When considering both marriage and death, the common word ‘eternity’ might come to mind. One is thought of as an eternal bonding, and the other is viewed as an unending state of rest. Through the symbolism, personification, and imagery used in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” Emily Dickinson portrays the speaker’s death by illustrating an eternal marriage. The first quatrain starts with the speaker recalling the time that she is visited by Death. She then elopes with Death and his associate, Immortality, but she doesn’t realize that going with Death would mean that she would have to leave the world and be move into his house forever. This shows that the speaker is immature at that point in time. As she leaves with Death the speaker says,
…show more content…
She describes the journey on the way, saying, “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -/ We passed the Setting Sun -”(11-12). The next few lines show the transition of the speaker passing from this world into another, colder place. She states, “The Dews drew quivering and chill -/For only Gossamer, my Gown -/My Tippet - only Tulle -”(14-16). The speaker realizes that she is severely underdressed for the trip. The garments she was wearing were too thin to keep her from the increasing cold as they came closer to their destination. They finally arrive at Death’s house. The speaker describes it as “A Swelling of the Ground -/The Roof scarcely visible -/The Cornice - in the Ground -”(18-20). The final point in the poem is a flashback, where she says, “Since then, ’tis Centuries - and yet/Feels shorter than the Day/I first surmised the Horses’ Heads/Were toward Eternity -”(21-14). This tells the reader that she is looking back on the day she left almost as if she was sad. Centuries have passed, but that day, in particular, seems longer than any other day in her …show more content…
Dickinson illustrates the death so well that it makes it appear that she is speaking of her own. The clue that the poem was about death was that she got into a carriage with two men named Death and Immortality. Death is a symbol of the body passing away, and Immortality is a symbol of the body dying, but the soul living on (i.e. the afterlife). “Because I could not stop for Death -/He kindly stopped for me -”(1-2). This line implies that people don’t think of death, mainly because they are afraid of it. Dickinson seems to dismiss that fear as being unnecessary by having Death stop and kindly asks people to join him in his carriage. After she gets into the carriage, Dickinson continues to describe what the speaker is seeing as she is dying. Her death, however, is a slow enough process for her to be able to think of all the things that she’ll leave behind. She does seem torn between feeling good and bad about this. On the one hand, she gets to leave her responsibilities and labor behind. On the other hand, she has to part with her leisures, which ranges from friends to good
She describes the journey on the way, saying, “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -/ We passed the Setting Sun -”(11-12). The next few lines show the transition of the speaker passing from this world into another, colder place. She states, “The Dews drew quivering and chill -/For only Gossamer, my Gown -/My Tippet - only Tulle -”(14-16). The speaker realizes that she is severely underdressed for the trip. The garments she was wearing were too thin to keep her from the increasing cold as they came closer to their destination. They finally arrive at Death’s house. The speaker describes it as “A Swelling of the Ground -/The Roof scarcely visible -/The Cornice - in the Ground -”(18-20). The final point in the poem is a flashback, where she says, “Since then, ’tis Centuries - and yet/Feels shorter than the Day/I first surmised the Horses’ Heads/Were toward Eternity -”(21-14). This tells the reader that she is looking back on the day she left almost as if she was sad. Centuries have passed, but that day, in particular, seems longer than any other day in her …show more content…
Dickinson illustrates the death so well that it makes it appear that she is speaking of her own. The clue that the poem was about death was that she got into a carriage with two men named Death and Immortality. Death is a symbol of the body passing away, and Immortality is a symbol of the body dying, but the soul living on (i.e. the afterlife). “Because I could not stop for Death -/He kindly stopped for me -”(1-2). This line implies that people don’t think of death, mainly because they are afraid of it. Dickinson seems to dismiss that fear as being unnecessary by having Death stop and kindly asks people to join him in his carriage. After she gets into the carriage, Dickinson continues to describe what the speaker is seeing as she is dying. Her death, however, is a slow enough process for her to be able to think of all the things that she’ll leave behind. She does seem torn between feeling good and bad about this. On the one hand, she gets to leave her responsibilities and labor behind. On the other hand, she has to part with her leisures, which ranges from friends to good