479 Emily Dickinson Analysis

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479 by Emily Dickinson

479 or Because I could not stop for Death was one of the many poems written by Dickinson relating to death. The poem was Dickinson’s recollection of her life and her journey with Death as she approaches the new beginning she will have as a spiritual being. Dickinson perceived death as an eminent and inevitable ending for her life, and was prepared to experience the darkness and loneliness death would bring should she ever pass to the other side. However, as time went on and Dickinson grew old and weary, Death “kindly stopped for” her and “slowly drove” her away from the living world. On this carriage, Dickinson would observe a last glimpse of the living: passing “the School, where Children strove,” “Fields of Grazing Grain,” and “the Setting Sun.” These scenes solidified Dickinson’s imminent future and had caused her to think of the life she had. …show more content…

Death is a mysterious topic as there are so few accounts of an individual’s experience with the afterlife. As a confusing, nebulous, and, often times, fearful subject, death has led individuals to misunderstand what will truly happen after one passes. In a biblical sense, death is referred to as the last enemy to conquer in one’s lifetime, and an individual’s soul is perceived to be still “alive.” Many individuals refuse to believe they will succumb to their demise as they fear what they will experience afterward. Psychologists have inferred the afterlife is the “ultimate reality (Kardaras)” and believe it will be similar to the material world, but the individual will be in their “transcendent and eternal soul form (Kardaras).” For thousands of years, society has questioned the nature of death and desired to reveal the truth behind its mysterious nature, which is the reason why a number of literary figures scubas Emily Dickinson desires to venture into the fascinating and unknown

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