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Rachel Bell
Professor Wilson
English 123
16 May 2018
Mortality is not the end of life, but the road to eternity. In the poem “Because I could not
stop for Death”, Emily Dickinson, an American poet from the mid-1800’s, personifies the idea of
mortality and immortality through an extended metaphor. The metaphor begins as a concrete
idea of the a personification of Death and transitions into an abstract reality of Death. Through
the use of many literary devices such as personification and metaphors, Dickinson is able to
reveal the harsh truth that her life is coming to an end and she is unafraid. She is unafraid
because death leads to eternity and she encourages her audience not to be fearful as well.
Although death is inevitable, the purpose of the poem is to show that death and eternity are
The personification of death reveals the journey from childhood to adulthood and the
realization that life is slowing down. The structure of the poem of iambic tetrameter and iambic
trimeter and the pauses emphasize people’s gradual acceptance of death as observed by the
personification of death. One can observe this when the female speaker states, “He kindly
stopped for me-/ The Carriage held but just Ourselves-/ And Immortality”(lines 2-4). Death is
personified as a gentleman in order to feel comfortable with the idea of death and that people can
slowly come to terms with death. The death figure is used to illustrate the serene nature of life
coming to an end and not a petrifying image of darkness. The symbols in the poem emphasize
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the motif of a journey in the speaker’s life and the contrast between death and life. She describes
the journey on the carriage with Death by saying, “We passed the School, where Children
strove”(9) and “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-/ We passed the Setting Sun”(11-12). The
different locations represent different stages in the speaker’s life such as the school represents
youth in childhood and courting, the fields of grain represent adulthood and engagement, and the
setting sun represents the end of her life in old age. The repetition in the beginning of lines 9,11
and 12, “We passed”, represents that the memories of the school, fields, and setting sun are in the
past and death is coming soon. Through the use of repetition, alliteration, and imagery, the
female speaker that is facing death illustrates the acknowledgement of the memories in her life
The shift in the poem transitions from reflective to somber in the later half of the poem
which by using tone and imagery. The indication of the shift begins in line 13 where the speaker
goes from a busy lifestyle in the first three stanzas to old age where death comes when it is least
expected. The rhyme scheme is ABCB and is slant rhyme such as in lines two and four ending
with the words, “me” and “Immortality”, which reveals that the first three stanzas in a
lighthearted tone show that the Death figure is a gentle presence. However, in stanza four the
tone shifts to a cold and chilling feeling by stating, “The Dews drew quivering and chill-/ For
only Gossamer, my Gown-/ My Tippet-only Tulle-/”(16). The alliteration and imagery are
significant in the stanza because the emphasis is on the picture of a wedding day and death and
the poem shows the allegory of a journey through life. The first three stanzas illustrate the
cyclical, fast paced nature of human life as stated literally in line ten, “At Recess-in the Ring”,
and stanza four illustrates the dressing to prepare for the grave. David Baker in his academic
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journal titled, “Elegy and Eros: Configuring Grief”, asks in regard to stanza four, “Those
garments are just as easily the apparel of a wedding party as a burial one, aren't they?”(217). The
meaning behind Baker’s question is Dickinson contrasts life’s big moments such as one’s
wedding day and burial day, but in stanza four the two big moments are one and the same. In
stanza four, the tone is somber as the speaker is reflective on her life in marriage and the rest of
the poem reflects death. The shift from the first three stanzas to last three is intended to contrast
between the topics of life and death. The tone and imagery helps to convey the mood of the
speaker going from the warmth of life to coldness of the grave; however, she is comfortable with
In stanza five and six, the personification of death continues to convey that the speaker’s
house is the grave and she is at ease with the idea of eternity after death. Oddly, people notice
that the speaker feels comfort in the grave and is calm in her last moments. The speaker states,
“We paused before a House that seemed/A Swelling of the Ground/...The Cornice- in the
Ground”(17-20). She compares the house to Death which is a euphemism and her stop in front of
to a grave and the “swelling of the ground”(18) refers to the metaphor of a gravestone. The
personification of the ground swelling provides imagery to the rotten, tiny house that is the burial
site and shows the decay of life that the speaker is going through at this time in her life. In
continuation of stanza five, stanza six completes the imagery and journey to the grave by looking
forward to eternity. The speaker accepts death and is not afraid of death because she knows that
there is a future for her in the afterlife. In lines 21-24, the speaker concludes with, “Since
then-’tis Centuries-and yet/ Feels shorter than the Day.../ Were toward Eternity”. The pauses in
the last stanza illustrates the time that the speaker thinks about how eternity is a “continual
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evolving” and “is not a place at which one arrives”(216-217) according to “Configuring Grief”.
The journey towards eternity is never ending, but the memories of her life on Earth are still vivid
as she reflects on the past. Her acceptance of death is unusual, but she helps people understand
that death is something not far from ordinary things and is yet a natural part of life. Through the
extended metaphor and imagery of death, people can observe that the speaker has been dead
throughout the poem since she is reminiscing and feels as if centuries only feel like days. The
hyphen at the last sentence in line 24 reveals that eternity is ongoing and the journey continues
after death. Mortality and eternity are connected ideas in the poem because death leads to the
The poem, “Because I could not stop for Death”, reveals the important topics of mortality
and eternity through the use of extended metaphors, personification, and imagery. Although
death is first thought of as dark and frightening, after careful consideration death is another step
closer to eternity in paradise. There is more to one’s life after death and the speaker in the poem
helps people accept a calm perception of death. One cannot avoid death, but people can view the
reality in a different light that brings peace and a calm state of mind to avoid fearing the grave
everyday. Dickinson appropriately covers the topic not discussed enough by providing imagery
of a journey through a carriage from childhood to adulthood and ultimately eternity. Mortality
Works Cited
Baker, David. "Elegy and Eros: Configuring Grief." Virginia Quarterly Review, vol. 81, no. 2,
Spring 2005, pp. 207-220. EBSCOhost
Dickinson, Emily. [Because I could not stop for Death]. Norton Introduction to Literature 12 ed.
Edited by Kelly J. Mays, W.W. Norton, 2016. pp.839. Print.