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Because I Could Not Stop for Death
by Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts in December of 1830. When Dickinson was younger, she was happy and outgoing, but as she grew older, she isolated herself from public life, and was grieved with the loss of several loved ones. Perhaps this is why many of her poems have a lighthearted, calm, or happy feel to them even when she wrote about death, and maybe her grief is why she wrote about death at all.
Emily wrote about 2,000 poems, but very few were published. The poems she wrote were unique for her time; they were usually short, and she did not title most of them. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality. This poem is no exception; it mentions both death and immortality.
The mood for her poem “I Could Not Stop for Death” is peaceful, regardless of its grim subject. She comes to accept death because it is inevitable. She almost befriends it, riding along with Death in a carriage to a house—which refers to a grave. It is easy to forget that she is traveling to her grave since the poem is written so cheerfully, and seems to carry a relaxed tone.
Death is only mentioned a few times, but when he is, he is portrayed as a kind, patient and considerate character; not at all like the Death that anyone is probable to imagine. Dickinson referred to her grave as a house to continue the poem’s light mood, and the carriage ride to the “house” is lighthearted as well, even though Dickinson is taking in the world that surrounds her one last time. Her surroundings are important as she rides along with Death because, though she is riding to her grave, she still does not seem to feel sadness, or regret, or even fear—she’s at peace. In the third stanza, she passes children playing outside during recess, “fields of gazing grain,” and “the setting sun,” as Death drives the carriage slowly—in no hurry to reach their destination.
As Dickinson proclaims in this poem: death is inevitable. It cannot be stopped, and though we may not embrace it with open arms as Dickinson seems to illustrate, we must accept it because we can do nothing but. This is precisely what Dickinson wants us to see and comprehend.
Emily wrote about 2,000 poems, but very few were published. The poems she wrote were unique for her time; they were usually short, and she did not title most of them. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality. This poem is no exception; it mentions both death and immortality.
The mood for her poem “I Could Not Stop for Death” is peaceful, regardless of its grim subject. She comes to accept death because it is inevitable. She almost befriends it, riding along with Death in a carriage to a house—which refers to a grave. It is easy to forget that she is traveling to her grave since the poem is written so cheerfully, and seems to carry a relaxed tone.
Death is only mentioned a few times, but when he is, he is portrayed as a kind, patient and considerate character; not at all like the Death that anyone is probable to imagine. Dickinson referred to her grave as a house to continue the poem’s light mood, and the carriage ride to the “house” is lighthearted as well, even though Dickinson is taking in the world that surrounds her one last time. Her surroundings are important as she rides along with Death because, though she is riding to her grave, she still does not seem to feel sadness, or regret, or even fear—she’s at peace. In the third stanza, she passes children playing outside during recess, “fields of gazing grain,” and “the setting sun,” as Death drives the carriage slowly—in no hurry to reach their destination.
As Dickinson proclaims in this poem: death is inevitable. It cannot be stopped, and though we may not embrace it with open arms as Dickinson seems to illustrate, we must accept it because we can do nothing but. This is precisely what Dickinson wants us to see and comprehend.