‘Instructor’s Name’
Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death"
Emily Dickinson is one of the significant contributors to American Literature and her poems are known for their theme of loneliness, and recollection of life changing inspirational moments. Lot of her works was indeed published much after her demise, and the earlier publication had many alterations done by the editors of the publication houses. This was due to the fact that Dickinson’s style of writing, broken rhyming meter and use of punctuations, showed a mark detachment from the traditional styles of that era. ‘Because I could not stop for Death’, is one of her most popular poems and it deals with the topic of death. The poem is an extended metaphor, where the experience of death is compared to a ride in a carriage, with a compassionate and charming companion. The poem is an excellent testimony to Dickinson’s ability to juxtapose an otherwise dreadful and solitary occurrence into a beautiful experience. Let us see how she expertly uses various elements of poetry such as metaphor, theme, verse, rhyme and imagery, to make the reader see death the way she saw it.
As with any of Dickinson’s poem, this poem too is concise and filled with intensity. Her favorite topics have always been nature, loneliness and death, perhaps due to the reclusive life she lived. In this poem she combines three of her favorite themes namely, nature, mortality and death – three powerful, overpowering themes. She starts the poem by describing how death as a perfect gentleman took the time to stop by for her, because she was too busy to stop for him. The she describes the unhurried carriage ride with death, which needed her to put aside her work and leisure. She mentions how they passed different sceneries like children playing in school (a metaphor for youth) and the fields of gazing grain (can be considered a metaphor for ripe old age). Then suddenly the experience of death becomes physical with the following words
The Dews drew quivering and chill—For only Gossamer, my Gown— My Tippet—only Tulle— (Dickinson, 1863)
Sometimes the finest technique to analyze how a poem has dealt with a larger subject is to begin with the individual words of the poem, because these words are those which give the poem its theme and grandeur. In every poem we can pick a few words which cannot be replaced with any other synonym. The poem wouldn’t sound the same without these words even if the meaning doesn’t change. In this poem the words that give the poem its distinctiveness are “kindly” and “civility”. These words explain how the narrator views death as a polite friend who is neither aggressive nor intimidating. But exactly this explanation about the politeness of death sets the tone for the most defining moment of the poem – the sunset. Now the narrator is not so assured and relaxed. She corrects herself (We passed the setting sun -- Or rather -- He passed Us –) and she feels a chill and a shiver, suddenly she realizes she is not dressed appropriately and her hesitancy is revealed.
Then she describes a house which looks just like a swelling on a ground, which is clearly a metaphor to graves. Also through the usage of imagery such as grain fields, houses and sunset, she gives the reader a portrayal of nature along with the personification of death. In the last stanza she recovers from the misgivings she had on the fifth paragraph and says, though ages have passed since her death, it just looks like lesser than a day. Eternal life has given the narrator such joy, that even centuries pass quicker just like a day. Through this poem she urges the reader not to fear death as immortality awaits them at the other side of this mortal life.
The poem has six quatrains out of which four has end rhymes and it has internal rhymes sprinkled all over the lyrics. The verses are brief and her elocution is laconic, which enables her to offer a power packed rendition of her argument. As with most of her poems the metrical pattern is irregular, as she was someone who rather sets her own mood rather than adhere to the established rules of poetic schematics. The two recurring subjects in the poem is mortality and immortality or eternal life. In the first stanza states how she embarked on a carriage where death had immortality with him. Then at the end stanza she speaks about how eternal life is so blissful that centuries seem like a day. Sunset and the resultant chill she feels, is the most apparent symbolism employed by Dickinson, which obviously denote death. Most of the other messages are conveyed through metaphors.
In conclusion, it might be appropriate to quote the famous poet Allen Tate who uttered the following comments on this poem
“The rhythm charges with movement the pattern of suspended action back of the poem. Every image is precise and, moreover, not merely beautiful, but inextricably fused with the central idea”. (Tate, 1936)
If you just take out the word ‘death’ from the poem and substitute it with a person’s name it could easily be passed on as a romantic poem. Such is the gentleness and choice of imagery used to describe death in this poem. Very few poets can produce a literary work which can denote a theme such as death like a courtship between lovers. This is the very reason why this poem is one true testimony to Dickinson’s poetic output.
Works Cited
- Allen Tate. From Reactionary Essays on Poetry and Ideas. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936, pp. 13-16, 22-25. Print.
- Emily Dickinson (1863). Because I Could Not Stop For Death. Retrieved from <http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15395>. Web. Accessed on July 6, 2013.
