Because I Could Not Stop For Death
Emily Dickinson’s "Because I could not stop for Death" is a
remarkable
masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the
unknown. Critics
call Emily Dickinson’s poem a masterpiece with strange
"haunting power."
In Dickinson’s poem, "Because I could not stop for
Death," there is much
impression in the tone, in symbols, and in the use of
imagery that exudes
creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to an eerie,
haunting, if not
frightening, tone in Dickinson’s poem. Dickinson uses
controlling
adjectives—"slowly" and "passed"—to create a tone that seems
rather
placid. For example, "We slowly drove—He knew no haste / ...We passed
the
School ... / We passed the Setting Sun—," sets a slow, quiet, calm,
and
dreamy atmosphere (5, 9, 11, 12). "One thing that impresses us," one
author
wrote, "is the remarkable placidity, or composure, of its tone"
(Greenberg
128). The tone in Dickinson’s poem will put its readers’ ideas
on a unifying
track heading towards a boggling atmosphere. Dickinson’s
masterpiece lives on
complex ideas that are evoked through symbols, which
carry her readers through
her poem. Besides the literal significance of —the
"School," "Gazing
Grain," "Setting Sun," and the "Ring"—much is gathered
to complete
the poem’s central idea. Emily brought to light the
mysteriousness of life’s
cycle. Ungraspable to many, the cycle of one’s life,
as symbolized by
Dickinson, has three stages and then a final stage of
eternity. These three
stages are recognized by Mary N. Shaw as follows:
"School, where children
strove"(9) may represent childhood; "Fields of Gazing
Grain"(11),
maturity; and "Setting Sun" (12) old age" (21). In addition to
these three
stages, the final stage of eternity was symbolized in the last
two lines of the
poem, the "Horses Heads" (23), leading "towards Eternity"
(24).
Dickinson fathomed the incomprehensible progression of life by
unraveling its
complexity with figurative symbols. Emily Dickinson dresses
the scene such that
mental pictures of sight, feeling, and sound come to
life. The imagery begins
the moment Dickinson invites Her reader into the
"Carriage." Death"slowly" takes the readers on a sight seeing trip where they
see the stages
of life. The first site "We" passed was the "School, where
Children
strove" (9). Because it deals with an important symbol,
—the
"Ring"—this first scene is perhaps the most important. One author
noted
that "the children, at recess, do not play (as one would expect them
to) but
strive" (Monteiro 20). In addition, at recess, the children performed
a
venerable ritual, perhaps known to all, in a ring. This ritual is
called
"Ring-a-ring-a-roses," and is recited: Ring-a-ring-a-roses, A
pocket full of
posies; Hush! hush! hush! hush! We’re all tumbled down. (qtd.
in Greenaway
365) Monteiro made the discovery and concluded that "For
indeed, imbedded in
their ritualistic game is a reminder of the mortal stakes
that the poet talks
about elsewhere"(21). On this invited journey, one
vividly sees the
"Children" playing, laughing, and singing. This scene
conveys deep emotions
and moods through verbal pictures. The imagery in the
final scene, "We passed
the Setting Sun," proved very emotional (12). One can
clearly picture a warm
setting sun, perhaps, over a grassy horizon. The idea
of a setting sun,
aftermath a fact of slumber in a cold dark night. When
Dickinson passed the
"Setting Sun," night drew nigh and it was time to go
home and sleep.
Symbolically, Her tour of life was short; it was now time
for
"Eternity"—death. While sight seeing in the carriage, one can gather,
by
the setting of the sun, that this ride was lifelong. It is evident that
death
can creep up on His client. In example, often times, when one
experience a
joyous time, time seems to ‘fly’. In the same respect, Emily
Dickinson
states "Or rather—He [the Setting Sun] passed Us—" (13). In this
line,
one can see how Dickinson, dressed for the "Day," indicates that a
pleasant
time was cut short (15,16). Before She knew it, the cold "Dews drew
quivering
and chill"(14). The imagery in this transcendent poem shines great
light on
some hidden similarities between life and death. This poem exercises
both the
thoughts and emotions of its reader and can effectively change one’s
viewpoint
of an eternal future. Eternity and Death are two important
characters in Emily
Dickinson’s "Because I could not stop for Death." In
fact, eternity is a
state of being. Dickinson believed in an eternity after
death (24). Agreeably,
one can say that Emily Dickinson’s sole purpose in
this poem is to show no
fear of death. Emily Dickinson’s poem, "Because I
could not stop for
Death," will leave many readers talking for years to
come. This poem then,
puts on immortality through an act of mere creativity.
Indeed, creativity was
captured at all angles in this striking
piece.
Bibliography
Dickinson, Emily. "Because I could not stop
for Death." The Compact
Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael
Meyer. 4th ed. Boston:
Bedford-St. Martin’s, 1997. 642-643. Greenaway,
Kate.
"Ring-a-ring-a-roses." The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Ed.
Iona and
Peter Opie. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951. 365. Greenberg, John
M.
"Dickinson’s Because I could not stop for Death." Explicator.
v49n4.
Summer 1991. 218.
Monteiro, George. "Dickinson’s Because I
could not stop for Death."
Explicator. v46n3. Spring 1998. 20,
21.
Shaw, Mary N. "Dickinson’s Because I could not stop for
Death."
Explicator. v50n1. Fall 1991. 21.