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How does Emily Dickinson use language and form to present death?

Death is a key theme in much of Dickinson's poetry. It is explored in depth in poems 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death' (712) and 'I heard a fly buzz' (465). 712 dramatises the conflict between a life and the peaceful eternity of death. Her close focus on death in these poems allows the reader to see death from different perspectives, in 712 death is almost portrayed as a welcoming gentlemen yet in 465 death appears to be an uncomfortable and almost claustrophobic experience.

In 712, the speaker communicates from beyond the grave, describing her journey with death, personified, from life to after life. This poem is set in an exterior rather than domestic setting like poem 465. Dickinson creates a sense of linear motion in poem 712 that continues throughout, the poem begins with death 'stopping for the speaker' and picking her up in a carriage, the carriage is symbolic of travel. Within the context, the carriage could be representative of a polite man or gentleman taking the girl for a ride accompanied by an escort which in this case is 'immortality'. However the carriage could also be a wedding carriage and so the speaker is almost marrying death as we draw parallel with a real marriage ceremony, that is is meant for eternity just like in this case the horses who draw the carriage point 'toward eternity'. This idea of marriage is further suggested through Dickinson's choice of clothing for the speaker, they are said to be dressed in Gossamer and Tulle; both of which are diaphanous fabrics reminding the reader of a veil that might be worn at a wedding ceremony. On the contrary, the carriage could be compared to a hurst and the speaker is on the way to their funeral, or her grave as suggested by the 'swelling of the ground' yet the carriage does not stop at the moment but instead travels to eternity. Again, the diaphanous fabrics could be suggestive of a shroud, furthering this funeral imagery.

In 712, death is personified as a courteous gentlemen caller, who suggests death to be inviting as he 'kindly stops for her'. The 'civility' that Death exhibits in taking time out for her leads her to give up on those things that had made her so busy—'And I had put away/My labor and my leisure too'—so they can just enjoy this carriage ride. The carriage could also be symbolic of the journey of life as they pass the different stages of life: the children in the school, then the gazing grain suggesting further growth because if the grain is able to 'gaze at her' this implies that it has grown and then finally 'the setting sun'. This could be a compressed view of life; birth, maturity and death or indeed a day; morning afternoon and night. Despite the sense of being out in the open on a journey, there is also a sense of closure being in the carriage. Just like there would be a sense of closure if the speaker was in a coffin. This sense of closure is furthered when Dickinson suggests the the house beneath the ground 'the roof was scarcely visible', furthering the motif of the carriage being a hurst taking the speaker to her grave. Similarly in 465, Dickinson creates this same sense of closure which could be linked to the uncomfortable feeling do going into the unknown of death. The speaker in poem 465 suggests 'the eyes around' but more importantly the fly that blocks her own vision, 'but then the windows failed - and then / I could not see to see-'. This suggests the speaker is closed in as she is surrounded by people and then walls and then more walls of the house which in turn creates a claustrophobic setting.

In both poems 465 and 712 Dickinson creates a sense of unease through the meter and form. In poem 712 from the beginning Dickinson writes in ballad meter, also choosing a regular meter of alternating lines of tetrameter and trimeter; thus creating a pattern emphasising the comfort the speaker feels about death claiming her. However, Dickinson uses the meter to express the speakers feelings of doubt and unease in stanza four when the tone changes. Stanza four represents twilight and at this point the atmosphere is less welcoming as Dickinson describes the 'dew drew quivering and chill'. This highlights that the speaker no longer feels welcome by the 'kindness' and 'civility' of death as she draws nearer to the 'house that seemed a swelling of the ground'. Like in 712, Dickinson also uses a change in meter to show a change in tone in poem 465. Throughout the poem Dickinson uses half rhyme on lines two and four of every stanza, this could be highlighting that the expectations of death are unknown. However, Dickinson uses a full rhyme in stanza four which so one could infer that the speaker is now sure of what death is and her expectations of death have been fulfilled. Poem 465 could in fact lead onto 712 in which Dickinson speaks in retrospective. This idea is supported when the speaker suggests she is heading towards eternity in stanza five when she establishes that she is no longer amongst the living, abiding by the known rules if time but she speaks from 'eternity' affirming the reader that the centuries she's spent in death 'feel shorter than the day she first surmised'. This statement is so paradoxical and hyperbolic at the same time. However, it allows the reader to empathise with the speaker and understand how ‘new’ the experience for the speaker is.

The way in which death is presented in 712 is rather welcoming, death is personified as a 'kind' gentleman caller who 'stopped for her' almost as if 'death' is doing the favour. Yet in 465 there is a sense of unease and claustrophobia at the prospect of death as the speaker ventures into the unknown being unable to see because of the fly that blocks her vision which could both be a literal fly or in fact the Satan as Satan can also be referred to as Beelzebub (Lord of the flies). Thus the fly could be Satan blocking the speakers view of Christ or indeed blocking that expected communication with Christ that is commonly portrayed to happen in a bedside vigil. As a result there is a sense of disappointment in 465 as the speaker realises they are not able to communicate with Christ, whereas in 712 Dickinson portrays death to be a welcoming experience and a chivalrous man, 'Because I could not stop for death - / He Kindly stopped for me-'.