Title: Because I Could Not Stop For Death...
1Emily Dickinson
Because I Could Not Stop For Death...
2Because 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.
3We 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
4We 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
5Or 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
6We 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
7Since 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
8Analysis 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
9If 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/