Because I could not stop for Death-- Analysis
Because I Could Not Stop for Death In Emily Dickinson's poem, Because I Could Not Stop for Death, she describes death asan experience that she is looking back on. The idea of death in this poem isn't portrayed as lonelyor scared, but more serene and content. She describes death as more of a person rather than justan event in ones life. Death is often thought of as dark and frightening, and if we could choosesomeone to play the role of death, they would fit into this description, but Dickinson seems todescribe death as a gentleman, almost like a potential suitor, coming to take her away in a carriageto eternity. Emily Dickinson describes this very eternity bound carriage ride in this poem. Sheportrays death as a journey, and not just a single event that concludes a life. In the first stanza she personifies death, stating that because she "could not stop" for him,
A normalinterpretation of this would be to assume that she speaks of seeing a house from high up, thesame as us being in an airplane looking down on the world. This shows that death is not just one single event, but a whole life, and even after life!. The fourth stanza is the turning point of the poem. Death as a person has come like a potential suitor, and picked her up to take her on a strange yetfamiliar journey-her life! The second stanza suggests sacredness, a feeling that can't be found anywhere accept in ascene exactly like this with all it's elements. Her unpreparedness for death frightens her alittle and she also mentions her clothing, and implied how unbefitting it is for such an occasion. It's almost as if the reality of death ather side hits her. That's the type ofsense that Dickinson tries to explain here, showing sacredness, and respect between each party. She depicts a carriage in the scene, and one could guess that they were going somewhere. Death is described more as an unexpected, yet surprisingly welcomevisitor. This stanza is like crossing over to other side. In the last stanza we return to the narrators present state, and we are no longer looking atthe journey of death, but rather where she is now. Another interpretation is that the this"house" is more of tomb, or a mausoleum. That feeling can't be repeated or really explained. The next stanza describes a sort of house that is seen from a distance. Most people have sat with someone in a car and nottalked or listened to music, but just felt content with a comfortable and accepted silence betweeneach respected person.
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,
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