem that also takes the carriage ride with, almost posing as a silent chaperone. This character is Immortality. If these two men are separate entities, what is Emily Dickinson asserting about the end of human life? This seems slightly unclear.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Because I could not stop for Death” she writes death as a gentleman who is taking her for a ride. The first line of the poem says, “Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me” (1-2) Death as described as kind there, making it seem like it was almost a favor for her that he stopped and allowed her to ride with him. Or is a possibility that the speaker could not stop what they had been doing beforehand because no one truly stops for death. Death itself, however, has to stop for them instead. The word “kindly” simply makes death appear more humanized. The ride with death however is not the first ride of the speaker, towards the end of the poem, Dickinson reveals that the speaker was instead thinking back to the day they had first died. The carriage as well is an important part of the poem because while it carries death and the speaker, it also carries immortality. Again, Dickinson gives qualities to immortality that it otherwise does not possess, but the carriage known as immortality makes an ironic vehicle for the dying speaker to travel in. The personified qualities of death and immortality give the reader an easier understanding on the subject by making them a little more relatable with the idea that death is a gentlemen who escorts you, and the notion of immortality is actually the ride to the…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dickinson writes, “Because I could not stop for Death-He kindly stopped for me-”(Dickinson L 1-2). This is an example of personification. In these lines, death is personified as being able to stop for someone to take them to the afterlife. This reinforces the theme by explaining that the narrator did not want to end her life; she wanted to keep living. However, death stopped to take her.…

    • 210 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poems, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson and “Is My Team Plowing” by AE Housman have their own perception of the idea of death which they further emphasize with the use of figurative language and style. To begin with, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is a poem about a person, most likely based on the views of Dickinson, who is too into her own world that she does not acknowledge her own death. This poem uses style to emphasize the idea of love. For example, on the second stanza, “We slowly drove…” the structure evokes a feeling of excessive speed. This could infer that the narrator is rushing through her life without realizing death is around the corner.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    However, in “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” Emily Dickinson creates a safe haven and reminds readers that it is about perception and personal interpretation. When analyzing the poem and only considering the text, there is a dark picture painted. However, when readers begin to use their own inferences, the poem is given a different tone and purpose. The poem enables readers to create their own ideas of death and…

    • 1712 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Dickinson Diction

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There is a multitude of poems written with the theme of death, be it in a positive light or negative. Some poets write poems that depict Death as a spine-chilling inevitable end, others hold respect for this natural occurrence. In Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death”, diction and personification is utilized to demonstrate the speaker’s cordial friendship with Death.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Dickerson's Poetry

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," Emily Dickerson discusses how death may happen suddenly whether you are prepared for it or not. Yet although it may be unexpected it is but just another trip, in this case "the carriage held but just ourselves/ and immortality." She discusses how she has to put an end of things done while living, "labor, and my leisure too," and how the world will still go on, with her watching children play. Eventually Emily Dickerson comes to realize that death is everlasting, when she surmises that the horses carrying her on her voyage "were toward eternity."…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If we can imagine something similar the the human population it becomes something personal and makes it okay but if the author would have left death something dark and mysterious it wouldn’t be as personal and would be harder to except making the author push death away. The tone in this poem is blissful. The main character is dying but she doesn’t realize completely until the end. She is driving past…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the first stanza Dickinson writes, “Because I could not stop for Death- / He kindly stopped for me-” (Dickinson 1-2). Right away it appears as if the death was unexpected and there were no signs of it coming to the person. These theme continues through Dickinson’s poem as she takes this person through the experience of death in a carriage ride with Death itself. Through the carriage ride there is no sense of danger as Dickinson writes, “I had put away / My labor and my leisure to, / For His Civility-” (Dickinson 6-8). As they ride together there is a familiarity between them as if they are friends enjoying the presence of each…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays