Because I could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

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Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830. Except for a few months of travel, she remained in Amherst until her death. Dickinson began, in her twenties, a gradual retreat into the confines of the homestead, the house in which she was born, until for the last fifteen years of her life she didn't leave its grounds and saw no one but her brother and sister. As her withdrawal intensified, Emily's principal method of communication was through her letters. Emily Dickinson died on May 15, 1886 after an illness. ( Harold Bloom 11 - 13) Modern readers are apt to comment upon the frequency with which Dickinson returns to this subject of death. (Wolff, Cynthia, G. 749) "Because I could Not Stop For Death" was written in about 1863 (Kennedy 740) The poem is comprised of six stanzas of four lines each. The poem is long and aligned to the left. The rhyme scheme is ABCB in its first and last two stanzas; however, stanza three and four has different rhyme schemes as stanza three is read ABBC and stanza four is read ABCD. She frequently applies the use of personal pronouns; for example, in the first stanza of the poem, she uses the pronouns "I", "He", "Ourselves". In the second stanza she uses the pronouns "We", "He", "I". In the third stanza she uses the pronoun "We", in three out the four lines composing the stanza. As Harold Bloom, editor of "Bloom's Major Poets ' Emily Dickinson' " says,” When Dickinson declares her "I," these instants become our own" (Bloom 38) The use of pronouns in the poem makes us, as the readers, get involved so deeply into the poem so that we get to feel the protagonist of the poem which is of course the speaker. Most stanzas are composed of a two -beat line but the majority is three b... ... middle of paper ... ...re is a paradise waiting for us. Works Cited Dickinson, Emily. "Because I could Not Stop For Death." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 4th Compact Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia . NY: Longman, 2005 Wolff, Cynthia, G. "Dickinson And Death." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 4th Compact Ed. XJ Kennedy and Dana Gioia . NY: Longman, 2005 Bloom, Harold. "Biography of Emily Dickinson." Bloom's Major Poets. Edited And With An Introduction By Harold Bloom: Emily Dickinson. Comprehensive Research And Study Guide. Harold Bloom. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999 Tate, Allen. "Allen Tate On Emily Dickinson." Bloom's Major Poets. Edited And With An Introduction By Harold Bloom: Emily Dickinson. Comprehensive Research And Study Guide. Harold Bloom. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999

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