Because I Could Not Stop for Death-
BY EMILY DICKINSON
Because I could not stop for Death- (A)
He kindly stopped for me; (B)
The carriage held but just ourselves (C)
And Immortality. (B)
We slowly drove, he knew no haste, (D)
And I had put away (E)
My labor, and my leisure too, (F)
For his civility (E)
We passed the school where children played, (G)
Their lessons scarcely done; (H)
We passed the fields of gazing grain, (I)
We passed the setting sun. (H)
We paused before a house that seemed (G)
A swelling of the ground; (J)
The roof was scarcely visible, (K)
The cornice but a mound. (J)
Since then 'tis centuries; but each (L)
Feels shorter than the day (E)
I first surmised the horses' heads (M)
Were toward eternity. (E)
Poem Analysis
A. Title of Poem
Because I could Not Stop for Death
B. Authors Profile
Emily Dickinson was born December 10th, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her father
was well known as he was a lawyer, treasurer of Amherst College and as well as served
in the United States Congress. Dickinson was educated at Amherst Academy (1834-
1847) until she was later admitted to Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1847 where
she stayed till 1848. Around 1850 she began writing poetry in a fairly conventional style,
but after ten years she began her own signature style. After the Civil War, Dickinson
secluded herself inside a room only to contact others by mail. On the rare occasions
Dickinson did have visitors, she dressed only in white. Her seclusion however did not
limit her knowledge of fellow writers such as John Keats and Sir Thomas Brown. Nor did
it confine her from having a disappointing love affair with Reverend Charles
Wadsworth, whom she often contacted or Samuel Bowles, the editor of the Springfield
Republican, whom she addressed many poems. Emily Dickinson died May 15th, 1886
from Bright's Disease. Her death brought fame as her sister co-edited three volumes of
poems from 1891-1896. However, the complete and accurate text of all
Dickinson's poems was not seen until 1955 when Thomas H. Johnson took the honor of
publishing her works. Many believe Dickinson's seclusion of the outside world helped her
understand life by backing away from it. The quarantine helped her deduce human
existence and write about such intimate experiences.
C. Elements of Poetry
1.1 Speaker
The speaker is dead and speaking about her journey with “Death”
1.2 Content
Death, in the form of a gentleman suitor, stops to pick up the
speaker and take her on a ride in his horse-drawn carriage.
They move along at a pretty relaxed pace and the speaker seems
completely at ease with the gentleman. As they pass through the
town, she sees children at play, fields of grain, and the setting sun.
Pretty peaceful, right? As dusk sets in our speaker gets a little chilly,
as she is completely under-dressed – only wearing a thin silk shawl
for a coat. She was unprepared for her impromptu date with Death
when she got dressed that morning. They stop at what will be her
burial ground, marked with a small headstone. In the final stanza,
we find out the speaker's ride with Death took place centuries ago
(so she's been dead for a long time). But it seems like just yesterday
when she first got the feeling that horse heads (like those of the
horses that drew the "death carriage") pointed toward "Eternity"; or,
in other words, signaled the passage from life to death to an
afterlife.
1.3 Theme
Mortality is probably the major theme in this poem. It's all about the
speaker's attitude toward her death and what the actual day of
her death was like. Dickinson paints a picture of the day that
doesn't seem too far from the ordinary (that is, if you're used to
having a guy named Death take you out on dates). The speaker
isn't scared of death at all, and seems to accept it.
1.4 Mood
The mood is In regards to death contrasts with that of her time
period
1.5 Structure
Rhyming
1.6 Rhyme Scheme Pattern
In each stanza, the first line has eight syllables (four feet); the second,
six syllables (three feet); the third, eight syllables (four feet); and the
fourth, six syllables (three feet). The meter alternates between
iambic tetrameter (lines with eight syllables, or four feet) and iambic
trimeter (lines with six syllables, or three feet). In iambic meter, the
feet (pairs of syllables) contain an unstressed syllable followed by a
stressed syllable.
1.7 Figure of Speech Used
Alliteration
Because I could not stop for Death (line 1)
he knew no haste (line 5)
My labor, and my leisure too (line 7)
At recess, in the ring
gazing grain (line 11)
setting sun (line 12)
For only gossamer my gown (line 15)
My tippet only tulle (line 16)
toward eternity (line 24)
Anaphora
We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun. (lines 9-12)
Paradox
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads (lines 21-23)
Personification
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, he passed us (lines 12-13)
Comparison of the sun to a person
Death is personified throughout the poem
1.8 Message
The poem seems to be that death is not to be feared since it is a
natural part of the endless cycle of nature.
