Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop For Death And Robert Frost

Death is inevitable; it should not be feared but instead accepted, and this is the main idea and theme explored in Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death.” In the poem, Death is personified as a gentleman who “kindly stopped [stops] for me [her]” (Dickinson 2), “slowly drove [drives] … know[ing] no haste” (Dickinson 5), and with whom she stops at a “house that seemed [seems]/ A swelling of the ground” (Dickinson 17-18) or in other words, her grave. To begin the poem, the fact that Death is represented as “if he were a human being” (Evans 15) implies that it is humane. This contributes to the idea that death is not to fear. Later on, it can be concluded that this person has control over her as she describes how she “had put away / My [her] labor, and my [her] leisure too, / for his civility” (Dickinson 6-8), which implies that “everything that had once seemed so important and distracting now recedes in importance” (Evans 17), and how he “slowly drove [drives] … know[ing] no haste” (Dickinson 5), which gives “no clear sense of the underlying purpose of the journey or its ultimate destination” (Evans 16) and thus implies that only Death knows the path and destination of the journey. Both of these examples contribute to the fact that Death completely controls a person against its will and that it is inevitable. Finally when “we [they] paused before a house that seemed / A swelling of the ground” (Dickinson

Walt Whitman 's poem, "To a Locomotive in Winter" and Emily Dickinson 's "I Like to See It Lap The Miles" are two different poems about the same subject, the steam engine. Where Whitman uses solely free verse, Dickinson’s poem more closely follows standard writing practices, with very structured line breaks. Another key difference in these works is the speech they use; Whitman uses "old English" laden with thee and thy, whereas Dickinson uses fairly modern terminology. Whitman describes the elegant and powerful grandeur of the locomotive from the shining brass and steel to the twinkling of the wheels. Dickinson describes the arrogance and nuisance of it as she imagines it staring down upon the

The theme death has always played a crucial role in literature. Death surrounds us and our everyday life, something that we must adapt and accept. Whether its on television or newpaper, you'll probobly hear about the death of an individual or even a group. Most people have their own ideas and attitude towards it, but many consider this to be a tragic event due to many reasons. For those who suffered greatly from despair, living their life miserably and hopelessly, it could actually be a relief to them. Death effects not only you, but also those around you, while some people may stay unaffected depending on how they perceive it.

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

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

Often considered the founders of modern American poetry, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman have styles that are like none other. Although they have many individual, unique characteristics, they also are comparable in numerous ways. The lengths and tone in each of their poems may seem very different; however their similarities lie mostly in the themes and subjects that the two focus on. Their upbringing and life experiences are two aspects that made have these two, the influential poets that they are known for today.

Everyone feels burdened by life at some point. Everyone wishes they could just close their eyes and make all the problems and struggles of life disappear. Some see death as a release from the chains and ropes with which the trials and tribulations of life bind the human race. Death is a powerful theme in literature, symbolized in a plethora of ways. In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Eve" Robert Frost uses subtle imagery, symbolism, rhythm and rhyme to invoke the yearning for death that the weary traveler of life feels.

In the poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, by Emily Dickinson and “Home Burial”, by Robert Frost, literary elements are used throughout both poems to get the message the authors are trying to portray. One main important literary element that is used to entice the reader, is symbolism, because it helps the authors describe something without actual describing it. Symbolism is also used because it shows how significant an object is. Characterization is also an important literary technique because it, gives the reader an idea on how the character would act, work, and their values in life. Death is a topic that is used in both poems. Also, every character express their opinion about death differently.

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson both had different and similar views, which influenced how they wrote their poetry. Their social context, life experiences, and gender are reflected in their poetry. Emily Dickinson focused a lot on death and her struggles of being a woman during her time. Her poems often described the inner state of mind. Waltman attempted to combine universal themes with individual feelings and experiences, such as his personal experiences with the Civil War. Whitman and Dickinson are two great poets who both were very similar but different in more ways than one, and they were both very influenced by who they were, and their life experience. Their poems were both “small in theme yet has it the sweep of the universe.”

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.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1836) is one of the greatest poets in American literature. Although she spent most of her life working in relative anonymity, her status rose sharply following her death and the subsequent publishing of much of her surviving work. Two of Dickinson’s most well-known poems are “Because I could not stop for Death—" and “I heard a Fly buzz - when I died”. I say known as because Dickinson never actually gave her poems proper titles. For this reason, the first lines of her poems have come to be used as a distinguishing reference. This paper will briefly analyze both poems in an attempt to both compare and measure their relative literary merits.

her and she has no control over it; Thus, death is not to be feared since it is a natural

In the nineteenth century, the world of poetry was evolving rapidly, and many American poets were beginning to expand their horizons by breaking the traditional writing methods of conventional poetry. Famous American poets such as Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost tend to focus the central theme of their poetry on the utter truths of society, tragedy, and the reality of life and death. Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost are renowned for their unorthodox poems, which contain many themes relative to love, the natural world, loneliness, and the loss of life. One of Emily Dickinson’s well-known poems is, “Because I could not stop for Death,” which focuses solely on death and its steady, overlooked manifestation. Likewise, Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping

Poems are like snowflakes. While no two are the same, they all have common structures and themes. One prevalent theme in poetry is that of death, which is present in both “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. Dickinson perceives death as a gentleman, while Frost perceives death as loneliness, which provides insight on how the time periods of the poems, the genders of the authors, and the authors’ personal experiences influence literature.

Emily Dickinson published only a few poems during her time. Her work was only truly discovered after her death of kidney disease in 1886 at the age of fifty-six. Upon her death her sister Lavinia Dickinson found hundreds of poems tied into a book stitched together by Emily. People claim that she is the most original 19th Century American Poet and is now considered one of the towering figures of American literature. Although She is known for her unconventional broken rhyming meter, creative use of metaphor, and overall innovative style. At times she characterized a heartbroken introvert or abnormal fear in her poetry. Emily Dickinson work is also sometimes depressing, joyous, and celebratory. This can be seen in two of her works: “A Route of Evanescence” and “Because I could not stop for death.”