The turning point happens in the fourth stanza and the tone of the speaker changes. In first three stanzas, the feeling of the speaker is comfortable and calm while staying with death; but in the fourth stanza, she seems to become a little bit nervous. The closer she gets to the destination, the more nervous she seems to be. “The Dews drew quivering and chill-/For only Gossamer, my Gown-/My Tippet-only Tulle-” (Dickinson lines 14-16) After passing the speaker’s different stages of life, death and the speaker enter a strange place that is cold, wet and dark. The speaker complains that her clothes are unable to keep her away from the coldness and the dewdrop, which indicates that she is not brave enough to face her destination of the trip. Even …show more content…
For instance, Lao Tzu, the philosopher who founded Taoism based on spiritual tenets of what death and afterlife are. Lao Tzu indicates that “Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides”. Lao Tzu uses thread metaphor for death and life; death and life are different sides of the line. Which means, death is not the end of the life but the beginning of the new life. He also believes that death is a law of natural, and human beings ought to accept and follow it instead of resisting it. People who want their body live forever are foolish. Dickinson’s poem could be observed from the perspective of Lao Tzu’s notion, which encourages people to accept death normally and peacefully. Emily Dickinson style in poetry, as she deals with spiritual ideas, seem to evoke philosophical principles as those proposed by Lao Tzu, despite their geographical or chronological distance. Emily Dickinson is an American writer who lived in 19the century, and Lao Tzu is an Eastern philosopher who lived in 500 B.C.; apparently, they do not have the opportunity communicate with each other, but they convey the same view on death through their literature. Although, both Lao Tzu and Dickinson think highly of spiritual life, they do not despise the physical life. The idea they may want to express is that only if human beings take advantages of the …show more content…
(John Ruskin). Even though, human beings are not able to avoid death, they are making efforts to understanding and explaining it; and death is the timeless topic in literature. The speaker in “Because I could not stop for Death”, treat death as her friend and she faces death peacefully. Death is not fearful because it does not mean the end of life and it is also a part of the natural cycle of the world. Dickinson’s view on death reflects Lao Tzu’s opinions of death, both of them believe that death is the most normal thing in the world and death is not the end of the life; and people ought to treat death as a friend instead of fearing death. Even though Woolf’s attitude to death is not as friendly as Dickinson’s, she also believes that human beings should not fear of death, which is same as Dickinson. A scientific experiment did by Ducan can also support Dickinson’s view on death; the experiment proves that all human beings have souls, and souls will not die with people 's physical body but will leave the body and attain the eternal life. In conclusion, human beings are destined to die, but human’s spirit is able to have the eternal life. Therefore, it is unnecessary to be fear of the death, but welcome it as a friend, when it is
Dickinson 's poem uses poetic devices of personification to represent death, she represents death as if it were a living being. Dickinson 's capitalization of the word “DEATH”, causes us to see death as a name, in turn it becomes noun, a person, and a being, rather than what it truly is, which is the culminating even of human life. The most notable use of this, is seen in the very first few lines of the poem when Dickinson says “Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me”. In her poem Dickinson makes death her companion, as it is the person who is accompanying her to her grave. She states that death kindly stopped for her and she even goes as far as to give death the human ability to stop and pick her up. The occasion of death through Dickinson use of personification makes it seem like an interaction between two living beings and as a result the poem takes on a thoughtful and light hearted tone. The humanization of death makes the experience more acceptable and less strange, death takes on a known, familiar, recognizable form which in turn makes the experience more relatable. As the poem
Who does not cower in fear upon the thought of death? Almost everybody does! However, people have differing views on the abstract idea of dying. In examining the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? by Emily Dickinson and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? by Dylan Thomas, it is evident that the poets use contrasting and comparative techniques in their unique presentations of the concept of death. In the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? Emily Dickinson presents the idea of acceptance of death, whereas in the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? Dylan Thomas presents the idea of refusal and opposition to death. Despite the differences in theme, these two poets both use similar figurative language devices, such as metaphors, personification and alliteration as they explore their contrasting ideas pertaining to the concept of death. Through the use of their same literacy techniques, both of the authors have presented two very different perceptions on death: Dickinson's message is acceptance whereas Thomas?is rejection.
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on 10th December, 1830, in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts. As a young child, she showed a bright intelligence, and was able to create many recognizable writings. Many close friends and relatives in Emily’s life were taken away from her by death. Living a life of simplicity and aloofness, she wrote poetry of great power: questioning the nature of immortality and death. Although her work was influenced by great poets of the time, she published many strong poems herself. Two of Emily Dickinson’s famous poems, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died”, are both about life’s one few certainties, death, and that is where the similarities end.
In fact, she seems completely at ease with the gentleman. Additionally, their journey at the beginning seems pretty peaceful; as they pass through the town, she sees normal events such as children who are playing, fields of grain, and a sunset. After this, dusk takes place and the speakers get chilly because she was not ready for this journey and she did not wear clothes that would make her feel warm. Consequently, readers get the idea that death is not a choice, so when it comes, that is it. Emily Dickinson, in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death,” uses personification, imagery, and style to deliver her positive and peaceful idea of death and life after death.
In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” she uses the structure of her poem and rhetoric as concrete representation of her abstract beliefs about death to comfort and encourage readers into accepting Death when He comes. The underlying theme that can be extracted from this poem is that death is just a new beginning. Dickinson deftly reassures her readers of this with innovative organization and management, life-like rhyme and rhythm, subtle but meaningful use of symbolism, and ironic metaphors.
Emily Dickinson had a fascination with death and mortality throughout her life as a writer. She wrote many poems that discussed what it means not only to die, but to be dead. According to personal letters, Dickinson seems to have remained agnostic about the existence of life after death. In a letter written to Mrs. J. G. Holland, Emily implied that the presence of death alone is what makes people feel the need for heaven: “If roses had not faded, and frosts had never come, and one had not fallen here and there whom I could not waken, there were no need of other Heaven than the one below.” (Bianchi 83). Even though she was not particularly religious, she was still drawn to the mystery of the afterlife. Her poetry is often contemplative of the effect or tone that death creates, such as the silence, decay, and feeling of hopelessness. In the poem “I died for beauty,” Dickinson expresses the effect that death has on one's identity and ability to impact the world for his or her ideals.
Emily Dickinson is one of the numerous poets who uses death as the subject of several of her poems. In her poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death," Death is portrayed as a gentleman who comes to give the speaker. a ride to eternity. Throughout the poem, Dickinson develops her unusual. interpretation of death and, by doing so, composes a poem full of imagery that is both unique and thought provoking.
having the same human qualities as the other character in the poem. She has?Death? physically arriving and taking the other character in the carriage with him. In the poem, Dickinson shows the reader her interpretation of what this person is going through as they are dying and being taken away by?Death?. Dickinson gives images such as?The Dews drew quivering and chill --?
Emily Dickinson's Obsession with Death. Emily Dickinson became legendary for her preoccupation with death. All her poems contain stanzas focusing on loss or loneliness, but the most striking ones talk particularly about death, specifically her own death and her own afterlife. Her fascination with the morose gives her poems a rare quality, and gives us insight into a mind we know very little about. What we do know is that Dickinson’s father left her a small amount of money when she was young.
Emily Dickinson’s ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ addresses one of the most mysterious aspects of life - death, and what comes after it. She describes and personifies the character of Death, and explores the concept and possibility of immortality and she journeys in a carriage towards her own impending death. As the poem continues, her understand and maturity towards death deepens as she gets closer to Death. Dickinson lead a secluded life overshadowed by the frequent deaths of her relatives, which was reflected in her poetry. The poem’s tone is calm and accepting of death - she does not try to delay or avoid death. The poem is written in Emily Dickinson’s signature fragmented style, full of enjambment and caesura cleverly placed to create tension and emphasis for effect. The poem’s unpredictable structure and rhythm makes each stanza unique and gives the poem an overall uneven beat, mirroring the horses that pull her carriage. The first stanza is written in common meter, a structure commonly used in hymns, hinting at Dickinson’s religious background. ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ challenges our view and ideas of death as Dickinson recounts to the reader her journey through life to whatever lies beyond.
Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. In Dickinson’s poem, “Because I could not stop Death,” there is much impression in the tone, in symbols and in the use of imagery that over flow with creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to an eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone and use of symbolism in Dickinson’s poem.
As the poem goes on, Dickinson conveys a change in tone with the use of diction and imagery “ We passed the Setting Sun- Or rather - He passed Us”(9-10), this image confirms that death will not wait for the narrator. The change is tone is also demonstrated in these two line. The tone changes from relaxing and peaceful to ominous and gloomy.
Throughout Emily Dickinson’s poetry there is a reoccurring theme of death and immortality. The theme of death is further separated into two major categories including the curiosity Dickinson held of the process of dying and the feelings accompanied with it and the reaction to the death of a loved one. Two of Dickinson’s many poems that contain a theme of death include: “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” and “After great pain, a formal feeling comes.”
In this poem, she connects philosophical thinking of death and the poem, which breaks the restriction of time and space. She takes advantage of a large amount of rhetorical devices, for instance, symbolizes and metaphor to express her opinions about the relationship of death, and immortal. She makes efforts to model a different image of death; Mr. Death is not ruthless or relentless anymore. Death is the common and eternal topic in the world; philosophers from all over that word try to find out the truth about the death. There are some similarities between Dickinson’s opinions and Chinese philosophies. Life is short and unstable; however, death is destined and eternal. If we want to have eternity, we cannot pin our hope on the human body because it will die sooner or later. But, human beings’ spirit and humanity which are not controlled by natural laws which can exist forever. Therefore, it is unnecessary to be afraid of death. Treated him like your old friend-accept and welcome
For Dickinson, on the contrary, death is not something unreal. As the author has written "Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me..." After reading these two lines the reader "imagines the picture of Death being a human which joins the author during the ride" . Dickinson tries to portray the characteristics of death in the poem. Stating that there is eternity after death, the author alludes both the possibility of the life after death and absolute zero-ness of it. Unlike Plath, Dickinson not only talks about the notion of death, but personalizes it. The reader feels that the author in fact...