Because I Could Not Stop For Death Essay

776 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The theme of death in poetry

Death appears in many works of art. Literature, paintings, and movies have all featured death in their own way. Some forms of death even have names; the Grim Reaper and the Angel of Death are just two of the more well known ones. There are also descriptions of death without names. Emily Dickinson has written many poems about death, but has not assigned death a new name. There are many ways that death is depicted, but a common theme between all of them is that death is not totally evil.
In Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Emily Dickinson, death is described as a gentle man who is quiet and not in a rush. He drives her by the school yard, and the sun sets before they have finished driving around the town in his carriage. Death in this poem …show more content…

Philosophy and literature are related in many ways, and philosophy predated literature, and has even been written in the form of literature. Nobody truly knows anything about death or an afterlife if there is one, because the only people who have experienced it are dead and therefore cannot communicate it to us. A modern day philosopher, Jeff Mason, argues that death doesn’t actually have a subjective meaning. There is nobody alive who can answer questions about death and be certain about it. It doesn’t matter what stage of life you are at, everybody is ignorant and will be until they die. Because we have no concept of death, it must be spoken of metaphorically. This is where the many poems and literature with different faces of death come from. No source talking about death is truly reliable, because there is nothing to really know.
Those who write about death tend to be better equipped to accept their own. Emily Dickinson wrote many poems about death, including her own. Many people would describe this as morbid, but because this was a normal thought for her, it is possible that she came to accept it, and therefore did not fear it as she was beginning to age. Although she became very sick, and stayed sick for two and half years before her death, it is said that she refused treatment from doctors, and would not let them go to her bedside. Maybe this was

Show More
Related

  • One Death, Different Perspectives.

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is probably no one, among people, who has not considered death as a subject to think about or the events, people, and spirits that they would face after death. Also, since we were little kids we were asking our parents what death is and what is going to happen after we die. People have always linked death with fear, darkness, depression, and other negative feelings but not with Emily Dickinson, who was a reclusive poet from Massachusetts who was obsessed with death and dying in her tons of writings. She writes “Because I could not stop for Death” and in this particular poem she delivers a really different idea of death and the life after death. In the purpose of doing that, the speaker encounters death which was personalized to be in a form of gentleman suitor who comes to pick her up with his horse-drawn carriage for a unique death date that will last forever. In fact, she seems completely at ease with the gentleman. Additionally, their journey at the beginning seems pretty peaceful; as they pass through the town, she sees normal events such as children who are playing, fields of grain, and a sunset. After this, dusk takes place and the speakers gets chilly because she was not ready for this journey and she did not wear clothes that would make her feel warm. Consequently, readers get the idea that death is not a choice, so when it comes, that is it. Emily Dickinson, in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death,” uses personification, imagery, and style to deliver her positive and peaceful idea of death and life after death.

    Read More

  • Because I Could Not Stop for Death

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Emily Dickinson's poem, “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 “kindly stopped” (2) for the speaker, since she could not stop for him. He's described as a man who “knew no haste” (5), a courteous fellow. Another example of personification is when we discover that Immortality has decided to tag along for the carriage ride, as Death and Immortality seemingly go hand in hand. Lastly, Dickinson utilized personification, when she wrote, “We passed the setting sun. / Or rather, he passed us” (12-13). The sun is called a he instead of an it, and is reported as being able to pass the speaker and Death. Dickinson's use of this literary device, especially the personification of death, leads the reader to take a different approach in the way they think about the afterlife: a calmer, more accepting view of one's passing to whatever lies beyond the grave.

    Read More

  • Because I Could Not Stop for Death

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because I Could Not Stop for Death is proclaimed to be Emily Dickinson’s most famous poem. This poem reveals Emily Dickinson’s calm acceptance of death. She portrays death as a gentleman that surprises her with a visit. Emily illustrates everyday scenes in a life cycle. While her metaphors explore death in an immutable way, her lines often contain as much uncertainty as meaning.

    Read More

  • because i c ould not stop death

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death" (no. 712) has aroused conflicting interpretations. For example, Clark Griffith in The Long Shadow sees death as a "courtly lover," and "kindness" and "civility" he accepts "at face value" as describing "Death" as a "gentleman" (127-31). We can accept little at face value in Dickinson, and this is why she is so difficult to interpret.

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn Rhetorical Analysis

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    “When I got down out of the tree I crept along down the river-bank a piece, and found two bodies laying in the edge of the water, and tugged at them till I got ashore; then I covered up their faces, and got away as quick as I could. I cried a little when I was covering up Buck’s face, for he was mighty good to me.” (Twain, 148) Death. A topic that every single human, animal, and plant has to face with in some point of their life or at the end. But, when you really think about this subject what do you assume people associate with. Fear. Hell or Heaven. The end of a crossroad. Whatever you associate with people have brought their own interpretation of the concept. Two interesting interpretations of death comes from Mark Twain’s book, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and Sylvia Plath’s poem “I am Vertical”.

    Read More

  • Death in Dickinson

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Emily Dickinson is one of the most popular American poets of all time. Her poetry is seen as intense and passionate. Several of her many poems seem to be devoted to death and sadness. No one seems to know the exact connections between actual events in her life and the poetry that she wrote. The reader can see vivid images of Dickinson's ideas of death in several of her poems. Dickinson's use of imagery and symbolism are apparent in several of her death poems, especially in these three: "I Felt a Funeral in My Brain," "I Heard a Fly Buzz-When I Died," and "Because I Could Not Stop for Death."

    Read More

  • The Nature of Death in Emily Dickinson's Poems

    2260 Words  | 5 Pages

    Emily Dickinson once said, “Dying is a wild night and a new road.” Some people welcome death with open arms while others cower in fear when confronted in the arms of death. Through the use of ambiguity, metaphors, personification and paradoxes Emily Dickinson still gives readers a sense of vagueness on how she feels about dying. Emily Dickinson inventively expresses the nature of death in the poems, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (280)”, “I Heard a fly Buzz—When I Died—(465)“ and “Because I could not stop for Death—(712)”.

    Read More

  • Death and Emily Dickinson

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Death, the end of life: the time when someone or something dies” (Merriam-Webster, 2014). The definition of death is quite simple, the end of life is inescapable. I chose to write about death and impermanence because it is something we all must inevitably face. People often deal with death in a number of different ways. Although it is something that we must eventually face, it can be hard to come to terms with because the idea can be hard to grasp. Some of us fear it, others are able to accept it, either way we all must eventually face it. In this essay I will look at two different literary works about death and impermanence and compare and contrast the different elements of the point of view, theme, setting, and symbolism. The comparison of these particular works will offer a deeper look into words written by the authors and the feelings that they experiencing at that particular time.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

    1993 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 her unusual. interpretation of death and, by doing so, composes a poem full of imagery that is both unique and thought provoking.

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting Dickinson’s Poems, Because I Could Not Stop for Death and I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ritings. For example, in her work of “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, Dickinson used personification to resemble Death as a person. Also, in her poem of “I Heard a Fly Buzz– When I Died”, she uses “the Windows” (423) as eyes when the woman dies.

    Read More

  • Poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death

    1457 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the poem "Because I could not stop for death", Emily Dickinson talks about her acceptance of death as something inevitable that comes to her and she has no control over it; although she seems confused about being alive or dead as she keeps narrating.

    Read More

  • Differing Experiences of Death in "I Heard a Fly Buzz-When I Died" and "Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Dickinson,

    1861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Emily Dickinson stands out from her contemporaries by discussing one of man's inevitable fears in an unconventional way: death. In two of her poems, "I heard a Fly buzz-when I died" and "Because I could not stop for Death," Dickinson expresses death in an unforeseen way. Although Dickinson portrays death in both of these poems, the way that she conveys the experience is quite different in each poem. Dickinson reveals death as a grim experience, with no glimpse of happiness once one's life is over in "I heard a Fly buzz-when I died." In contrast to this, Dickinson consoles the reader by characterizing death as a tranquil journey in "Because I could not stop for Death." However, despite this difference, Dickinson seduces and catches the reader off guard by speaking of death in an unconventional way. Emily Dickinson masters describing a traumatic human event in the most mundane terms, with the help of literary devices such as imagery and language.

    Read More

  • Because I Could Not Stop For Death By Emily Dickinson

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    In poetry, death is referred as the end of literature and it is associated with feeling of sorrows. However Emily Dickinson demonstrates that death is not the end of literature or feeling of sadness but death is a new element of inspiration in poetry and is the beginning of a new chapter in our life. In the poem ‘’Because I Could Not Stop for Death’, she discusses the encounter of a women with death, who passed away centuries ago. Dickenson uses metaphors and similes to show that the process of dying can be an enjoyable moment by appreciating the good moments in life, and by respecting death rather than fearing it. Also Dickinson portrays death in a humorous way as she compares it to man seducing her to go to her death as well, to childhood games that show the innocence of this encounter (Bloom). The poem is a reflection of how unpredictable death can be. Death is a scary process in life that should not be feared because it should be celebrate as new start.

    Read More

  • Death Theme In Literature

    2483 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to Google, death is the action or fact of dying or being killed. This definition is too vague in the literature world and needs to be broken down and explained. Death is a topic in literature that is used more often than not. Writers use the theme of “Death” to add imagery and symbolism to their work. Death can be personified by an eerie black figure, or by a “holy” regular person.

    Read More

  • Themes of Death and Immortality in Emily Dickinson's Poetry

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Emily Dickinson’s poetry there is a reoccurring theme of death and immortality. The theme of death is further separated into two major categories including the curiosity Dickinson held of the process of dying and the feelings accompanied with it and the reaction to the death of a loved one. Two of Dickinson’s many poems that contain a theme of death include: “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” and “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.”

    Read More

More about Because I Could Not Stop For Death Essay

Open Document