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No matter what we refer to death as it is always with us and causes great pain in our lives, but to some it can inspire. It is the theme of Emily Dickinson’s poem, ‘Because I Could Not Stop for Death’. Rather than causing more pain at the thought of death she wants the reader to think of death as an inevitable change, rather than an end to existence. Death in this poem is told as a woman’s last trip, which is headed to eternity. The poem is a ballad, a narrative poem that is recording her journey to death. The line scheme is ABCB and has a punchy lively mood, which reinforces her easy and light-hearted attitude to death, which is different to the more popular views of death such as death being brutal and cruel. To simplify a complex abstract idea to what we know nothing about, one of her strategies is to personify death and make it more human, which makes death seem less chilling. She characterises death and brings it to a more personal level. She uses this metaphor throughout!
the poem and so making the poem more unde
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is an earthly concern, and Death, is not bound by such earthly concepts. We never hear a description of Immortality as the young woman’s attention is focused on Death. These are the last memories she has of her human life and Dickinson seems to hold on to these memories as the journey goes on. Even though she has put away this hectic life, she still cannot help but be distracted by the things in her past life. He uses a voyeuristic tone, secretly watching the action but not part of it. The idea of the grave!
is made less abstract. The greatest revelation of all must be the moment when the mystery of death and the afterlife is revealed. These things challenge life but having such associates, it is lowered and looked down upon. He uses metaphors to describe the pile on ‘the diamond struts’ and ‘the insulators brooding like owls’. The ‘setting sun’ is the !
universal clock that humans measure their lives on earth by. Another poet, Michael Baldwin, also tries to describe death in his poem, ‘Death on a Live Wire’. When the rhythm changes it is where the description of cold sets in, which hints!
the direction of her destiny. Towards the end of the poem his tone is quite sympathetic and is sorry that the man had to die in such a painful, nightmarish way. He describes the image in interesting, unique and original ways. This suggests that she has lost the power to move by herself and that time is passing her by.
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