The Manifestation of Death in Poetry

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Recommended: Emily dickinsons point of view on death in because i could not stop for death

Death is a reality that can be interpreted in many ways. Some people fear the possibility of no longer living and others welcome the opportunity for a new life in the afterlife. Many poets have been inspired by death, be it by the approaching death of loved ones or a battle for immortality. Just as each poet is inspired differently, each poem casts a different hue of light on the topic of death giving readers a unique way to look at death. In the poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” Emily Dickinson portrays death as a polite gentleman who ushers people into the afterlife. The poem’s opening lines reveal death to be the driver of a carriage who stopped for the narrator of the poem. The narrator and death travel alone passing by several scenes of everyday life ending the journey when the carriage stops at a home. The imagery and symbols within this poem paint a picture of a calm activity that is ordinary and expected, starting with the deliberate slow pace and intimacy of the poem. Dickinson sets the slow pace and intimate feel of her poem almost immediately encouraging closeness between death, the narrator and the reader. In the first stanza, Dickinson gave death a human embodiment as carriage driver and a gentle quality to his character. Together the narrator and death begin a journey alone within the carriage. The second stanza is where Dickinson begins to cultivate the slow feel of this poem by stating, “We slowly drove—He knew no haste” (Dickinson line 5) and when coupled with the following lines “And I had put away/My labor and my leisure too” (Dickinson lines 6-7) the poem begins to take on its true meaning, this poem is the description of the narrators funeral procession. As the poem continues, the narrator... ... middle of paper ... ...cause I Could Not Stop For Death." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. By Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 1012-013. Print. Donne, John. "Death Be Not Proud." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. By Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 1015-016. Print. Habenstein, Robert Wesley, and William M. Lamers. The History of American Funeral Directing. Brookfield, WI: National Funeral Directors Association, 2007. Print. Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Thomas, Dylan Thomas. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good NIght." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. By Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 930. Print.

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