Because I could not Stop for Death Emily Dickinson

Because I could not Stop for Death

Emily Dickinson

READING

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 –

SUMMARY

Because I Could Not Stop for Death is one of the most admired poems of Emily Dickinson. The greatest charm of the poem is in its ambiguity and the elusive nature of the heart of the meaning of the poem. The poem inspires more doubts than can be answered and therefore lends itself to multiple interpretations. The poem is indeed a challenge to the critical insights of the reader. Because of its multiple layers of its significance and the scope, the poem offers for further exploration of newer layers of meaning, it has attracted a good number of great critics.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

The speaker of the poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson is a girl whose marriage proposal has been confirmed. Her fiancé (the boy fixed for the marriage) is dead. She and her fiancé are going out for a ride in a cart pulled by a horse. First, she describes the scenery on the journey and then expresses her idea that she had not yet started her real and married life but the life of eternity. The idea is that this life is only a wait before an everlasting life begins: according to Christianity, good people will live forever in heaven after dying from this life. But, since Dickinson says that she is in love with death, the idea is rather complicated. In simple words, we may say that this poem is a poem of ‘suicidal feelings’.

In a bold and striking fashion, Emily Dickinson personifies death as a lover, kind and civil who stops at the house of his beloved to give her a courteous ride. The carriage has three characters, life represented by the beloved, Death and his inevitable companion, Immortality. The carriage drives forward its journey is a journey from life to death and ultimately to eternity. The hectic life and its setting in time and space, symbolized by the school children playing in the ring: the fields of gazing grain and the setting sun are left behind (presumably to the living), as the carriage moves forward. In the next phase of the journey, the carriage pauses before the house of death symbolized by the ‘swelling of the ground’ (grave). The last stanza speaks of eternity towards which the horse’s heads have turned. Thus the three characters in the carriage. Life, Death and Immortality are represented by the three phrases of their journey presented in the structure of the poem.

The poem ‘Because I could not Stop for Death’ deals with the poet’s desire to leave her physical life in this world and begin the eternal spiritual life of the soul. For this, the speaker of the poem assumed Death as her fiancé. She has been engaged to death, and she is impatiently waiting for uniting with him, so as to begin her endless life. On the way to death, the speaker realized that her life before marriage (or death) is temporary, and the real life will only begin after that; in the eternal journey of the soul. She feels eager and impatient like a bride before marriage to access the path of the eternal journey of death.

The poem is a narrative one. It ends with the narrator’s commentary about waiting, or life. The journey (or drive) she made with her partner Death is an allegory of life. The carriage held the narrator and Death, and also immortality. This means that she is living a life (journey) with the certainty of death and also an immortal soul in her. She brings both of them along with her. After death, the married life would begin and extend to eternity. The short journey has parts: early, they passed a school which symbolizes childhood; then they went past a field which must stand for work, maturity and necessity; then they came to a grave with the setting of the sun. The grave reminds the narrators of her own marriage with death. The grave is a “Swelling of the Ground” under which must be a room for the body to rest. The surface looked like a roof to the house of the dead. There they paused for a while. The narrator realized the reality of this short life journey. Since then, it has been like a century of waiting for the right moment. She wants the wedding with Death very soon. She wants to live the life after that. Her gown and clothes are ready and she has put aside her labor as well as leisure. She is not willing to go on with the busy and the meaningless humdrum of this life.

The first line, which also makes the title now, is an odd one. The speaker, like any human being, cannot wait death on her choice. That is the fact and quite true, so we live until death waits for us. Life is a short span of time that death allows. As Dickinson would say, the real life will begin after death. The horse is time that pulls the narrator and her companions. That is “turned toward Eternity’. This means time is of two types: the time of our temporary life on earth and the eternal time of the soul. All this is rather religious and not agreeable to all people. Besides, the whole idea is rather pessimistic even to a devout religious person. But the poem is remarkable is its style and metaphor.

The style and form of the poem is also unique. The capital letters mark the emphasis to be given in words. The pauses also mark special emphasis and tones where demanded. The technique is Dickinson’s original technique. There are also strange phrases like “Gazing Grain.” This is a personification of the grain and the projection of human emotion into it. The poem is unique for both its style and its treatment of love and death as the same.

LINE WISE SUMMARY

STANZA 1

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality

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In Emily Dickinson’s poem Because I could not Stop for Death, the author personifies death, portraying him as a close friend, or perhaps even a gentleman suitor. In the first stanza, she reveals that she welcomes death when she says, “he kindly stopped for me”. The pleasant tone of the poem further suggests that the author is quite comfortable with death.

STANZA 2

We slowly drove, he knew no haste, 
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility

The carriage ride is symbolic of the author’s departure from life. She is in the carriage with death and immortality.

She reveals her willingness to go with death when she says that she had “put away…labor and…leisure too for his civility”. This further reveals that the author has come to terms with her own mortality. She has set down all she wanted to do in life, and willingly entered the carriage with Death and Immortality. She may be aware that had she not gone willingly, they would have taken her captive nonetheless, but this does not seem to alter her perception of the two characters as kind, thoughtful, and even gentle. This is portrayed as Death drives slowly for her, allowing her to reminisce. He “knew no haste” as they drove. He takes her through the course of her life with a slow and patient ride. Immortality rides along, but is silent.

STANZA 3

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun

They drive “passed the school where the children strove” implying that the author is generously given a few moments to remember her childhood. They then drive past the “gazing grain” allowing the author to think back upon the prime of her life. Then they pass the setting sun. This symbolizes the author’s death. The sunset is beautiful and gentle, and the passing from life to eternity is portrayed as such.

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STANZA 4

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle

There is a sudden shift in tone in the fourth stanza. Suddenly, now that the sun has set, the author realizes that she is quite cold, and she shivers. Then she becomes aware that she is under dressed. Prior to this moment of realization, the author felt quite comfortable with Death and Immortality. After all, she was riding along with them in only her “gossamer” and her “tippet only tulle”, or in other words, in only a sheer nightgown. In the first through third stanzas, the author is on close affectionate terms with Death and Immortality. Describing Death as a gentleman suitor who is kind and civil, she shows no shame at being under dressed. However, when the sun sets, and the cold damp sets in, she becomes aware of her inappropriate attire.

STANZA 5

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound

In her moment of realization that she has been seduced by Death, they pause before her new “home”, a “swelling of the ground”. She claims the “the roof was scarcely visible” and the “cornice but a mound”. The tone becomes one of disappointment, as the author realizes that death is not all she thought it would be. Now, as the sun has set on her life, and she is standing before her new forever home, disappointment sets in. Death was kind and gentle, like a gentleman suitor. He lured her in with grandiose promises of eternity. Now that she sees her small, damp, eternal home, she feels cheated.

STANZA 6

Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads
Were toward eternity

It has now been “centuries and yet each feels shorter than a day” as life goes on without her. It has been centuries since that moment of realization, when she “first surmised” that Death had seduced her, that he had appeared a kindly gentleman at first, but had left her alone in the dark, cold, damp grave.

LINE 1

Because I could not stop for Death –

• Dickinson wastes no time warming up in this poem. She immediately lets the reader know that the poem is going to be about death.
• “Because” is a clever way to begin. It immediately assumes the speaker is giving some sort of an explanation to an argument or to a question. This makes the poem seem active and alive, unlike many other poems, which sometimes take more of an observant position.
• Stating that she could not stop for death means that the speaker didn’t have a choice about when she was to die. We’ve all probably heard something like this before. Even if not, Dickinson reminds us that it’s not really up to us when we die.
• Dickinson capitalizes death, which is something she does often to nouns (sometimes without any reason). In this particular case she means to personify Death as a gentleman suitor who drives a horse-drawn carriage (personification means to give human characteristics or behavior to something that is nonhuman).
• The line ends with a dash that is both characteristic of Dickinson’s work and that really launches us into the next line. Think of it as an arrow or string, pulling you along to the next thing.

LINE 2

He kindly stopped for me –

• And there it is – Death is a kind of a gentleman. Who knew?
• This line establishes the tone that most of the poem follows: one of calm acceptance about death. She’s even going to enjoy the ride!
• This is also kind of a spoiler. We have pretty good reason to believe now, by just the second line, that the speaker is going to escape this one alive.

LINES 3-4

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

• Pay attention to the line break here. Line 3 says it’s just her and Death in the carriage, but line 4 complicates that by adding immortality. The break after “Ourselves” creates an “oh, wait!” moment and holds us in suspense until we drop down to line 4.
• Be careful interpreting the capitalized nouns. We established that Dickinson personifies Death to make him a real character, but in these two lines the capitalized words probably aren’t supposed to be characters as well. Of course, it is a poem, so anything can happen. But, since Dickinson often capitalizes nouns, it’s probably safe to consider that she capitalized “Carriage,” “Ourselves,” and “Immortality” more for emphasis than anything else.
• Let’s take a look at these three important words.
• By making “carriage” a proper noun (a capitalized noun), she makes it more specific and more important. In other words, it’s not just any old carriage, it’s her Death Chariot!
• By “Ourselves” we can assume she means her and Death. The emphasis she places on the word also strengthens the relationship between the speaker and Death. It’s almost like a foreshadowing, so we know something serious is going to happen between them.
• “Immortality” is the most complicated and interesting word of these three and certainly gets us thinking. Our first instinct might be to ask, “Wait, you’re riding in a carriage with Death – don’t you mean mortality?” So this is the first hint we get that the speaker doesn’t think of death as The End, but as a step on the way to eternal life – an afterlife of some sort

LINE 5

We slowly drove – He knew no haste

• They’re really taking their time getting to wherever it is they’re going.
• “He knew no haste” is an old-fashioned way of saying Death didn’t speed or hurry.
• The shift from “We” to “He” in the same line is an important one. The “We” might allow the reader to think the speaker has some control over the pace, but Dickinson quickly reminds us that “He” is the one determining the relaxed progress and that the speaker’s just along for the ride.
• While we’ve already determined that the speaker is not afraid of Death, this slow pace still creates a feeling of drawn-out suspense in the poem and keeps us wondering what might happen.

LINES 6-8

And I put away
My labor and my leisure too, 
For his Civility –

• Lines 6-7 mean that she has given up work and free time (we might assume she’s given up thinking about or worrying about them too).
• Line 8 works a couple of ways. First, we can read “For” as “because of.” So, she gave up thinking about work and play because Death is just so polite and charming that he distracted her from anything else.
• Or, we can read the “for” as “in place of.” So, similar to the first interpretation, she has given up the worries (work) and joys (leisure) of life in exchange for his graciousness. We might even guess that she is starting to feel more civil and social too.
• Either way, the speaker seems pretty content with, if not a little gaga for Death.
• If this were a first date, Death would be doing a pretty good job. She seems both happy and even a little impressed by his manners.

LINE 9-10

We passed the School, where Children Strove
At Recess – in the Ring –

• Dickinson is painting a little scene of what they are riding by. If you’ve ever taken a hayride in a carriage in the fall, maybe you saw something like this too.
• They see children playing in the schoolyard during recess.
• This scene seems almost eerily normal. At first, we’re in this strange scene with death that doesn’t seem at all normal, then we’re looking at something totally familiar. Why do you think Dickinson does this? Maybe you think the mixing of the unreal and real makes the poem seem even stranger. Or maybe you think it makes death and dying seem like just another ordinary part of life.

LINE 11-12

We passed the Field of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –

• More scene setting. They pass “the fields of […] grain” and “the setting sun.” When she describes the grain as “gazing” maybe she thinks the thicker tops of the grain resemble heads, or perhaps that the grain seems to stand still and just look at the carriage as it passes.
• The sun and field are much more general descriptions of the scene than the previous lines, yet might even have symbolic significance. The setting sun, for example, signifies the end of the day, but might also stand for the end of life. Ever heard of old people being in their twilight years?
• We should also notice the repeated phrase, “We passed” (in poetry-speak, a repeated word or phrase throughout a poem is called anaphora). Here it works to mimic the slow progression of the carriage. You can almost hear the echo of clomping horse hooves in the repeated phrase. So instead of feeling like this poem is at a standstill, we’re aware that it’s moving forward. It almost allows us to be a part of their journey, not just outside observers.

LINE 13

Or rather – He passed Us –

• Quite literally, the sun passes her because it falls below the horizon. But, reading a little deeper into it, Dickinson suggests that maybe that’s what death is like – the sun, light, and warmth leaving you to the cold darkness that is death.
• Dickinson uses personification again as she refers to the sun. Why do you think that is? It seems the farther along in the journey they get, the farther from the living world they get. There are no other people or animals and it’s getting dark. It’s a little spooky at this point.
• The fact that the adjustment, “or rather,” is made after the stanza break only enhances the spookiness. The long pause between stanzas allows us to notice that the poem is about to make a shift away from the sunny ordinary day into something more grave (pun intended).

LINES 14-16

The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –

• “Gossamer” is used here to describe her gown as one of very thin and delicate material.
• “Tippet” is an old-fashioned shawl or shoulder cape, and this one’s made of “tulle,” which is silky and thin like gossamer.
• The dew of night is setting in because the sun has gone down. She’s now getting chilly because she isn’t wearing warm enough clothing. That thin tulle!
• The fact that she is under-dressed for this journey also reflects that she is under-prepared. This stanza echoes what we discovered in the beginning line – this is not her choice and she was not planning this trip with Death.
• Cold is something often associated with death in literature and in movies. Ever watch The Sixth Sense or read about the Dementors in Harry Potter books? So it’s no coincidence that Dickinson is lowering the temperature on us here.

LINE 17-18

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –

• If we were unsure before, these lines settle everything. The speaker is going to die. Death just led her to her burial spot!
• Your first instinct when you read this might be to scream something like, “Run for your life, lady. He’s going to kill you!” But let’s not forget how at ease the speaker feels with Death and how calmly she’s faced the whole experience so far.
• The “we paused” marks the second stop in the poem. The first instance was the beginning of the journey when Death stops to pick up the speaker. So we might guess that this second stop could end their journey.
• Using the word “House” to indicate the place of burial is a clever move by Dickinson. Instead of “grave” or “tombstone,” which might stir up images of finality and death, she uses a word that we consider synonymous with “dwelling” or even “home.” Ever heard someone call a gravesite the “final resting place”? This is a subtler way to say that.
• “A Swelling of the Ground” eliminates any possibility that we might think this is not a grave. Think of a freshly-dug place where a dog hides his bone; even after he covers it up there is a little rise in the ground.

LINE 19-20

The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground

• These lines continue to explain this burial house, but it gets a little tricky.
• A cornice is the pointed part of the roof, and here it’s in the ground. So if the highest part of house is in the ground, the rest of it must be too. Further grave evidence.
• What part of this burial house can the speaker actually see? It’s unclear, but she seems to know what it is and she’s OK with it. There’s no turning and running for it, as you might typically expect.

LINE 21-22

Since then – ’tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day

• Wait a minute – this happened centuries ago?! This really throws a wrench in the whole system.
• The poem seems to be telling a recent memory, but this all actually happened a really long time ago. Meaning…yep, the speaker has been dead the whole time. Interesting.
• “Feels shorter than the Day” is just an old-fashioned way of saying something like, “feels like just yesterday.” So this memory remains vivid for the speaker.

LINE 23-24

I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity –

• These final lines recall the very first time the speaker encountered the horse-drawn carriage and had a feeling that they were more than just regular horses – that they signified her journey to the afterlife.
• Ending on the image of the horse heads is really smart of Dickinson, because they jut forward and it almost looks like they’re pointing toward something. In this case, “Eternity.”
• It’s also very bold of Dickinson to end on this image because this is the first we’ve heard of the horses, and suddenly she’s asking them to hold up the most important moment of the poem.
• The final stanza is full of surprising moments for the reader. We find out the speaker has been dead for years and we’re introduced to (and left with) this striking image of the horses’ heads pushing forward.