ipl-logo

Emily Dickinson's Poems: Because I Could Not Stop For Death

843 Words4 Pages

The poems “Because I could not stop for Death” and “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” by Emily Dickinson both describe death and a journey one takes to get there. In “Because I could not stop for Death” the speaker tells of someones journey of death that did not see it coming and had no time to slow down to notice it. While in the poem “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” the speaker describes ones journey to death that aware it is coming, someone who is prepared and waiting for it to happen. Death can arrive in many different forms, it is different for everyone and nobody knows or can predict accurately when or how it will come no matter how prepared or not prepared someone is. In “Because I could not stop for Death” Dickinson views death as a …show more content…

The poem takes place in a bedroom where someone is on their deathbed. It is so quiet that a fly is heard buzzing around the room. The speaker is going through the rituals of an expected death, surrounded by family and friends all waiting for death to arrive. The speaker is taking their last breaths and is waiting for God to lead them to the afterlife, “For that last Onset-when the King Be witnessed-in the room”(753). The speaker continues the ritual, willing away all material possessions and then is worried that their soul will not be “Assignable” (753). The speaker is worried that thier soul will not be taken to heaven for all eternity. As the speaker ponders this, the fly interrupts and is not part of this tradition and ritual. The fly is standing between the speaker and the light, interrupting the speakers final thoughts. The fly symbolizes the physical aspects of death and reminds the speaker of this as the speaker loses their breath and sight then passes …show more content…

Both speakers describe what they see and feel. Both poems suggest that there is an afterlife since the speakers are speaking from beyond the grave. In “Because I could not stop for Death” the speaker gives us a viewpoint of someone already in the afterlife. While in “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” the speaker gives us a viewpoint of someone who is still alive but is about to die. The poems take the reader on a journey of what it is like to be dead and what it is like to be dying. They also remind us that in life, weather you are waiting for death or preparing for it, death will always come sooner or later. Both poems suggest that the only immortality we have is in the afterlife, in

Show More
Related
614 Words | 3 Pages

Although Dylan Thomas in “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” and Emily Dickinson in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” both talk about the similar issue of death, they are able to talk about different aspects of it with the same idea using unique poetic writing styles. For instance, Emily Dickinson uses irony in her poem by relating to the serious topic of death with a soft tone, treating it as a journey of life. Also, in “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” the speaker gives the reader a tone of urgency and demand, where even with anger and rage towards death everyone will all end with it no matter the situation because that is life. This paper aims to compare two poems with examples that will reveal their similarities and differences within the themes.

Read More
1401 Words | 6 Pages

Romanticism is a movement in literature from the 18th century. Qualities that romantic literature had is that they valued ideas and nature. They value nature and can find ideas in every single thing that happens. Romantic literature was not only happy but it was also melancholy. Romantic authors explored the good and the bad things of life.

Read More
1204 Words | 5 Pages

What is the death? What happens after a person dies? How is it that a reoccurring experience like death is so vaguely understood? Granted that most people understand the concept of death in most people can explain the cause of death, however there still lies the fear of the unknown after death. What is most alarming is not just the unknown of death, but the reality of loss for the loved one who is left behind?

Read More
1009 Words | 5 Pages

I was inspired to write this poem because as I was thinking and writing about life, I also thought about death, and felt like it was necessary to include a poem regarding it. Literally, this poem addresses the readers and asks them not to mourn my death, but to keep me in their memories, “keeping me alive”. This can be interpreted as a criticism for mourning, as I state that “I will be just and empty corpse, / decaying in the bacteria filled soil.” and “cannot receive your mourning”. This poem includes many literary devices, one of such being metaphors/euphemisms.

Read More
119 Words | 1 Pages

In Because I Could Not Stop for Death Dickinson uses alliteration repeatedly to describe her mortal life and immortal life. For example, in line 7 she says, “My labor and my leisure too”. This describes how she put away all the work and all the pleasure of her mortal life. Signifying how none of these mortal aspects matter anymore as death is taking her away. Another example, in line 15, “For only Gossamer, my Gown” Dickinson uses a very eerie form of alliteration as she describes being covered in cob webs, this gossamer is her gown for eternity.

Read More
322 Words | 2 Pages

Maria Marginean Thesis: Although Emily Dickinson never Denies the Existence of God, she criticizes the Suffering “He” causes and the negative effects “He” has on the Individual’s sense of self regarding Death and the Afterlife. (Note: She emphasizes that the individual is powerful perhaps more so than the perceived notion of a “God”, and that he individual should focus on enjoying their life at the moment rather than stressing about the afterlife. It seems as though she doesn’t want to die, go to Heaven.)

Read More
148 Words | 1 Pages

Paxton Schreiber Ms. Kiser English B4 11/29/16 Rough Draft One of the most common fears today is death,in the poem “I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died” by Emily Dickinson, Dickinson states that death does not mean the end of your presence on earth, It means the end of your time. Dickinson’s use of descriptive language and using words without emotion show the atmosphere of the death bed. The first stanza Dickinson describes the deathbed and how the room is silent except the buzzing of the fly.

Read More
1214 Words | 5 Pages

When Dickinson was young she thought of death as a kind, peaceful gentleman. She elaborates on this idea in her poem “Because I could not Stop for Death”, “Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me/ We slowly drove - He knew no haste,” Emily Dickinson uses the personification of Death in a way that bears resemblance to a classy, peaceful gentleman who is willing to slowly guide and patiently wait for a lady. Her wording also gives the connotation that she is young and in love with this gentle Death. This idea abruptly turns into hatred when she loses her parents.

Read More
453 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever wondered what happens after you die? Death is a problem for all people. It is also a topic that weighs heavily on the mind of 18th century poet, Emily Dickinson. In the poem, “I heard a fly buzz - when I died.” by Emily Dickinson, she uses symbolism and figurative language to express her ideas and feelings about death.

Read More
214 Words | 1 Pages

Both Dickinson and Frost also share symbolism and imagery that is associated with death throughout their poems, however, the use to symbols and imagery are different in correspondence to how each of the poets conceive the prospect of death. In “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, the speaker is so preoccupied with living that she fails to realize that her life is near its end. Therefore, Death, depicted as a gentleman, must "kindly" stop for her. But before she reaches her burial or grave, the speaker watches the scenery outside the carriage, as they pass through stages of the her childhood and adolescence, where she witnesses “the School, where Children strove, At Recess – in the Ring – We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –”; then finally

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

In the poem “Because I could not stop for death” by Emily Dickinson, death is described as a person, and the narrator is communicating her journey with death in the afterlife. During the journey the speaker describes death as a person to accompany her during this journey. Using symbolism to show three locations that are important part of our lives. The speaker also uses imagery to show why death isn 't’ so scary.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

“Because I Could Not Stop For Death” by Emily Dickinson is a poem about death being personified in an odd and imaginative way. The poet has a personal encounter with Death, who is male and drives a horse-carriage. They go on a mysterious journey through time and from life to death to an afterlife. The poem begins with its first line being the title, but Emily Dickinson’s poems were written without a title and only numbered when published, after she died in 1886.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

There are seven stanzas in this poem and the techniques appeared in the poem are Imagery, Simile, Metaphor, and Alliteration. The imagery is the techniques used all over the seven stanzas in this poem to describe the image of the Death the movement, and the sound which included Auditory, Visual, and Kinetic. The First stanza described the environment in the cemeteries, the heart refers to the dead bodies in the graves and a tunnel could be coffins. The dead bodies sleeping in a tunnel which give the image of the coffin and in this stanza the poet also used a Simile in the last three lines by using word “like” and “as though.”

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

In “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, Emily Dickinson uses imagery and symbols to establish the cycle of life and uses examples to establish the inevitability of death. This poem describes the speaker’s journey to the afterlife with death. Dickinson uses distinct images, such as a sunset, the horses’ heads, and the carriage ride to establish the cycle of life after death. Dickinson artfully uses symbols such as a child, a field of grain, and a sunset to establish the cycle of life and its different stages. Dickinson utilizes the example of the busyness of the speaker and the death of the sun to establish the inevitability of death.

Read More
867 Words | 4 Pages

The Transformation that Changes our Lives The poet Emily Dickinson in her poem, I Felt a Funeral in my Brain that is the first line of the poem, not a special title that Dickinson chose. It tells about the story of the experience of the speaker in the poem who is transforming from place to another. Many readers would take this poem as an explanation of what happens after death, what the dead body feels in the funeral.

Read More

More about Emily Dickinson's Poems: Because I Could Not Stop For Death

Open Document