Because I Could Not Stop For Death...

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Emily Dickinson
Because I Could Not Stop For Death...
2
Because I could not stop for Death He kindly
stopped for me The Carriage held but just
Ourselves And Immortality.

• Dickinson personifies Death and uses
  alliteration of the c
• She describes this as a pleasant event that takes
  place in a carriage
• She uses end rhyme in lines 2 and 4 and internal
  rhyme in line 3
• Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of
  living in physical or spiritual form for an
  infinite length of time.

3
We slowly droveHe knew no haste And I had put
away My labor and my leisure too, For His
Civility

• She walks away from her busy schedule, such as
  work and even her leisure time for death
• Civility- politeness, courtesy
• Uses alliteration of the letters h and l

4
We passed the School, where Children strove At
Recess--in the Ring We passed the Fields of
Gazing Grain We passed the Setting Sun
Dickinson is talking about the different stages
of her life or seeing her own life flash before
her eyes the children at recess symbolizing the
beginning of her life the fields of grazing
grain symbolize adolescence/adulthood the
setting sun symbolizes the writers final
years The repetition of we passed is called
anaphora She also uses alliteration of the
letters s r and g
5
Or rather--He passed us The Dews drew quivering
and chill For only Gossamer, my Gown My
Tippet--only Tulle -----------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
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---------------

• Sun is personified as He
• Describing being inside the ground being cold
• Also talks about what she is wearing gossamer-
  material for a wedding dress, tippet (scarf)
  Tulle (netting)
• Slant rhyme chill/ tulle

6
We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling
of the Ground The Roof was scarcely visible
The Cornice--in the Ground

• The house/swelling of the ground symbolizes her
  gravesite
• Cornice a decorative framework to conceal
  curtain fixtures at the top of a window casing
• Alliteration of the letter s

7
Since then--'tis Centuriesbut each Feels
shorter than the Day I first surmised the
Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity--

• Time has passed since her carriage ride with
  death
• Paradox- century (100 yrs) feels shorter than a
  day
• Ends with her realizing that towards the end of
  her ride with death she figured out that this
  wasnt temporary
• Horses Heads were toward eternity meaning the
  horses pulling the carriage were taking her
  somewhere she couldnt return from
• realizes she is dead that this ride is for all
  eternity

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Analysis and Commentary

• Each stanza is a quatrain- four lines
• In each stanza the first line has 8 syllables,
  the second has 6 syllables, the third has 8
  syllables, and the fourth has 6 syllables
• The overall theme of the poem seems to be that
  death is not to be feared because it is part of
  the endless cycle of nature.
• Her tone is optimistic because she sees death as
  a friend

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If you need help understanding Dickinsons Poems,
please check out these sites

• http//www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C0
  7000F
• http//www.bartleby.com/113/