Emily Dickinson's poem “Because I could not stop for Death” calls attention to how people rush through life without taking the time to stop and enjoy life while they can. Dickinson employs a plethora of poetic devices including personification, dashes, and capitalization. Dickinson personifies Death is not a destination so much as it is a companion in a stage of life; The dashes she uses in the poem to show reader the joy of taking one’s time and through that we see why it’s important to take the same leisure in life, and her use of capitalization draws attention to the details of the poem and demonstrate the significance of the small things in life.
Dickinson uses dashes in the poem to show us first hand how slowing down can enhance one’s experience “Because I could not stop for Death — He kindly stopped for me the Carriage held but just Ourselves — And Immortality”(1-4). The strategic use of dashes in the stanza creates an environment where time slows down. The hyphens prevent the readers from rushing through the poem. Instead, the hyphens encourage the readers to slow down, so that they can understand the benefit of taking one’s time . Slowing down helps draw …show more content…
The narrator states, “We slowly drove — He knew no haste/ And I had put away /My labor and leisure too,/ For His Civility— ”(6-8). The way the narrator romanticizes death and uses we implies that the relationship between Death and the narrator is one of camaraderie and friendship. The narrator’s characterization of Death is significant because through it the readers learn that while generally it seems that Death is polar to life, in reality, Death is simply another transition in life. However, the two diverge in the sense that life consumes us with duties and responsibilities, so rather than interrupt us Death patiently waits for his turn to participate in the final stage of
Dickinson uses dashes in the poem to show us first hand how slowing down can enhance one’s experience “Because I could not stop for Death — He kindly stopped for me the Carriage held but just Ourselves — And Immortality”(1-4). The strategic use of dashes in the stanza creates an environment where time slows down. The hyphens prevent the readers from rushing through the poem. Instead, the hyphens encourage the readers to slow down, so that they can understand the benefit of taking one’s time . Slowing down helps draw …show more content…
The narrator states, “We slowly drove — He knew no haste/ And I had put away /My labor and leisure too,/ For His Civility— ”(6-8). The way the narrator romanticizes death and uses we implies that the relationship between Death and the narrator is one of camaraderie and friendship. The narrator’s characterization of Death is significant because through it the readers learn that while generally it seems that Death is polar to life, in reality, Death is simply another transition in life. However, the two diverge in the sense that life consumes us with duties and responsibilities, so rather than interrupt us Death patiently waits for his turn to participate in the final stage of