“Because I could not stop for Death” is a lyrical poem by Emily Dickinson. It was first published posthumously in the 1890 collection, Poems: Series One. This collection was assembled and edited for publication by Dickinson's friends, Mabel Loomis Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and it was originally published under the title "The Chariot.”
A Lyrical Poem is a short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings. Historically intended to be sung and accompany musical instrumentation, lyric now describes a broad category of non-narrative poetry, including elegies, odes, and sonnets.
In the poem, Emily Dickinson describes her idea about Death, Afterlife, and Immortality. She uses personification to portray Death and Immortality as lively characters.
Structure of Because I Could Not Stop for Death:
The poem is 24 lines long and composed of six stanzas containing four lines each. A stanza of four lines is known as Quatrain. So, Because I Could Not Stop For Death has six quatrains with no regular rhyming pattern. The poem appears to be written in a regular metrical pattern. The first and third lines of each quatrain contain eight syllables written in iambic pentameter while the second and fourth lines are written in iambic trimeter.
Emily Dickinson used personification, symbolism, alliteration, allusion, enjambment, and volta in the poem.
Themes of Because I Could Not Stop for Death:
The major theme of the poem is the inevitability of Death. The narrator begins by saying that she “could not stop for Death” which shows she had not necessarily planned to die--but Death came for her anyway. It's not clear if the speaker is already dead, or she is traveling towards death. Either way, her death is presented as something natural, strange, and inescapable.
The use of “stop” in the first line could imply that the speaker was too busy living their life to acknowledge Death’s approach but when the speaker says Death stopping for her, she means Death is making a stop to pick her up, similar to a taxi or bus. The first line could also be interpreted as
perhaps the speaker could not stop for Death because she was too afraid. “Death” here is presented as something of a gentleman, “kindly” stopping his carriage so that the speaker can climb in, to make the speaker comfortable. Death isn’t cheery in this poem--but it’s also not a terrifying, horrible process. The other theme is Immortality who is also present in the carriage along with Death. It’s not clear if this is another personified figure—a kind of chaperone—or something more abstract. But the presence of “Immortality” does speak to one of humanity’s deepest questions: what happens to people when they die? Immortality is ambiguous here, it could refer to the Christian idea of Afterlife or it could also mean the permanent nothingness that awaits in death. The other important theme is the connection of Life and Death. “Death” is in “no haste.” That is, he doesn’t need to hurry to make death happen, because it is an automatic fact of life. In fact, the whole journey has the air of unhurried purpose, as though reaching the destination is a given and that therefore rushing is unnecessary. The carriage stops by a school, fields, and perhaps even the speaker’s own grave (stanza five). These seem to represent different stages of life, starting from childhood and preceding—like the journey itself—to the inevitable final destination.
Summary of Because I Could Not Stop for Death:
Stanza 1)
“Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.”
The poet personifies death, portraying him as a close friend or perhaps even a lover. In the first stanza, she reveals that she welcomes death when she says, “He kindly stopped for me.” The pleasant tone of the poem further suggests that the author is quite comfortable with death. Even if she was afraid of death, Death as a gentleman made her comfortable. The poet describes a carriage ride with the death personified which is symbolic of the author’s departure from life. Along with Death, the poet finds Immortality personified in the carriage.
Stanza 2)
“We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –”
She might have been afraid of death in the past but now she is comfortable with death and she says that she had “put away…labor and…leisure too, for his civility”. The author has come to terms with her own mortality.
She has set down all she wanted to do in life and willingly entered the carriage with Death and Immortality. She may be aware that had she not gone willingly, Death and Immortality would have taken her captive nonetheless. But the poet suggests that Death is kind, thoughtful, and even gentle. Death drives slowly for her, allowing her to reminisce. He “knew no haste” as they drove. He takes her through the course of her life with a slow and patient ride. Immortality rides along but is silent.
Stanza 3)
“We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –”
The poet continues to describe how gentle Death and Immortality are for her as they drove “passed the School where the Children strove” suggesting that the poet is generously given a few moments to remember her childhood. Then the carriage passes through ‘Fields of Gazing Grain’ allowing the poet to remember the prime of her life, her productive years. Then the carriage passes the ‘Setting Sun’ which symbolizes the poet’s death. The sunset is beautiful and gentle, and the passing from life to eternity is portrayed as such.
Stanza 4)
“Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –”
The poet uses Volta in the fourth stanza. A volta, or a turn, is often used by poets to create a significant shift in the tone and theme of a poem.
The poet shifts the nature of the personification of Death from pleasant to more ambiguous. Before the volta, Death is portrayed as a civil and courteous gentleman. After the volta, which occurs in line thirteen of the poem, Death takes on a more mysterious quality. Now that the sun has set, the author realizes that she is quite cold, and she shivers. Then, she becomes aware that she is underdressed. Prior to this moment of realization, the poet felt quite comfortable with Death and Immortality. After all, she was riding along with them in only her “gossamer” and her “Tippet – only Tulle”, or in other words, in only a sheer nightgown. When the sun sets and the cold damp sets in, she becomes aware of her inappropriate attire.
Stanza 5)
“We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –”
The poet realizes that she was seduced by Death who appeared to be a nice, gentle lover but now she faces disappointment. The carriage pauses before her new “house,” a “Swelling of the Ground.” She claims that “The Roof was scarcely visible” and the “Cornice – in the Ground.” The tone becomes one of disappointment as the author realizes that death is not all she thought it would be. Now, as the sun has set on her life, and she is standing before her new forever home, disappointment sets in. Death was kind and gentle, like a gentleman suitor. He lured her in with grandiose promises of eternity. Now that she sees her small, damp, eternal home, she feels cheated.
Stanza 6)
“Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –”
Now when the poet realizes that she has been seduced and trapped by Death, she feels centuries have passed “and yet Feels shorter than the Day” as life goes on without her. It has been centuries since that moment of realization when she “first surmised” that Death had seduced her, that he had appeared a kindly gentleman at first but had left her alone in the dark, cold, damp grave.
Literary Devices in Because I Could Not Stop for Death:
Apart from Personification, Symbolism, and Volta, Emily Dickinson also used alliteration, allusion, and enjambment. The Christian concept of the afterlife has been alluded to in the poem it is ambiguous if the poet agrees with it or not because instead of the common belief of eternal bliss in the ‘Afterlife,’ the poet ends the poem suggesting the gloomy, dark, eternal reality of nothingness after death. Alliteration is easily visible in lines such as ‘He Knew No Haste’ or ‘My labor and my leisure. The poet also used enjambment within the lines cutting them off before their natural stopping point.
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