Because I Could Not Stop For Death Literary Devices

Growing up next to a cemetery, Emily Dickinson was no stranger to death. Continually exposed to death, many would believe she would fear death and not write about it. One famous poem of Emily's “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” proves this untrue, as she personified Death as a gentleman. For one surrounded by death, this personification may seem surprising. However, using this along with creative literary devices, Emily created a noteworthy poem. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” has an intriguing plot, unusual but effective form and literary devices, and an unforgettable theme.

Emily begins this poem by suggesting she was too busy to die. Readers receive the feeling that her death came unexpectedly and death, personified as a gentleman, had to stop for her with his carriage. Since death seems so kind, Emily puts away her work and free time for him as they pass places symbolizing the stages of life. First, they pass a schoolhouse which symbolizes childhood. Next, they pass the gazing grain, referring to adulthood, and finally the setting sun, …show more content…
Blank verse, an abnormal rhyming pattern, makes it more like everyday speech rather than a rhyming poem. The iambic meter gives this poem a natural sound while reading. As for literary devices, alliteration is a reoccurring device in Emily's poem, such as “Gazing Grain,” “Setting Sun,” and “Tippet...Tulle.” By doing so, Emily created extra emphasis on these words to make the poem more memorable. In the middle of the poem, the anaphora “We passed” gives readers the sense the carriage constantly moves and will not stop. All the beautiful imagery in this piece of writing, such as the setting sun, the dew quivering, and the gravestone, involves the readers and makes them feel as if they too sit next to death. Finally, the distinctive personification of death leaves the readers to think about their mortality; is death really so