POETRY ANALYSIS

BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound

Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
We’re toward eternity

Emily Dickinson 1830 – 1886

PARAPHRASE

Because I could not stop for Death, so He kindly stopped for me. The carriage held but just ourselves and Immortality.

We slowly drove and he knew no haste. And I had put away my labor and my leisure too for his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove at recess, in the ring and We passed the fields of gazing grain and We passed the setting sun.

Or rather he passed us, The dews grew quivering and chill for only gossamer my gown and my tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed a swelling of the ground and the roof was scarcely visible and the cornice but a mound.

Since then ’tis centuries and yet each feels shorter than the day. I first surmised the horses’ heads. We’re toward eternity.

THEME

The theme of this poem is about the acceptance of death. Death is not to be feared since it is a natural part of endless cycle of nature.

GENERAL MEANING

This poem illustrates a woman, escorted by “Death” and accompanied by “Immortality”, headed towards her final destination, which is eternity. The speaker clearly implies that ‘Death’ is not something to be afraid of. Instead of offending, Death is described with such a kindness and gentleness. Enchanted by his kindness, the woman has no other options but to leave her mortal life behind.

DETAIL MEANING

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality

This poem begins by personifying death as person in a carriage, who picks the speaker as a passenger. The speaker remarks that she had been too busy to stop for Death, so he takes the time to do what she cannot and stop for her, 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. The carriage ride is symbolic of the author’s departure from life. She is in the carriage with death and immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility

“he knew no haste”  is an old-fashioned way of saying Death didn’t speed or hurry. The “we” might allow the reader think the speaker has some control over the pace, but Dickinson quickly reminds us that “he” is the one determining the relaxed progress and that the speaker’s just along for the ride. While we’ve already determined that the speaker is not afraid of Death, this slow pace still create a feeling of drawn-out suspense in the poem and keep us wondering what might happen. She reveals her willingness to go with death (because she has given up thinking about and worrying about work and free time) when she says that she had “put away…labor and…leisure too for his civility”. This further reveals that 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, they would have taken her captive nonetheless, but this does not seem to alter her perception of the two characters as kind, thoughtful, and even gentle. This is portrayed as 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. This is explicitly stated, as it is “For His Civility” that she puts away her “labor” and her “leisure,” which is Dickinson using metonymy to represent another alliterative word—her life.

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun

They drive “passed the school where the children strove” implying that the author is generously given a few moments to remember her childhood. They then drive past the “gazing grain” allowing the author to think back upon the prime of her life. Then they pass the setting sun. This symbolizes the author’s death. The sunset is beautiful and gentle, and the passing from life to eternity is portrayed as such. There is a metaphor in this poem, Dickinson states that they pass the “Setting Sun”. This is a common symbol to describe the end of a person’s life. Anaphora is evident in the passage with the repetition of “We passed” to emphasize the frequency of the action and how important those stages mentioned in the poem are and it works to mimic the slow progression of the carriage. You can almost hear the echo of clomping horse hooves in the repeated phrase, so instead of feeling like this poem is at a standstill, we’re aware that its moving forward, it almost allow us to be a part of their journey not just outside observers.

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.

Suddenly, now that the sun has set, the author realizes that she is quite cold and she shivers. Then she becomes aware that she is under dressed, it tells us about we can not prepare for death, we cannot prepare to wear a thick dress that can protect us from cold because death come unexpectedly we cannot prepare when like it is not her choice and she was not planning this trip with Death. Prior to this moment of realization, the author felt quite comfortable with Death and Immortality. After all, she was riding along with them in only her “gossamer” and her “tippet only tulle” (kind of wedding dress that she wants to marry with Death, it is like representing a new beginning than for funeral, representing an end) or in other words, in only a sheer nightgown. In the first through third stanzas, the author is on close affectionate terms with Death and Immortality. Describing Death as a gentleman suitor who is kind and civil, she shows no shame at being under dressed. However, when the sun sets, and the cold damp sets in, she becomes aware of her inappropriate attire.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound

In her moment of realization that she has been seduced by Death, they pause before her new “home”, a “swelling of the ground”. She claims the “the roof was scarcely visible” and the “cornice but a mound”. The tone becomes one of disappointment, as the author realizes that death is not all she thought it would be, her new “home” is not like what is expected is not like a cottage, hotel, or etc but it is a grave. 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.

Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
We’re toward eternity

It has now been “centuries and yet each feels shorter than a 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. This statement “feels shorter than the Day” is so paradoxical and hyperbolic because centuries is too long to feel shorter than the day.