Analysis of Because I Cannot Stop For Death

ANALYSIS OF BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH ANALYSIS OF BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH Analysis of Because I could not stop for Death Name of the Student Name of the University Author Note Introduction 2 Main thesis of the poem 2 Analysis of the poem 2 Conclusion 4 References: 6 Introduction The literary works are developed within a human society in order to increase the depth of understanding power of the individuals. However, with the gradual progression of the poem, the readers come to see Death

Running head: ANALYSIS OF BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH
Analysis of Because I could not stop for Death
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Main thesis of the poem.................................................................................................2
Analysis of the poem......................................................................................................2
Conclusion......................................................................................................................4
References:.....................................................................................................................6

2ANALYSIS OF BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH
Introduction
The literary works are developed within a human society in order to increase the
depth of understanding power of the individuals. There are many phenomenon which
occurs in a community which cannot be explained in words. As a result, many artists
take recourse to the different forms of art in order to understand such phenomenon
and outline them in front of their readers. However, a proper and efficient analysis of
such works are required in order to understand the literary works. The purpose of this
paper is to talk about a poem titled “Because I could not stop for Death”. An analysis
has been included in this paper to enable the readers to interpret the context of the
poem.
Main thesis of the poem
The poem “Because I could not stop for Death” has been written by Emily
Dickinson. She tried to use the personification of Death and Immortality (Qiao 2019).
In the beginning of the poem, Dickinson uses a friendly and compassionate tone
which puts the readers at ease. However, with the gradual progression of the poem,
the readers come to see Death for what it actually is - terrifying and evil (Collopy and
Gibbons 2017).
Analysis of the poem
The poem begins with the author talking to Death in a friendly tone. In the first
stanza itself, it can be seen that Dickinson portrayed Death as a gentleman who
“kindly stopped for me” (Rahayu 2016). The pleasant tone that was used suggested
that the author was comfortable with Death who arrived in a carriage. Instead the

3ANALYSIS OF BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH
carriage, even Immortality was present.
The carriage ride as described in the poem showcases the departure of the author
from the mortal life. She was civil enough to put away all of her work and burdens
while the carriage drove on the road in a leisure manner (Devey 2016). The author
had come to terms with the fact that her life was about to end. She had willing
foregone all the activities of life and went inside the carriage with Immortality and
Death. Over here, an important point to be noted that had the author resisted to go
along with Death, He would have captured her and held her hostage till she had to
leave the mortal world (Windyaswari 2018). However, this does not mean that Death
and Immortality were not thoughtful and gentle people. Death even rode the carriage
slowly as this author the required time to reminisce about her life on Earth (Collopy
and Gibbons 2017).
The passed a school as the sun began to set. This shows that Death allowed the
author to visit her childhood for a brief period of time. Furthermore, “we passed the
fields of gazing grain” indicates the employment phase of the author (Alqaryouti and
Sadeq 2017). Thus, in the poem, the author managed to touch upon all those periods
of life which gave meaning and purpose to her being.
In the fourth stanza, the tone of the poem begins to change. The setting of the sun
indicates that time has come for her to leave the world. The temperature suddenly
began to drop and there was a chilling sensation around the author (Thohiriyah 2017).
When the author had gone inside the carriage with Death and Immortality, she had not
paid heed to the kind of attire she was wearing. She was comfortable with wearing
“…only gossamer my gown, my tippet only tulle” (Collopy and Gibbons 2017).
However, with the advent of night fall, she suddenly started to feel conscious about
the fact that she was under dressed.

4ANALYSIS OF BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH
As they reached her “new home”, the author was extremely disappointed
(Криштоф 2016). It was a small mound on the ground and the roof was so swelled up
that it was not visible to her. She realised that she has been seduced by Death and its
promises of going to a place which would make her happy and comfortable. However,
now that she was standing in front of her new home, the author felt cheated and lied
to. She wanted to go back to her home in the mortal life but it was not possible.
In the final stanza, the author recollects the time she died. She noted that after that
evening, it has been centuries and “each feels shorter than the day” (Collopy and
Gibbons 2017). Life in the mortal world has gone on without her while she was stuck
in a cold and damp place. In the last stanza, from the tone of the author, it can be seen
that she is highly disappointed and sad. She still believes that Death and Immortality
had appeared before her as gentlemen and yet they had left her alone in a dark place,
to fend for herself.
Thus, from the poem, it can be seen that Emily Dickinson has given a real life
image to the element of Death and Immortality. She wanted her readers to understand
that death arrives for everyone when their mortal life is about to be over (Collopy and
Gibbons 2017). In the event that they do not willingly go along with death, death
would forcibly take them with it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be observed that the main purpose of literary works is to talk
about a particular phenomenon or event in life which is difficult for the people to
understand. Every literary works try to show case the real societal situation. In other
words, they act as mirrors to the existing condition. The truth about death is sought to
be denied by many in the community. Most of the people want to live as it guarantees

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to them a decent standard of living and an opportunity to enjoy life. However, the
truth about death is very much present in the society. Everyone is fated to die at one
point of time, no matter how much they might be disappointed or sad by it.

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References:
Alqaryouti, Marwan, and Ala Eddin Sadeq. "Vision of Death in Emily Dickinson’s
Selected Poems." Asian Social Science 13.5 (2017).
Collopy, Hannah, and Mr Gibbons. "Because I could not stop for Death." (2017).
Devey, Alyssa. "Death as Meridian: Paul Celan's Translations of Emily Dickinson's"
Because I could not stop for Death" and" Let down the Bars, Oh Death"." (2016).
Qiao, Yang. "Thematic Interpretation of “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by
Emily Dickinson." (2019).
Rahayu, Suci. "An Analysis Of Intrinsic Element In Emily Dickinson’S “Because I
Could Not Stop For Death”." Lantern (Journal on English Language, Culture
and Literature) 5.1 (2016).
Thohiriyah, Thohiriyah. "The Concept of Death in Emily Dickinson's' I Cannot Stop
for Death'." Lensa: Kajian Kebahasaan, Kesusastraan, dan Budaya 7.1 (2017):
70-80.
Windyaswari, Octavia Ines. Analysis On Figures Of Speech Found In Emily
Dickinson’S Because I Could Not Stop For Death. Diss. Sanata Dharma
University, 2018.
Криштоф, А. В. "Verbalization Of The Concept “Death” In Poetical Language Of
Emily Dickinson." Англійська Мова (2016): 28.