Because I could not stop for Death BY EMILY DICKINSON

Because I could not stop for Death 

                                                                               BY EMILY DICKINSON

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses' Heads

Were toward Eternity –

Analysis

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

I couldn't stop for "Death," so instead he came to get me.

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.

I climbed in his carriage, which held just the two of us and Eternal Life.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste

We drove unhurriedly, with Death in no rush

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –

I had left all my work and pleasures behind, in order to be respectful of his gentlemanly nature.

We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We went by a school, where children played during their break time, arranged in a circle.

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –

Then we passed fields of crops—which seemed to stare—and the sun as it set in the sky.

Or rather – He passed Us –

Actually, we didn't pass the sun—it passed us.

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –

 As it did so, dew formed, shivering and cold.

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –

I was cold, as I was only wearing a thin gown and a lightweight scarf.

We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

Our next stop was at what looked like a house, except it was partly buried in the ground.

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –

I could just see the roof; even the ceiling was in the ground.

Since then – 'tis Centuries 

Since that day, centuries have passed.– and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

it feels as though less than a day has gone by since then—the day that I realized that Death's horses were headed in the direction of eternity.

Symbols

The Carriage

The carriage in "Because I could not stop for Death" symbolizes the journey from life to death. This journey begins when a personified version of "Death" comes to pick up the speaker, who admits that she was never going to stop for him on her own—he had to come to her. The carriage then carries the speaker through a landscape that represents a kind of sped-up version of life. In this way, life as a metaphorical journey becomes a literal journey in the carriage.

The Children

The journey of a typical human life. The first of these is the school, where the speaker sees children playing. Altogether, this image represents the first stage of life: childhood.

Interestingly, the verb used to describe the children's activity is not "played" but "strove." In other words, the children seem to be making a real effort at whatever game they're playing, which subtly comments on the effort involved in life more generally. Life, the poem seems to say, is also a game people strive to succeed at. This is especially relevant given that the speaker has just "put away" her life's "labor." She has given up striving and now makes her way to the grave.

Also important is the particular shape into which the children have organized themselves. They are in a ring—a circular shape—which hints symbolically at the idea of death and life as a cyclical relationship. Death and life are defined in terms of each other—they depend on one another to exist.

The Fields

The second is "the Fields of Gazing Grain." The grain symbolizes adulthood and maturity. Having passed by the school—which represents childhood—the speaker now sees this symbolic image of growth. Each year, crops are brought to maturity and then cut down to be sold. Every year, in other words, brings with it a cycle of new life and death

just like the human world too.

The Sun

The setting sun symbolizes the end of life. The speaker is at the end of her journey. What will follow, of course, is nighttime—or death. That is, the speaker's sun is setting, and she is leaving her earthly existence.

 Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

Alliteration

Alliteration is first used in the /h/ sounds of line 5—"He knew no haste"