Because I could not stop for death
Because I could not stop for Death -
He kindly stopped for me -
The Carriage held but just Ourselves -
And Immortality.
We slowly drove- he knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For his Civility -
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess - In the Ring -
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We passed the setting Sun -
Or rather - He passed us -
The Dews drew quivering and chill -
For only Gossamer, my Gown -
My Tippet - only Tulle -
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground -
The Roof was scarcely visible -
The Cornice - In the Ground -
Since then - 'tis Centuries - and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity -
He kindly stopped for me -
The Carriage held but just Ourselves -
And Immortality.
We slowly drove- he knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For his Civility -
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess - In the Ring -
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We passed the setting Sun -
Or rather - He passed us -
The Dews drew quivering and chill -
For only Gossamer, my Gown -
My Tippet - only Tulle -
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground -
The Roof was scarcely visible -
The Cornice - In the Ground -
Since then - 'tis Centuries - and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity -
Total Analysis
Throughout Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I Could not Stop for death,” exceptional construction and idea formation is prevalent. Throughout the entire poem, the speaker used first person through the eyes of a different persona to portray a first-hand clash with death. Through instituting the narrator as a casual observer, an every day person going about every day life, “Because I Could not Stop for death transformed itself from a simple observer to a bone-chilling truth. Although Dickinson created a definable time period, the 1800’s, by mentioning words such as carriage, Dickinson was able to create an ageless poem that touches the hearts of present-day readers. After researching the historical context of the poem, it was evident that Dickinson wrote this poem to reflect the occurrences within her life; for example, “Because I Could not Stop for death” was written as a result of a close friend’s death.
Throughout the expanse of the poem, Dickinson created a solemn, almost frantic tone through mentioning death through solemn, every day occurrences, allowing her audience to see death throughout the every-day world. Specific diction, such as haste, in the ring, tippet, tulle, and other various words and phrases created a scholarly tone while painting an omniscient picture of death. Although the tone throughout the poem was consistent, Dickinson’s examples and references captured a unique tone, causing tension to rise as the poem progressed. Eventually, after mentioning death stopping to take her, Dickinson closed her poem by dramatically stating, “I first surmised the Horses’ Heads Were toward Eternity.” This internal conflict, left resolved by submitting to death, caused readers to mentally and spiritually become attached to the notion of death.
The historical context of the poem, written during the 1800’s, shows readers that death was a common occurrence throughout the minds of many. Due to a short life expectancy, and a friend’s death, Dickinson often reflected on the subject of death. This information transforms one’s understanding of her poem from a simple obsession to a natural reaction. Dickinson’s personal occurrences often clashed with common poetry styles; many poets throughout Dickinson’s life strictly followed formal poetry rhythm and formation, but Dickinson did not adhere to any specific poetry format, often using techniques, such as imperfect iambic meter, and controversial subjects.
“Because I Could not Stop for death,” a brilliant lyrical poem, has a predominate eight-syllable iambic meter. Consisting of eight syllables a line and embodying irregular rhyme, “Because I Could not Stop for death” was more of a free-lance poem then a ridged poem. Throughout the entire poem, Dickinson created hazy imagery about death, when it occurs, and how it strikes humans by surprise to portray human’s hazy, inadequate understanding about death`. By consistently using the symbol of death riding a horse, Dickinson embodied a fast moving image of immense magnitude and strength, evoking our visual sense. Although the poem did not use any metaphors, exquisite word choice painted images of an undeniably fantastic poem within the minds of Dickinson’s readers. The formal tone, lacking dialect, paired with crafty and intelligent vocabulary, such as surmised, made the language of the poem blossom from informal and irrelevant to formal and relevant.
Continuing Dickinson’s formal tone of “Because I Could not Stop for death,” Dickinson created exceptional syntax. Through breaking the lines after every eight syllables, and forming a new stanza after four lines, Dickinson created a unified and brilliant poem. Although many lines are broken before the completion of a sentence, Dickinson did form a complete grammatical structure throughout the whole of the poem. Dickinson’s unique punctuation and capitalization of somewhat passive verbs created a poem that forced readers to stop and contemplate the overall meaning and structure of the poem. After each capital letter or hyphen, for example, Dickinson forced her readers to pause.
Throughout Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I Could not Stop for death,” exceptional construction and idea formation is prevalent. Throughout the entire poem, the speaker used first person through the eyes of a different persona to portray a first-hand clash with death. Through instituting the narrator as a casual observer, an every day person going about every day life, “Because I Could not Stop for death transformed itself from a simple observer to a bone-chilling truth. Although Dickinson created a definable time period, the 1800’s, by mentioning words such as carriage, Dickinson was able to create an ageless poem that touches the hearts of present-day readers. After researching the historical context of the poem, it was evident that Dickinson wrote this poem to reflect the occurrences within her life; for example, “Because I Could not Stop for death” was written as a result of a close friend’s death.
Throughout the expanse of the poem, Dickinson created a solemn, almost frantic tone through mentioning death through solemn, every day occurrences, allowing her audience to see death throughout the every-day world. Specific diction, such as haste, in the ring, tippet, tulle, and other various words and phrases created a scholarly tone while painting an omniscient picture of death. Although the tone throughout the poem was consistent, Dickinson’s examples and references captured a unique tone, causing tension to rise as the poem progressed. Eventually, after mentioning death stopping to take her, Dickinson closed her poem by dramatically stating, “I first surmised the Horses’ Heads Were toward Eternity.” This internal conflict, left resolved by submitting to death, caused readers to mentally and spiritually become attached to the notion of death.
The historical context of the poem, written during the 1800’s, shows readers that death was a common occurrence throughout the minds of many. Due to a short life expectancy, and a friend’s death, Dickinson often reflected on the subject of death. This information transforms one’s understanding of her poem from a simple obsession to a natural reaction. Dickinson’s personal occurrences often clashed with common poetry styles; many poets throughout Dickinson’s life strictly followed formal poetry rhythm and formation, but Dickinson did not adhere to any specific poetry format, often using techniques, such as imperfect iambic meter, and controversial subjects.
“Because I Could not Stop for death,” a brilliant lyrical poem, has a predominate eight-syllable iambic meter. Consisting of eight syllables a line and embodying irregular rhyme, “Because I Could not Stop for death” was more of a free-lance poem then a ridged poem. Throughout the entire poem, Dickinson created hazy imagery about death, when it occurs, and how it strikes humans by surprise to portray human’s hazy, inadequate understanding about death`. By consistently using the symbol of death riding a horse, Dickinson embodied a fast moving image of immense magnitude and strength, evoking our visual sense. Although the poem did not use any metaphors, exquisite word choice painted images of an undeniably fantastic poem within the minds of Dickinson’s readers. The formal tone, lacking dialect, paired with crafty and intelligent vocabulary, such as surmised, made the language of the poem blossom from informal and irrelevant to formal and relevant.
Continuing Dickinson’s formal tone of “Because I Could not Stop for death,” Dickinson created exceptional syntax. Through breaking the lines after every eight syllables, and forming a new stanza after four lines, Dickinson created a unified and brilliant poem. Although many lines are broken before the completion of a sentence, Dickinson did form a complete grammatical structure throughout the whole of the poem. Dickinson’s unique punctuation and capitalization of somewhat passive verbs created a poem that forced readers to stop and contemplate the overall meaning and structure of the poem. After each capital letter or hyphen, for example, Dickinson forced her readers to pause.