Because I Could Not Stop For Death And Death Be Not Proud Essay

    Figurative language plays a key role in the poem, as well. The best example is  The Morning after Death,  which sounds a lot like  mourning after death.  In fact,  mourning  could even replace  morning  and the poem would still make sense. Another example occurs in the second stanza, when Dickinson uses the words  sweeping  and  putting.   By using such cold, unfeeling words when describing matters of the heart, the author creates a numb, distant tone. She really means that after someone dies, one almost has to detach oneself from the feelings of love that once existed for the deceased.

In Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not stop for Death" the main theme seems to be the acceptance of Death. Emily gives reference to the theme by using "death" in the first line. The poem is unique and interesting because she presents Death in a different way by referring to it as an escort taking her on a journey towards eternity rather than making it seem like something frightening. Each stanza of the poem breaks down the journey through the stages of her life that leads to the end where the speaker reaches eternity and she finally realizes that she is no longer living. In the fifth stanza when she refers to the coffin as her "house" gives the impression that she's comfortable with death

The subject of death, including her own was a very prevalent theme in Emily Dickinson’s poems and letters. Some may find her preoccupation with death morbid, but this was not unusual for her time period. The mindset during Ms. Dickinson’s time was that of being prepared to die, in the 19th century people died of illness and accidents at an alarming rate, not to mention the Civil War had a high number of casualties, she also lived 15 years of her youth next to a cemetery. Dickinson’s view on death was never one of something to be feared she almost romanized death, in her poem “Because I Could not Stop for Death”, she actually personifies death while narrating from beyond the grave. In the first stanza she states “I could not stop for

Donne was catholic which is one reason why death in both of his poems is not scary. In “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” two of the first lines are: “As virtuous men pass mildly away … The breath goes now, and some say, No” (1-4). The first line of that line is easy to interpret as Catholic. A man of religion would be a man of virtue. A man a virtue would go on to live in heaven.

Death is inevitable, although many of us push it to the back of our heads its eventually going to happen. Poet Emily Dickinson accepted this, and enjoyed writing over half of her poems about death. We all think about death in different ways it scares a lot of us, but those of us who are religious look forward to the afterlife in heaven, and are grateful for the mortal life that we lived. Therefore, some of these poems depicted death as being a lonely ominous journey, while other poems displayed death as being an enjoyable ride from one life to another. Dickinson changes her views on death as she grows older, and seems to be less fearful of death. We can see this in her poems with the similar theme of death in, “I heard a fly buss-when I died” and “Because I could not stop for death.”

Hence, both poets; Emily Dickinson and John Donne portray death as a phenomenon that human should not fear. But

In all human history, about 100 billion people have died. Death is one of the few things that all people will experience. Ordinarily, humans think about death with a mixture of fear and fascination, because no one can say for sure what happens when people die. Because death has always allured people, countless poems and books have been written about it. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickenson, “Death, Be Not Proud” by John Donne, and “I Heard A Fly Buzz-When I Died” by Emily Dickenson are three poems that have death as their prevalent topic.

Throughout history, death has always proved an enticing mystery to mankind. One way this curiosity and wonder displays itself is through writings, poetry in particular. In the poems Because I Could Not Stop for Death, by Emily Dickinson, Death, Be Not Proud, by John Donne, and Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost, rests this common underlying theme of death. However, this interwoven theme does not only consist of mortality itself, but its inevitability as well. Thus, through the shared theme underlying these three specific poems, the human wonder of death becomes evident.

Donne grew up around death, such as the death of his younger brother who died of a fever in prison as well as the death of his wife who died during childbirth, these circumstances as well as his Christian belief of eternal life are likely responsible for the way Donne views death For instance, in his poem Death Be Not Proud, Donne personifies death and the speaker tells the reader to not be afraid of death because it ultimately has no power and is comparable to the type of peace felt in rest or sleep and then goes on to explain that death is more like a sleep before going into eternity. Donne writes, “One short sleep past, wee wake eternally, and death shall be no more; death thou shalt die” (Donne 13-14). Amy Cothran compares this type of message to Paul in Bible, “Donne, echoing Paul’s counsel to give us a true victory song that emboldens at the same time that it comforts”(103-104). Although Donne believes one should not fear death, he does not deny that the death of someone can have a deep effect on a person. For example, Donne’s poem A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy’s Day in centered around how death can leave one feeling as if they are dead. he writes, “For I am every dead thing” and “ I, by Love’s limbec, am the grave, Of all that’s nothing” ( Donne, 12, 21-23). The lovers death affects the speaker to the extent of him feeling as if “ ‘she is the light' and the 'body' upon whom he depended for both presence and illumination, her death has left him not only physically but emotionally emptied’ ”(Hollingsworth 94). Another poem in which Donne explains how the death of another person can deeply affect someone is in Mediation Seventeen. In this poem Donne opens talking about a funeral bell, which is a metaphor for death, he then goes on to explain “the bell calls us all” and then asks, “But who can remove it from that bell, which is passing a piece of himself out of this world” (Donne 1.12, 2.9).

     Death is a very complicated subject that people view very differently in different situations. In John Donne’s Holy Sonnets, he writes about death in Meditations X and XVII. Both meditations use many similar rhetorical devices and appeals, but the tones of the meditations are very disparate. Donne’s different messages in Meditations X and XVII convey tones of defiance and acquiescence towards death, respectively. His apparent change of attitude towards death could be accounted for by his differing life situations while he was writing the meditations: mid-life, and near-death.

In the second and third stanza a similar description of the speaker’s misunderstandings is employed. In the second stanza, the speaker describes that death has shown her “Civility” because death has given her a full life (Line 8). She states that she “put away” her “labor”, meaning that she lived long enough that she was no longer required to work and long enough that she could pursue her passions and after “put away” her “leisure” (Line 6, 7). However, death often is not very courteous or polite as the word “Civility” describes (Line 8). Death isn’t the type to hold open a door or give someone more time, death is not polite it is jarring. The fact that death isn’t fair, that it takes without offering us a chance to live again, is another reason death is so elusive and hard to understand. These inconsistencies in the reality of death and the depiction of death by the speaker is another example of how Dickinson

Is death a slave to fate or is it a dreaded reality? People differ on the opinion of death, some people view death as a new beginning which should not be feared, while many people perceive death as an atrocious monster. Death be not proud, by John Donne is a poem that challenges death and the idea of its ferocity. Donne’s work is greatly influenced by the death of his countless family members, friends and spouse. Donne was not only a poet, but he was also a priest in the Church of England, so his interest in religion and his belief in eternal life after death, also contributed greatly to his work. The poem Death be not proud, is a metaphysical poem about death, in which John Donne undermines, ridicules, and determines the meaning of death, according to his perspective.

In the poem “Death be not proud,” by John Donne the poet personifies death as a person not worthy of the respect and feat that he receives. From the words used in the poem, the reader gets the idea that it was written a long time ago, that being said it does not take away from the meaning nor is it hard to understand what they mean since the poet uses them in the literal meaning. The poem constructed in a way that is looks and sounds as the though the speaker is talking to Death in person. It sounds as though the speaker pities death, and the role that he plays in life. The speaker almost goes as far as to taunt death saying, “Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.” (4) He obviously does not fear death, nor does he think others

The theme of the poem, “Death, be not proud”, is a poem that struggles with the power of death. According to the author, Donne, in order to make it to heaven, one must cross over through death. In line 2 of the poem, Donne states that some people have called “death mighty and dreadful”, but that is not the case. Death should be looked upon as a good thing, instead of dreadful.

Death is considered mighty and powerful; it kills the living beings of the world. The way, Donne looks at death is interesting. “He very boldly rejects the mightiness, powerfulness, and dreadfulness” (Patel). Donne considers death to be a slave of destiny, instead of the other way around. Donne defies Death’s authority and this puts him among the great thinkers. “The poet boldly challenges death in a very candid manner in the beginning of the poem” (Patel). Death has been personified and openly denied what it supposed to be