Emily Dickinson Mortality
In her renowned poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, Emily Dickinson hyperbolizes the variance between an incessant life and the serene perpetuity of death. She suggests that death is not to be feared, and that perhaps life is more deplorable. Dickinson utilizes many impactful strategies throughout the poem, some of which include vivid symbolism, rich diction, and unique syntactical strategies. The two juxtaposing themes Mortality and Immortality are prominent as Dickinson explores the idea of perpetual life. The credence of life after death is employed in this poem, which offers an explanation as to why the speaker is so calm about what she is enduring. The poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” suggests that death
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The author appears to chronologically review the stages of her life: childhood, symbolized by the “school where children played”, maturity symbolized by the ripe, “gazing” grain, and the descent into death symbolized by the “setting sun”. She conveys her feeling of being outside time and change, for she corrects herself to say she “passed the setting sun”, as it of course does all who are in the grave. This emphasizes the dichotomy existing between linear and cyclical time, mortality and immortality. The speaker, in correcting herself, may have come to understand that whereas the sun, depicting circular time, will keep revolving, her own journey is destined to come to an abrupt, irreversible halt. It is here that the speaker realizes the significance of time, however she does not seem to view her demise as funereal. Dictional elements in stanza five hint at unpreparedness for death. She realises what time of day it is and experiences a chill because she is not warmly dressed, as she is adorned in a “sheer tippet” and “gown”. With the coming of evening, a coolness had fallen for which the speaker found herself unprepared with regard to clothing. In fact, her garments were more appropriate for a wedding, representing a new beginning, than for a funeral, representing an end. This signifies the speaker's unwavering belief that although death is abrupt, it is virtuous, and is a celebratory condition. She appeared to be optimistic about her ultimate fate, and viewed Death as a friend. It is in these stanzas that she is reminiscing about a time that felt so near but was so
The author appears to chronologically review the stages of her life: childhood, symbolized by the “school where children played”, maturity symbolized by the ripe, “gazing” grain, and the descent into death symbolized by the “setting sun”. She conveys her feeling of being outside time and change, for she corrects herself to say she “passed the setting sun”, as it of course does all who are in the grave. This emphasizes the dichotomy existing between linear and cyclical time, mortality and immortality. The speaker, in correcting herself, may have come to understand that whereas the sun, depicting circular time, will keep revolving, her own journey is destined to come to an abrupt, irreversible halt. It is here that the speaker realizes the significance of time, however she does not seem to view her demise as funereal. Dictional elements in stanza five hint at unpreparedness for death. She realises what time of day it is and experiences a chill because she is not warmly dressed, as she is adorned in a “sheer tippet” and “gown”. With the coming of evening, a coolness had fallen for which the speaker found herself unprepared with regard to clothing. In fact, her garments were more appropriate for a wedding, representing a new beginning, than for a funeral, representing an end. This signifies the speaker's unwavering belief that although death is abrupt, it is virtuous, and is a celebratory condition. She appeared to be optimistic about her ultimate fate, and viewed Death as a friend. It is in these stanzas that she is reminiscing about a time that felt so near but was so