Comparison Of Emily Dickinson And Because I Could Not Stop For Death

Emily Dickinson is one of the most important American poets of the 1800s. Dickinson, who was known to be quite the recluse, lived and died in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, spending the majority of her days alone in her room writing poetry. What few friends she did have would testify that Dickinson was a rather introverted and melancholy person, which shows in a number of her poems where regular themes include death and mortality. One such poem that exemplifies her “dark side” is, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. In this piece, Dickinson tells the story of a soul’s transition into the afterlife showing that time and death have outright power over our lives and can make what was once significant become meaningless.

Dickinson’s use of figurative language in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” contributes to the meaning of the poem. With the use of personification, symbolism, and examples of vivid imagery, she composes a poem which is both unique and captivating. The title and first line of the poem, “Because I Could

Comparing and Contrasting Dickinson’s Poems, Because I Could Not Stop for Death and I Heard a Fly Buzz - When I Died

Death is something all human beings will come to deal with one day. It doesn’t matter when or who it is, one could be young, middle-aged, or old. One could be born into wealth, royalty, or poverty. In a perfect world everyone would live to old age and pass away in their sleep, but this isn’t a perfect world and the reality is that death could come at any moment, whether one is ready or not. Many people fear death as it means an end to everything they’ve done in their life while others see it as the next stage of theirs. Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died-” shows that death is not an end but simply a passage to eternity, while “Because I could not stop for Death-” shows that eternity isn’t guaranteed but underlined by faith. In both poems Dickinson uses imagery, and figurative language to describe the cycle of death after the speaker has already passed.

Dickinson gives Death many characteristics that help to shape our image of him. The line "He kindly stopped for me" in the first stanza, immediately gives a male gender (2). This male image gives the reader the traditional idea of the gentleman caller. This line also reveals a kind quality of death. The kind quality is important throughout this poem because it allows the speaker to

Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson’s poem a masterpiece with strange “haunting power.”

Analysis of I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died and Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

All things have a beginning and an end, except for maybe the universe which may or may not be infinite. Although, unlike the universe people have a birth date and a death date. Often times the birthday gets all the attention, and no one really considers that any day death may arrive at their doorstep patiently waiting to escort them to the afterlife. However, Emily Dickinson, the author, of the poem Because I could not stop for death clearly understands this truth. Through her poem she uses the narrator to call attention to how people rush through life without taking the time to stop and smell the roses, before they’re beneath them. Dickinson employs a plethora of poetic devices including personification, hyphens, and Capitalization in order

Emily Dickinson is known for writing poems that relate to death and dying, and the poem “Because I could not stop for death” is no exception. This is a narrative poem that illustrates the passage from life to death as a carriage ride through a quiet town. In this particular poem, the speaker has already passed away and is remembering what seems to be a fond memory, however that is not revealed till the final stanza. There are only two characters, The speaker and Death. The speaker is a lady who is reminiscing on a carriage ride she took with Death. She conveys her ride in a very light manner, almost as one would of a pleasant first date. Her tone is very calm and she seems almost at ease, as she and Death take a slow ride through town. She introduces Death in the first stanza as if he was a gentleman with manners. Throughout the entire poem Death is personified as a polite man. This is first implied in Line 2 when the speaker says “he kindly stopped for me-”. Hearing this can also suggest to the readers that the speaker is not afraid of death but perhaps even relieved “he” had finally arrived. There is no evidence to suggest how this particular lady in the poem died. However in Line 5, when the speaker says, “We drove slowly- He knew no haste”, could be inferred that she died slowly, maybe from a terminal sickness. As they are riding along they pass children playing in the school yard, fields of grain, and the setting sun. Finally at the end of the poem, they reach their

Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” is a poem in which she communicates a story in which the concept of death comes to life and takes its next customer for a carriage ride. The concept of death is initially personified into a kind, gentle individual rather than the typical image associated with death: the Grimm Reaper. The audience receives this impression of a kind, gentle death from Dickinson in her first two lines of the poem:

In “ Because I could not stop for death” by Emily Dickinson, she explores qualities of romanticism and realism in her work. Romanticism writers are more inclined to using transcendentalism thoughts, about how good nature is for the soul of a human and the positive thing about life. Realism writers are more interested in showing the truth of life, that there is bad things that happen in life that not everything is perfect all the time. she explores romanticism by using the stanza “ Since then-’ tis Centuries- and yet/ Feels shorter than the Day/ I first surmised the Horses’ Heads/ were toward Eternity”. Emily illustrates romanticism in this stanza because the concept of time to her was only on earth and when she die she thought she would have

In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death “ (448), the speaker of the poem is a woman who relates about a situation after her death. The speaker personifies death as a polite and considerate gentleman who takes her in a carriage for a romantic journey; however, at the end of this poem, she finishes her expedition realizing that she has died many years ago.

Two of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” and “Because I could not stop for Death” are both written about life’s stopping point, death. Although the poems are written by the same poet, both poems view death in a different manner. Between the two poems, one views death as having an everlasting life while the other anticipates everlasting life, only to realize it does not exist. While both poems are about death, both poems also illustrate that the outcome of death is a mysterious experience that can only be speculated upon with the anticipation of everlasting life.

When thinking of both marriage and death, the word “eternity” comes to mind. Marriage is looked at as a symbol of eternal love, and death is looked at as a state of eternal rest. Also, Christians consider life after death as an eternal state. In “Because I could not stop for Death—,” Emily Dickinson portrays death by describing an eternal marriage.