Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop For Death

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Recommended: Death is the central theme of Emily Dickinson’s Poetry

At times in her life, Emily Dickinson longed to die, to end her seemingly hopeless existence. Death occurred frequently in her time of the middle 1800’s, but compounded in her life especially. Mother, Father, lover, and several friends all died and left Dickinson with nothing else on her mind. Her poems display her queer relationship with death. At times, termination of her earthly life seemed almost a gift to her to end all trouble and carry her to Heaven. The theme, content, and literary devices of “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” combine into a powerful poem of . 6 sentences

In most cases death and new life balance in a person’s lifetime as parents die, the married couple finds new joy in raising children. The deaths heavily out weighed life for Emily Dickinson as she never married and led a very introverted life. This poem appears morbid as the author treats death as a friend. “Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me.” (line1) Though one looks forward to Heaven, death must come first and death is horrid. This poem mirrors her depression, but also her hope. Dickinson realistically displays confusion over death, but also emits an essence of peace and contentment not fear. 6 sentences? …show more content…

When one looks past the erroneous grammar, genuine jewels of jumbled human emotion twinkle. Dickinson wrote “Because I could Not Stop For Death” in six stanzas with four lines each. This poem contains half rhyme, an irregularly patterned rhyme, which gives it a nice ring. In the first line, death picks up Dickinson and they ride together in a carriage with immortality. Later, Dickinson slowly “put[s] away...labor and leisure”, (lines 6 and 7) preparing for death. They pass several places on their way including a school, a field, and the setting sun. They ride toward Heaven. 8

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