In the poem “I Died for Beauty, but was Scarce” by Emily Dickinson, Dickinson acknowledges the fact that she devoted her life to her poetry through repetition, in order to emphasize how meaningful it is to her. She did not fear death because she was willing to die for the beauty that is her poetry. However, in “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” by Alan Seeger, Seeger focuses on the juxtaposition between death and Spring in order to convey the lack of fear he has towards death. Nevertheless, through these underlying ideas, both present a common theme that one must not fear death but welcome it when it arrives.
Through repetition, Dickinson confesses how valuable her poetry was to her in order to emphasize the lack of fear she withholds towards death. Throughout the poem, Dickson repeatedly mentions that she has “...died for beauty…” (1). To die for a cause denotes the passion and commitment one has towards a cause. The repetition of this concept of dying for beauty emphasizes the important impact poetry has had on her and how valuable and meaningful it is for her, enough, that she is willing to be remembered as merely a poet without regret. It was her purpose in life to produce this beauty that is her poetry. Overall, she is not afraid of death because she is content with the legacy she was left. Also, beauty is a social construct, usually correlated with appearance but in Dickinson’s case, beauty is solely lyrical (6). To be beautiful is to possess a combination of qualities
In literature, themes shape and characterize an author’s writing making each work unique as different points of view are expressed within a writing’s words and sentences. This is the case, for example, of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” and Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” Both poems focus on the same theme of death, but while Poe’s poem reflects that death is an atrocious event because of the suffering and struggle that it provokes, Dickinson’s poem reflects that death is humane and that it should not be feared as it is inevitable. The two poems have both similarities and differences, and the themes and characteristics of each poem can be explained by the author’s influences and lives.
Death is a topic that unites all of humanity. While it can be uncomfortable to think about, confronting death in unavoidable. “Dying” addresses that discomfort and universal unwillingness to consider the inevitability of death. Pinsky’s use of imagery, symbolism, and tone create a poetic experience that is like death, something every reader can relate to. In “Dying,” Pinsky describes how people are oblivious and almost uncaring when it comes to the thought of death. Pinsky is trying to convince the reader that they shouldn’t ignore the concept of death because life is shorter than it seems.
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.
Regardless of race, caste, religion, or age, every human has wondered about the one fact of life that unifies us all: What is death? Both poems, “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” by Margaret Atwood and “Because I could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson share a common subject of death. Using figurative language, both poems illustrate distinct takes on a similar topic.
Emily Dickinson is well-known due to the fact that she uses an immense amount of death in her poetry; she is also known as being reclusive and death-obsessed. Although other poets don’t typically use large amounts of death in his or her own poetry, Dickinson decided to take her own path in order to get her point across; meanwhile, some found her obsession with death rather disturbing. On the other hand, death could be interpreted through various forms of symbolism. For example, death can symbolize things such as equality, religion, and journeys. Additionally, death can be used to express the loss of a loved one or even an internal loss of yourself, such as despair. Her poems about 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
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson embellishes a battle between among the tranquility of life and the unseen time before death. The author creates the poem to seep deep into our thoughts through imagery, diction and personification. Life tracks along a path and we shouldn’t fear death, but we should also know that it will transpire. She portrays death as a little gloomy but through her imagery and other literary devices she is able to death appeal to the reader. Dickinson describes the cycle of life with death that will end that cycle of life.
When comparing Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” and Alan Seeger’s “I Have a Rendezvous with Death,” there is an obvious similarity in the theme: the end of life. Although the perspectives are different and the tones don’t quite mirror one another, there are many similarities between two poems. “I Have a Rendezvous With Death” shares the experience of a young soldier who undoubtedly fears his demise, but because of the belief in the work that he is doing, has conditionally accepted, or at least come to terms with, the fact that it is more likely than not that he will not be returning home from the war. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” does not give quite as clear a backstory on the protagonist, but a similar acceptance of Death, personified, is evident also. Both protagonists envision their demise and are able to stoically march on into the great unknown.
Death is not a final destination. Just as the flowers, we humans are resurrected with the returning spring. While Walt Whitman’s poems portray death as a fact of life that we must embrace, Emily Dickinson’s views take a darker side on the matter. Dickinson’s poetry gives us a taste of the exact opposite of what Whitman told us. According to Dickinson, death is depressing and inevitable.
People in general try to keep their mind off of the thoughts of death. Death is something that catches up with everyone at some time in their life. People that try their best to not think about it, often forget that death is always waiting patiently. In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death,” the speaker of her poem is watching
The poems “Death, be not proud” by John Donne, “Because I could not stop for death”, and “I heard a fly buzz when I died” both written by Emily Dickinson are three timeless poems that present the theme of death, in a very abnormal manner. In “Death, be not proud” John Donne approaches death by addressing, personifying, and belittling death. Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for death” reflects Dickinson’s metaphysical ideas on death to ease and persuade people to accept it. “I heard a fly buzz when I died” also written by Emily Dickinson is an unsettling poem written from the perspective of someone dying. All these poems uniquely examine death by lecturing it, accepting it, and imagining it.
Emily Dickinson once said, “Dying is a wild night and a new road.” Some people welcome death with open arms while others cower in fear when confronted in the arms of death. Through the use of ambiguity, metaphors, personification and paradoxes Emily Dickinson still gives readers a sense of vagueness on how she feels about dying. Emily Dickinson inventively expresses the nature of death in the poems, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (280)”, “I Heard a fly Buzz—When I Died—(465)“ and “Because I could not stop for Death—(712)”.
Emily Dickinson is a very famous and accomplished poet with over 1700 published poems. Several of her poems are similar in theme, and also similar in bringing out human emotions that we humans usually try to avoid. The common theme in most of Dickinson 's poems is the wonders of nature, and the identity of self, as well as death and life. The five poems with the common theme of death are: “My Life had Stood- A Loaded Gun”, “I Heard A Fly Buzz- When I Died”, “Behind Me Dips- Eternity”, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, and “I “I Felt a Funeral in my Brain.”
Emily Dickinson a modern romantic writer, whose poems considered imaginative and natural, but also dark as she uses death as the main theme many times in her writings. She made the death look natural and painless since she wanted the reader to look for what after death and not be stuck in that single moment. In her poems imagination play a big role as it sets the ground for everything to unfold in a magical way. The speakers in Dickinson’s poetry, are sharp-sighted observers who see the inescapable limitations of their societies as well as their imagined and imaginable escapes. To make the abstract tangible, to define meaning without confining it, to inhabit a house that never became a prison, Dickinson created in her writing a distinctively elliptical language for expressing what was possible but not yet realized. She turned increasingly to this style that came to define her writing. The poems are rich in aphorism and dense
Emily Dickinson, born 1830, died 1886, is a famous American poet. When she was young, Dickinson withdrew from all social life and had gone into a state of seclusion. Her activities concluded of household tasks and writing poems, which are now famous. A variety of subjects were written by Dickinson, including nature, love, death, and immorality. In her poem, “Because I could not stop for Death,” the theme of death is being described differently than it usually is through poetic devices such as irony, symbolism, imagery, and word choice. In addition to Dickinson’s imagery of death, her poetry showcases a tone that readers convey she has accepted death and was not fearful that one day would consume her.