Because I Could Not Stop for Death - 700 Words

Read over Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson. 1. List as many examples of metaphors and similes as possible. The carriage, in stanza 1, is a metaphor for a hearse. When they â€Å"passed the setting sun† (12) it implies that she has finally died. When they â€Å"paused before a house that seemed / A swelling of the ground† (17-18), the word house is a metaphor for grave. 2. Explain the personification. In Emily Dickinsons poem, â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop for Death†, death is personified in an unusual way. Instead of the expected dark, evil, Grim-reaper depiction of death, Dickinson portrayed him as more of a gentleman. Death became a character, able to carry out a human action, who â€Å"kindly stopped† (2) for the speaker,†¦show more content†¦Dickinsons use of diction in this case displayed the speakers calmness, even though she was looking at her own grave. Perhaps she was trying to tell the reader that death and the grave is not something to be feared. 2. At the start of the poem, the speaker told us how Death â€Å"kindly stopped for [her]† (2), and in a carriage no less. Following the theme of death and graves, the reader could perhaps surmise that this carriage symbolizes a hearse. However, this was no ordinary hearse. The speaker described how â€Å"The carriage held but just [themselves] / And Immortality† 3-4). The presence of Immortality transforms the carriage from an earthly, physical form of transportation into something more transcendental. In fact, this was confirmed in the final stanza of the poem, when she said that on the day of her death she â€Å"first surmised the horses heads / Were toward eternity† (23-24). The horses were, of course, the ones pulling the carriage, which means that the coach itself was headed toward eternity. Also, the use of the word carriage instead of hearse played into the personification of death as a gentleman or a suitor. 4. Discuss the poems meaning as best you can on your own without reviewing critical materials on-line or in books. What is most important is that you learn to develop your own critical eye, and your own ability to review poems for meaning. Your ideas and opinions matter, providedShow MoreRelated`` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``880 Words   |  4 PagesDeath is an aspect of life that everyone becomes acquainted with sooner or later. The poem, â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop for Death,† by Emily Dickinson, is seen as a reflection of the passing of time in one s life while living. No one knows when it is their time to die, and we live everyday as if tomorrow it promised. Dickinson is saying that since we as humans tend to live on the expectation for tomorrow, we don t think about the end of our life or when it will be. That time will stand still whenRead MoreBecause I Could Not Stop for Death1444 Words   |  6 PagesBecause I could not stop for Death In Emily Dickinsons poem Because I could not stop for Death the main theme seems to be the acceptance of Death. Emily gives reference to the theme by using death in the first line. The poem is unique and interesting because she presents Death in a different way by referring to it as an escort taking her on a journey towards eternity rather than making it seem like something frightening. Each stanza of the poem breaks down the journey through the stagesRead More`` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``1229 Words   |  5 PagesEveryone will die one day. It is a true, but unpleasant fact. Since death is therefore universal, it is easy to understand why a theme of death occurs so often in films and literature. Poetry is no exception to this trend. Poetry is filled with references to death or dying, as death is one of the most significant human conditions. A number of poets in particular have used death frequently in their writing. Emily Dickinson and Dylan Thomas are two of those poe ts. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 andRead More`` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``1354 Words   |  6 PagesBecause I could not stop for Death is one of the most puzzling poems Emily Dickinson wrote. â€Å"Scholars who stress these subversive qualities note that this poet appropriated conventional language, images, and themes and twisted them, disrupting their usual meaning.† (Dunlap, 2) In this poem, she describes death in hindsight. She commentates the experience play by play, chronicling her actions and vision from the time he arrived to pick her up in his carriage to her final resting place. In theRead More`` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``876 Words   |  4 Pages We cannot leave death of death can â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† by Emily Dickinson has written in 1863. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830-86, she is one of the greatest poets in American literature. Dickinson wrote love poems which it indicates strong attachment because of this it s difficult to know if does poems where subjects of her feelings or just part of her poetic imagination. The different tension that comes from her work is due to the cause of not accepting orthodox religion, â€Å"theRead MoreBecause I Could Not Stop For Death1886 Words   |  8 PagesEvery major religion has an answer to what is expect in death. However, contrary to major religious beliefs the reality is that no one knows when death will come or exactly what death entails - because those that die cannot communicate with the living. This is precisely the issue that Emily Dickinson tackles in her poem â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop for Death†. The speaker begins by offering a sanguine outlook in the eyes of death, however, the speaker eventually rejects her initial optimism. DickinsonRead MoreAnalysis Of Because I Could Not Stop For Death963 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Because I Could Not Stop For Death,† and â€Å"The Bustle in a House† are two poems by Emily Dickinson that portray death in very different ways. â€Å" Because I Could Not Stop For Death† is written from the perspective of a woman who has recently died about her eternal journey with a kind Death. â€Å"The Bustle in a House,† on the other hand, is about how one reacts to the death of a loved one. Through these two poems, Dickinson employs literary devices such as personification and metaphor to portray two differentRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``870 Words   |  4 PagesThemes of death all ring loud and clear in Dickinson’s â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death†, Donne’s â€Å"Death, be not proud†, and Cherry’s â€Å"Alzheimerâ₠¬â„¢s†. The poems are not explicitly about the act of dying, but death is personified or even foreshadowed in the work. Each piece has a different tone when referencing Death. Two of the poems reference Death by name, the last poem doesn’t specifically speak about dying or death per se, but based on the title, â€Å"Alzheimer’s†, it is clear that death is imminentRead MoreAnalysis of Because I Could Not Stop for Death2013 Words   |  9 PagesAnalysis of Because I Could Not Stop for Death The poets of the nineteenth century wrote on a variety of topics. One often used topic is that of death. The theme of death has been approached in many different ways. Emily Dickinson is one of the numerous poets who uses death as the subject of several of her poems. In her poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death, death is portrayed as a gentleman who comes to give the speaker a ride to eternity. Throughout the poem, Dickinson develops herRead MoreBecause I Could Not Stop Death By Emily Dickinson989 Words   |  4 PagesThe poem â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop Death† by Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poems since high school. I chose this poem due to the fact that that Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poets, I personally love her dark, and mysterious poems. Indeed, people believed she was a little messed up in the head, but I believe she was just misunderstood. Additionally, this poem definitely brought back terrifying memories. When couple years ago, I got into a horrible car accident with a drunk driver,