Emily Dickinson Death Be Not Proud

Death When you think of death, what immediately comes to mind? Do you fear it and think of it as a horrifying dreadful ending event? Or, do you think of it as a peaceful harmonious ending event that is a start to a new beginning? I chose two poems with the subject of death and a similar message; one poem is written by John Donne and the other is written by Emily Dickinson. The message is that death is not the end, but it actually a new beginning toward “eternity.” Donne’s poem “Death, be not proud” and Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death” will be thoroughly analyzed by taking note of the similarities and differences with the way Death is portrayed and how poem is written.
John Donne’s poem “Death, be not proud” speaks on

The speaker is making the easy transition because Death is guiding and leading her without being in a rush. The scene is even described as peaceful and soothing. They pass children playing, the fields of grains, and the sun setting. We also find out at the end of the poem that she has been dead for centuries now but “yet Feels shorter than the Day” meaning it does not seem like it has been that long since she made her transition. All these things suggest that death has a positive

The imagery that is being used in the poems allows readers to picture death in the light the poet describes it in. A significant difference of a literary device in Dickinson’s poem is she uses personification. In Dickinson’s poem, death is referred to as “He.” We know that “He kindly stopped” for the speaker and “He knew no haste” which reinforces us that death will happen when it happens and it is not some abrupt event. This does not mean that the speaker is prepared for death, take it that she is only dressed in her gown and it is chilly outside. What this suggests is that “He” is almost allowing her to come to terms with it. Because the subject is personified, the readers are able to feel the closeness the speaker has with Death and what is being experienced through the transition. If one digs a bit deeper, it can also be inferred that the chill symbolizes how a person becomes cold after death and the sunset symbolizes the closing moments. In conclusion, Donne’s poem “Death, be not proud” and Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death” will be thoroughly analyzed by taking note of the similarities and differences with the way Death is portrayed and how is it written. The main similarity between the two poems is that Death is not something that one should be terrified of because when one dies, it is not the end. Death signifies the walk “toward eternity.” The main differences between the poems are the writing