Because I Could Not Stop for Death

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Because I Could Not Stop for Death Emily Dickinson “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” tells the tale of Death calling upon the speaker as if he is a suitor. The speaker who is either to busy to stop, because she is living life, or because she sees death coming and is afraid. She accepts death as if he is a suitor coming to court and goes with him in the carriage. They are the only two in the carriage along with immortality who rides as a silent chaperone. Death drives slowly, going at his own pace perhaps, signifying how from the time a person is born they begin to die. Death does not need to rush because he cannot be escaped. The speaker puts away her leisure and her civility out of respect for Death who was kind enough to stop for her. The third stanza, filled with imagery, has the trio passing a school of children, grazing Grain, and a setting sun. This stanza seems to allude to the cycle of life starting. As energetic children play, gazing grain best thought as maturity and adulthood is described as ripe, until finally death as the setting sun. This can also been seen with the continuos use of the word “passed” which brings the underling meaning of someone who has passed away.The gazing grain also has the personification of people watching a funeral procession as the carriage continues. The fourth stanza uses the word “or” to show the turn in the poem. The sun no longer a metaphor for death is now a literal object that passes them as they fade from light to darkness as it begins to get colder in contrast to the warmth of the previous stanza. She realizes that she is not dressed warmly and is seen as only wearing a gown. This gown alludes to be one more fitting for a wedding than a funeral not only signifying a new beginning, but also a happy ending. They pause before a house that is in truth a grave, however by using the term “house” the
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