Death is a popular theme within poetry and is often portrayed in a subjective manner. In "Because I could not stop for death", Emily Dickinson speaks of death through her own conception. Death is typically defined as the end of a life and or organism but has remained an unfamiliar and in some cases terrifying concept for many. In the poem, Emily Dickinson personifies death, depicts him as being the narrator 's savior and introduces the concepts of immortality and afterlife. In "Because I could not stop for death" death is portrayed in a positive light.
The narrator personifies death and consequently romanticizes its concept. She begins by attributing human characteristics to deaths ' persona, "Because I could not stop for death-/ He kindly stopped for me-" (L. 1-2) Emily Dickinson builds up deaths ' character by using gentle words and wordings that create a tender feel: "kindly" (L. 2), "Civility" (L. 8), "knew no haste" (L. 5). We are able to observe that in the poem death is kind gentle and comforting. Additionally, the author uses the pronoun "he" to refer to death. By …show more content…
Immortality is introduced upon its mention as being a part of the carriage, "The carriage held but just Ourselves-/ And immortality" (L. 3-4). The carriage in question is metaphorically used to represent the speaker 's passing. In other words, it is used as transportation to another dimension. Whether the speaker dies of illness or dies gracefully in her sleep, the carriage could also signify her progressive detachment from her body and can be seen as the journey taken towards a complete state of literal death. The use of the word "Immortality" directly correlates with the concepts of eternity and afterlife. Immortality is defined as eternal life and defies the reality of life on earth. Towards the end of the poem, the author implicitly presents that the narrator is a