Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop For Death

Emily Dickinson is a poet that tends to break all the rules of what society has formed about poetry and how it should be. This can make it challenging to read, but after careful analysis a reader can take the lines and make some sensible connections. Being the rebel that she is makes her poetry captivating to read despite its complexity because much of it could be interpreted in many different ways. Dickinson dives into a couple themes multiple times in her poetry death, destiny, and doubt. Death is one of the biggest unknowns in the world. No one can describe what death looks like, feels like, or what happens after someone dies in reality. Therefore, making it an interesting topic to explore for a poet. It is hard to debate whether her poetry is accurate in depicting death, but it is an interesting component of life to ponder about. Dickinson writes, “Because I could not stop for Death— He kindly stopped for me” in depicting the uncertainty of death (lines 1-2, poem 712). It is intriguing that she uses the words kindly and personifies death as a male figure. This could pertain to a religious tie or it could also pertain to real life experiences she had …show more content…
So could a person choose their own path? Then the next couple of lines state, “Then— shuts the Door— to her divine Majority” (lines 1-3, poem 303). Once again shutting down the idea that a person could have complete control with no interference over their destiny. Lastly she writes, “Choose One— Then close the Valves of her attention—Like Stone” (lines 10-12, poem 303). This gives the impression that even if an individual is allowed to choose it will not be without consequences. This line also eludes to the idea that once the decision is made there is no turning back. Another idea that overlaps with some of the lines used to describe destiny is