Because I Could Not Stop For Death

"Because I could not stop for Death"

In Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not stop for Death" the main theme seems to be the acceptance of Death. Emily gives reference to the theme by using "death" in the first line. The poem is unique and interesting because she presents Death in a different way by referring to it as an escort taking her on a journey towards eternity rather than making it seem like something frightening. Each stanza of the poem breaks down the journey through the stages of her life that leads to the end where the speaker reaches eternity and she finally realizes that she is no longer living. In the fifth stanza when she refers to the coffin as her "house" gives the impression that she's comfortable with death and not afraid. Death is seen as something that's a natural part of life that you don't have to be scared to face. Many critics may agree that Death is the important theme of the poem, but they each have their own view of how this theme is interpreted.

In a critical analysis by Allen Tate he says that "the content of death in the poem eludes forever any explicit definition" (Modern Literature). He believes that "Because" is one the greatest poems within the English language because it's flawless. Each image is precise and fuses with the central idea which in this particular poem is death. An example of her power to fuse into a single order of perception is in the third stanza where she refers to the children, the grain, and the setting sun (Modern Lit.). Tate speaks of the poem's "subtly interfused erotic motive, which the idea of death has presented to most romantic poets, love being a symbol interchangeable with death" (Modern Lit.). He also says, "The terror of death is objectified through this figure of the genteel driver, who is made ironically to serve the end of Immortality" (Modern Lit.). To him, the heart of the poem is when she presents a typical Christian theme in all its final irresolution. Tate also points out that the framework of the poem comes from mortality and eternity. According to Tate, "The two elements of her style, considered as point of view, are immortalityÐ'...and the physical process of death or decay" (Modern Lit.). Tate seems to praise the poems for its greatness and for its defects. He sees Emily's poetry as a magnificent personal confession, in its self-revelation, and honesty, almost obscene.

According to Carol Frost the first lines of "Because I could not stop for Death" seem to invoke orthodox reassurance against the fear of death on the surface by portraying Him as sensitive to the busy lives of mortals by inviting the speaker on a carriage ride. When in reality the lines are the first of several ironic reversals of what Emily suggest might be but isn't (Modern Lit). The third occupant along for the journey is Immortality which provides a sense of comfort to the speaker and allows her to go on their carriage ride with death. Putting "And Immortality" on a line by itself helps emphasize the importance of the presence of the other passenger. Carol says "The word choice seems ironic, with Dickinson playing reality against the romantic view of childhood and death, where one's salvation is so little in danger that a schoolyard is solely for play" (Modern Lit). Frost refers to the language Emily uses as containing the necessary details to make the reader believe that what they've read has happened. Frost points out the cleverness of the mixture of details that suggest beginnings and decline, youth and ripeness. In the 5 stanza when Emily rhymes ground with itself tends to give emphasis on the carriage's destination and the body's disposition. To Dickinson death is a physical experience (Modern Lit). Frost says, "The poem certainly addresses itself to the question of being by describing the state of being alive and dead at the same time" (Modern Lit). Emily doesn't explain how the dead live, besides giving the reader glimpses of the perceptions the living have, ending the poem with the partial, remembered age of the "Horses' Heads" facing eternity (Modern Lit). At the end of the poem, Immortality is changed into Eternity, which is an uncomfortable change. The poems written by Emily are personal and inviting. Frost believes that "Because I could not stop for Death," is one of the finest poem written by Dickinson on the theme of what lies beyond death, both in cosmic terms and in the feeling of those bound to die, she presents the reader with the strangeness of such a condition. Frost goes on to imply that "the poem allows us to feel our own discomfort at not fully knowing, despite what we might surmise, and to experience fears and wonders about time's evanescence and the mystery of death". She says "we yearn for immortality, so he accompanies one of us, the one invited into death's carriage. We feel the yearning and the fear as Dickinson must once have, their expression being so palpable, and while we do the poem belongs to us, common readers"(Modern