Category: Because I Could not Stop for Death

Poetry as an art expresses the pedestal realities and emotions in the lives of human beings and poetry discourses generally pursue to delve into the emotional disparate experienced by individuals while encountering death and dying. Because of the emotional complexity it evokes in humans and being an undeniable truth in life, the conception of death resides in many poetical works and many poets treated differently this subject. This essay will examine the eminent theme of death and the methods it is depicted and presented by three different poems: ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ by Dylan Thomas, ‘Because I could not stop for death’ by Emily Dickinson and ‘Death be not proud’ by John Donne.

The author’s attitude and perspective is a distinguishing factor and can give hints regarding how they place confidence in a common theme utilized in poetry like death and the representations offer an implicit space wherein readers engage conclusions. Dylan Thomas’ poem ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’, Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘Because I could not stop for death’ and John Donne’s poem ‘Death be not proud’ concern death and how individuals ought to react to that. For Dylan Thomas, struggling against death is a courageous reaction. He expresses that every man should rage and revolt against death by writing the lines: “Do not go gentle into that good night / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”. In contrast to Dylan Thomas, Emily Dickinson’s poem present a more positive and moderate view of death. She embarks on the idea of go with the flow: “And I had put away / My labor and my leisure too / for his civility.” In terms of their perception of death and immortality, Dickinson and Donne embrace the equivalent Christian perspective. A person dies and goes on to a better place to live forever. Same confrontation and confidence in Dylan’s tone attracts the attention in John Donne’s poem. He presents an argument against the power of death by personification: ‘Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men….’. His approach to the subject matter stated as:

‘Death Be Not Proud’ is notable (even among Donne’s poems) for its brittle, shifting tone. After his triumphant opening assertion of victory over Death, the speaker’s certainty falters, and he proceeds to engage in casuistical and contradictory arguments with Death. (Tromly 392)

Death is not only an area open to different interpretations, but also a source to discrete notions. In conclusion writer’s attitudes toward death plays the role of an interpretative guide.

Poets write their poems in a certain structure to evoke a particular response within the reader on their theme. When approaching a work of poetry from the analytic point of view it is necessary to examine the structure. Dylan Thomas, Emily Dickinson, and John Donne uses definitive structures that allows the reader to move easily from beginning to end on the subject of death. Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for death” is within the form of a lyric poem that contains six stanzas with four lines. Each stanza depicts another phase of the journey of death without clearly mentioning its name:

By contrast, physical death is rarely ever referred to as ‘death’ in her poems; instead, it is frequently given the euphemisms ‘immortality,’ ‘eternity,’ or ‘resurrection.’ Dickinson calls these junctures in life ‘deaths’ because an old way of life is wiped out in the process and often painfully. (Lambert 8)

In her journey the author seems to review the periods of her life: childhood: ”We passed the School, where Children strove”, maturity: “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain //“ , and the descent into death: “We passed the Setting Sun //“as she passes to the other side. As Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas uses a sequence of imagery to portray his poem. Each stanza describes a different type of man at their ending, and this sequence is described as: “From the first stanza to the last, dying men portrayed by the means of images that aggrandize his position in the cosmos” (Öz 1049). Those images in each stanza are cautiously organized in a textured sequence. The unity of the continuing flow of life and death linked different men such as “wise men”, “good men”, wild men” and, “grave men” throughout the poem. Dylan Thomas’ choice of verbal style plays a idiosyncratic role compared to Dickinson’s. He wrote ‘Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night’ in the poetic structure of a villanelle which customarily used in poems dealt with natural or simple themes. By employing that suitable form for his poem he narrated his natural view of death. “Death be not proud” is an Elizabethan sonnet, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet. The philosophy which aroused and then proceed in his poem is to disprove a personified antagonist of death. In the first quatrain, Donne focuses on the subject and audience of this poem, death. The second quatrain turns the criticism of antagonist’s good features. In the final couplet, he closes his argument against death and poem conclude with an inflating address which claims the victory of mankind over the antagonist by saying: “One short sleep past, we wake eternally / And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”

Thinking the overall idea of death, obvious and general aspects like deprivation and mourning seems more likely fundamental and central things to consider but there are many conclusions to be drawn philosophically and intellectually. Teodorescu makes a statement on the aim of the death narratives by saying:

One essential objective of the death narratives then is to act as subliminal ways of naturalizing the fear of death and dying. Such chronicles often portray the human understanding of death not merely as gateway to the inescapable unknown, but also as a channel for psychological reconciliation with human physical frailties. (Teodorescu 10)

Alternatively, poets can choose to concentrate on one aspect of the overall theme or explore different areas and features. Experience of death, whether direct or indirect can make a poet examine questions such as the brevity of life or the inevitability of death, or make them answer the aftermath of it in some way. Dylan Thomas, John Donne, and Emily Dickinson did not confine themselves to a specific aspect of death. Dylan Thomas wrote his poem during a particular moment in his life. Seeing the death of his father and his unaccomplished aspiration, Thomas associated the boundedness of time as another aspect of death. Life is a short period and death waits for every human being. In this short period, men should accomplish what they want or do their best. The people in the poem do not cheat death to live another day so the result of fighting death is not victory. Emily Dickinson and John Donne embrace the idea that death is not to be feared since it is a genuine part of the endless cycle of the natural order. Dickinson and Donne approach death through their personal and religious views. Dickinson’s beliefs on dying and afterlife defined as:

To the end of her life, Emily puzzled over the mystery and miracle life, time, eternity, God, and death. As she grew older, her faith some form of reincarnation or resurrection, her belief in immortality as we commonly define the term in the Christian manner, seemed grow. (Mcnaughton 205)

Since both sharing the Christian credo, they were optimistic about their utmost destiny but Emily Dickinson more appeared to see death as a friend rather than John Donne. Donne demonstrates the Christian doctrines of resurrection and immortality of the soul. Though Dickinson’s concentration on the uncertain aspect of the theme draws a fine line between immortality and eternity. Another aspect Dickinson and Donne are share is that by using the metaphor of death, they arguing the persistency of death and its function as an eternal pathway to the afterlife.

In the final analysis, death is a phonemenon which is hard to comprehend and it is discoursed and characterized individually in the poems “Do not go gentle into that good night”, “Because I could not stop for death”, and “Death be proud”. Since it is always debated that whether it has a meaning we should take into consideration, interpenetrating with the structure of life or simply nothing. By arousing both aesthetic and physchological assumptions of death as represented in particularly select literary products such as poems Dylan Thomas tried to create an argumentative field that pursues to figure out and acknowledge death as the inescapable fact. Metaphors or imageries of death expressions or death rejections are more insightful ways used by poets to apprehending the meaning of death. After all human intelligence cannot go through the post-death enclave and that leads to the creation of the figurative form which used by Emily Dickinson and John Donne in order to reasonably allow the living to overcome the existential despair of passing away by the imagery of immortality.

Death is an inevitable phenomenon that is interpreted differently by different individuals. The significance of death is sometimes used to allude to one’s psychological behavior. Psychological behaviors such as depression was often seen throughout the poems of various poets. Death will often symbolize a situation or an occurrence, and the use of literary elements inferences can be made about the meaning and purpose of the poem. By using an extended use of literary language, speakers imply how death and depression can coincide in understanding people’s mental state.

The use of dark images and death imagery can influence a person’s behavior by implicating sadness as a result of a certain event. In the poem “ Because I could not stop for Death”, Emily Dickinson reveals the inevitability of death. The surface meaning was that death was full of uncertainties and that after death is a curiosity to many. A woman, most likely Dickinson, is riding in a carriage headed to life after death. It is unclear where she goes as the afterlife is unknown. The pragmatic tone of the poem as a whole describes how the journey is out of Dickinson’s control. The uncertainty of knowing if the speaker is dead or is headed towards death connects to the uncertainty of the afterlife and time of death. The poem is first introduced with the lines of “Because I could not stop for Death- / He kindly stopped for me-“ (lines1-2). Death is perceived to be of a gentleman figure and more accepting. Death as the gentleman “kindly” stopping his carriage so that she can get in. This can mean that there is reassurance of death being inevitable and comfortable. The process remains mysterious because there is uncertainty of their designated destination. In addition, the following lines of “ The Carriage held but just Ourselves-/ And Immortality” (lines 3-4). The mentioning of immorality is important, in that, she can be alluding to afterlife being something for eternity. But the unclearness also designates the idea that there is uncertainties of this whole process, again proving death and life after death is a mystery. There is consonance of “l” sounds in the words “held” and “Ourselves”. Consonance can be used here for reiterating the importance of journey. The sounds make it known that the carriage was personal because of the use of “ourselves” alluding that everyone’s death sentence is personal and dissimilar to another person.

The use of character comparison can impact the meaning by designating anger and misfortune. The poem “ Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas was a message to Thomas’ father. The main objective was to prove to his father that despite the life one lives, that everyone faces the same ending. He also hoped that his father would fight for life, and not give up before dying. Thomas acknowledges that death is inevitable but one should give up and die peacefully. He also indicates that life is valuable and worth fighting for until the end of time. The speakers introduces 4 different type of men. The wise, good, wild and grave men. All has lived different type of lives, but he expects them to do one thing in common, which is fight for life in the end. In line 4 it is said, “ wise men at their end know dark is right.” This basically means that the wise know death is inescapable, but they do not just accept the fact. They try to buy more time by resisting death at all cost, as the value of life is cost less. It is known that despite everything one has done, they constantly wished to do more on their death bed. Thomas makes it known that they should fight against death so that they can have a greater impact and do the things the wanted. The poem is seemed to be universal referring to all men, but it switches to be more intimate for the father. The poem is unclear initially in who it is addressed to. The unclearness alludes to the fact that there has to be a choice made of how the ending of ones life is depicted. It’s whether one fights or “goes gentle” into death. Thomas stating, “ and you, my father, there on sad height” (line 16). Here he addresses his father and shifts the meaning of the poem. The poem changes to a son wanting longer time with their father and grief he would feel after the father’ s death. The mentioning of “father” has a religious aspect as well. He can be addressing God. The height can represent heaven, and it’s sad due to all the people that died. He can also hope that his father goes to God when passes. But he also hopes that God can grant him the wish of longer life for his father.

The overtone of depressed authors is critiqued to figure out and undermine their work. The State You are entering: Depression and Contemporary Poetry by David Wojahn criticizes the definition of depression. He begins by stating the various definitions of depression, but adds his own input of disagreeing with our current definitions. He claims, “Depression is now seen as an organic state rather than as ‘character flaw’”, and that definitions of this day and age are plain. But depression affects everything from ones physical, emotional and mental state. Writers outright address their depression by the use of their dark imagery. Richard Hugo writing “Degrees Of Gray at Philipsburg”, shows his personal failure and the dying town. Hugo says, “you might come here Sunday on a whim/ say life broke down. /The last good kiss you had was years ago.” The broken down town alludes to a destroyed and destruct life. You feel down and unhappy with life indicating the feelings of the author. The poem has a long conceit, “ Isn’t this your life? That ancient kiss/ still burning out your eyes. Isn’t this defeat so accurate the church bell simply seems a pure announcement: ring and no one comes?” The indirect question in the beginning represents the unimportance one can feel about life. Feeling unimportant is connected to depressed mental state. Even the word ancient, means one had a decent life prior and is now unhappy. The negative connotation of defeat means they don’t see the importance of life and is in a negative state. Wohajn evaluates that Hugo obsessively parallels the town to his personal break down. Hugo has low self-esteem and this was seen here through his work.

Poetry is often used to exemplify a greater meaning of an overall subject. Depressed individuals often made ordinary poems but had a greater backstory. Using poems from famous authors and analysts, the main meanings were found.

Over the last few weeks, we have discussed and analyzed the important elements within poetry. A good poem is a symptom of the poet’s effort to make sense of the world. Often, a poet will use many different tools such as personification, symbols, and metaphors, etc. to ensure that the reader truly understands the underlying point and main idea of a poem.

This is precisely what Emily Dickinson did when she wrote: “Because I could not stop for Death”. In the poem “Because I could not stop for Death” written by Emily Dickinson, Emily writes “Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me” (577 Lines 1-2). Death is described as a polite kindhearted gentleman who so kindly stops for Emily even though she did not apparently have the time of day to stop for him. Emily uses personification to describe how she feels about death as a “person”.

Death, in this case, is not someone who is evil, and a person who does not care about anyone other than themselves, but rather, he is a caring and kind person who is willing to give of his time to wait for someone else. Emily is giving these characteristics to Death to help the reader understand how she truly feels about Death. “We slowly drove – He knew no haste” (577 Dickinson Line 5). Emily again uses personification to help develop the poem and enhance the reader’s experience. Death is leading the way here. He seems to be in no rush and is there just to comfort Emily. Emily knows what is happening and yet she forgets about it and is just living in the moment as if nothing is bothering her because of the comfort which Death is providing. “We drove slowly” – as if we have all the time in the world – just be free and let go of everything which is pulling you down. “He Knew No Haste” – Death is in no rush thus, giving Emily the comfort and time to not worry about anything. Another excellent literary tool Emily uses in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death” to aid the reader is the use of symbols. “We passed the Setting Sun” (Dickinson 577 Line 12).

Emily is realizing that her time has come and that death is drawing near as the sun sets causing darkness not only on the world but on Emily herself. Although the sun takes time to set, from the time it rises in the morning until the time it sets at night – Emily realizes that her time is drawing nearer and nearer with every setting moment. Emily does not seem to fear death but rather, seems to be at peace with Death and she uses a metaphor to show this. “We paused before a House that seemed A swelling of the ground” (Dickinson 577 Lines 17-18). Death still “in the driver’s seat has brought them to their last stop – Emily’s final resting place – her grave site. Emily seems to be distancing herself from the house – her grave but if you take a look at the greater picture here, you can see that it is not distancing, but rather Emily coming to terms with the fact that she is about to lie down in her final resting place.

With every piece Emily Dickinson writes she seems to always have the reader at the forefront of her mind. With every piece she makes every effort to ensure the reader will understand what she is saying and moreover, exactly how she feels. She is so detailed in her writing, to the point of ensuring that not even the interpretation of her literary works of art are left to chance. That, in my opinion, is the epitome of a true artist and writer.

Emily Dickinson is a very fine and obvious kind of poetess. She is straight forward Lady that believes in Death and all the consequences that bring life out of the misery and brings eternity to the people which is the real world. She emphasizes on fake nature of this existing world that no one is mortal and everything has to die or decay for some reason. She has true self belief that we are carrying our loads of sins, of which we shall face the music in eternal life. The poetess has used commas and dash as punctuation marks to focus on the seriousness of this topic “ Because I could not stop for Death “. She is paranoid sometimes to see that people are being misguided by the temporary pleasures of life and they go on hurting and ruining someone’s life without even taking an account that their doing can prove to be fatal for someone. Emily Dickinson places Death wish as an honor to be furnished and thinks that we people are carriage bearers of our loads and life is a journey of good and bad events which we ride along with friends and family. But according to poetess, the real home for a man is the Grave, which gives him eternity and sigh of relief from all the problems of life. Time flies and Mortality faces reality of eternity. The person calling a house ,made of bricks and cement, his Home forgets about the real home which is in the graveyard and that belongs to a certain person for the rest of eternal life.

Emily Dickinson places a placebo effect on the minds of readers by expressing the super naturability of afterlife. People don’t take under consideration the concept of afterlife seriously. They seem to think that our dear ones bury us and after that everything will be finished but In true sense, everything starts after that moment when everyone leaves us in cemetery for the day of judgment. Death is a pious deed to end the miserable life of sins and heart break and in this way the regretful person attains the morality and mortality. According to the poetess, Death is inevitable and everyone who denies it meets his destiny one way or the other. Without Death there would have been population explosion all over the world and the countries will have to suffer socio-economic and financial issues to overcome poverty and inflation that is the result of over-population. In poetess review, Death is a blessing in disguise because if there would be no death then people could not be able to enjoy the colorful blessings of nature. The man would never want to procreate in this eternal world because due to death one has the wish of passing on his name and honor to the young ones of next generation. So Death grants us many wishes and little moments of joy that would not have been possible if there was no concept of Death.

Finally, in a nut shell, it is hereby concluded that Death is not a bad thing in poetess’ point of view rather it is a release from the prison of this world and enjoying the soothing effect of eternal afterlife in Heavens. There is no such feeling that is comparable to this one.

Emily Dickinson and Death Throughout Emily Dickinson’s 1,800 poems, about one quarter feature the subject of death. Although Dickinson penned a great many poems featuring death, there are no two which have precisely the same perception of it, and these perceptions can appear contradictory at times – Dickinson portrays death as alternatively tender, ominous, or simply inevitable. There is an ambiguity to the ways in which she gives shape to death and what follows it.

Her poems focusing on death can be roughly categorised into four classes: Firstly, those dealing with the physical process of dying, describing in minute detail the act of dying and the appearance of the corpse, among those appearing several in which Dickinson imagines her own passing. Secondly, those detailing the pageantry surrounding death – “the bustle after death” – the funeral, funeral procession, the burial. Thirdly, descriptions of the grave, “the apartment deep” where the dead reside, often detailing the tomb and the coffin. Fourthly, those pondering the existence of a life following death, of an afterlife or nothingness. Although biographical details aren’t necessarily always valuable, some of the context of Dickinson’s life can perhaps provide an insight into this fascination with death which influenced so much of her work.

Death would have had quite a looming presence in her life: her house was located beside a graveyard, and her bedroom window faced directly onto it. Five children that she knew died and were buried there during her time at school, and it was said that she would frequently watch the funeral processions from inside her home. Additionally, Dickinson lived through the American Civil War, and through an abundance of disease and epidemic within her lifetime. One of Dickinson’s most well-known poems, which begins ‘Because I could not stop for Death’, details the passing of the speaker from life through death into immortality.

Dickinson uses personification in this poem, allowing the reader to understand death in an intimate manner. The poem describes a close meeting with Death and Immortality, the two of whom invite the speaker into a carriage which carries her toward the end of her life. Initially, death is welcomed, with a pleasant tone implies that the speaker is comfortable with him. She has come to terms with her own mortality and willingly entered the carriage, and accepted that it is her time to die. She is driven through the progression of her life with patience and given opportunity to reminisce until the setting sun is passed, symbolic of the passing from life. As the speaker’s position shifts from the world of the living into that of death, the tone too shifts from one of contentedness to a more conventional vision of death; one which is altogether colder and more sinister. However, towards the end of the poem it becomes clear that despite the unpleasantness of these aspects of death, the suffering and discomfort are worthwhile as the reward is immortality. Immortality as a goal is implied in the first stanza, in which Dickinson mentions “Immortality” to be the only other occupant of the carriage: although it is only in the final stanza that the speaker achieves this goal.

The meaning of time becomes lost, and hundreds of years are no different from a day to the speaker. As time has lost its meaning, the speaker is able to appreciate the instant in which they realise that death is not merely death, but is in fact immortality, for she “surmised the Horses’ Heads/Were toward Eternity -”. In ending the poem with a dash following ‘eternity’, Dickinson here shows a representation of eternity; a poem which does not end, and is left in a momentary pause for eternity.

“Because I could not stop for death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves and immortality,” by Emily Dickinson. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson has become one of the greatest American poets. Her unique style of writing has become iconic in the poetry world. No one can quite capture her ability to write. However, out of the 1,775 poems she wrote only 7 were published before her death. Her sister, Lavinia, found all of her poems and published them into a book known as “The Poems of Emily Dickinson. “Among these poems was “Because I could not stop for death.” In this essay I’m going to analyze Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘Because I could not stop for Death,” to show how formal elements create meaning within this poem. In this poem, Emily Dickinson uses many different ways to express the speaker’s reflection on death with personifications, symbols and metaphors.

Personification is used as the most important literary element of death. Emily Dickinson is giving human death human traits. She personified death because death doesn’t stop to wait, and you don’t know when death comes. The way she describes death in lines 1 and 2 “Because I could not stop for death/ He kindly waited for me.” These two lines make you think of a gentleman pulling in a carriage. Death acts like a person, like how people are inevitably is waiting for death. The other example is shown in line 5 “We slowly drove- He knew no haste.” Death is like a gentleman that slowly gets to know a lady before he sweeps her off of her feet and takes her home with him. In this case her home would be Eternity. “For his civility.” She compares death to its manners. Death is polite and courteous.

The other element is symbolism. Symbolism is used to help the readers understand meaning that she is trying to express. “My Tippet”/ “only tulle” is used both for bridal veils and funeral veils but in this poem, it suggests that objects are used to make shrouds. Another example of symbolism is used in line 18 “A swelling of the ground”, the area around the grave swells once the body is in the ground. The reader reminds that is actually grave. We can also see symbolism in lines 9,12,13. The details of these lines represent the stages of life. “We passed the school,” includes her childhood memories, as Dickenson compares death with the lives of young children. “We passed the Field of Grazing Grain,” represents the middle of her life, the working years. “We passed the setting sun,” as the sunset begins to get colder and darker is symbols death, last stage of her life.

Dickenson’s last element is metaphor. The poem as a whole is a metaphor. She is slowly taken to her death in a carriage and death is the driver. She compares what real death might be like to the journey that we take to our final resting place. In my interpretation home is like a grave because through our journey in life no matter where we go, our last stop is our home. In line 17 “We paused before a house,” shows that the house is the “final resting place.” This poem describes that house is the home of the death in other word a gravesite which is final destination. The speaker depicts the timeless nature of eternity. It suggests that both death and life are journeys, but death’s journey is free of the busy, chaotic pace of life which we can see in line “Feels shorter than the Day.”

In conclusion, the theme of this poem it’s about death which is natural and there is no way to avoid it. In this poem death is polite and civil. Usually death is portrayed as a cruel and painful experience, but Dickenson represents him as a kind figure. The words create a calm and fearless mood. A connection is the poem to Emily’s life. It seems that she wrote this poem before her death in real life. She expected her death anytime soon. She was calm and understanding just like she sounded in the poem. Emily Dickinson uses death as personification and she also includes many symbols and metaphors. We aren’t always ready for death, but death is ready and waiting for us.

Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.” (Cassandra) .Poetry has always been the music in literature. A novel or a play would sometimes use poetry. Poetry does not restrict itself to romance. In fact, it can be a way to express our day-day activities or even the most mundane routines we dwell on. However, a romantic poem is clearly more powerful in terms of expressions and portrayal of strong emotions or impulses. Death can be expressed in the most macabre way or introduced as a romantic element. I believe that Emily Dickinson is one of America’s greatest poets. Her poems are known for questioning the nature of immortality and death. At many times, her poems had a mantric way of telling. My essay will discuss three poems for her namely: ‘Because I could not stop for Death’, ‘A Light exists in Spring’ and. ‘There’s a certain Slant of light. For the first poem, I will focus on the symbolic meaning. For the second and third poems, I will talk about the relationship between romance and nature. I will explain how romance often involves a vision of nature- the nature outside as well as the nature within.

Death is always thought of as a dark figure that spreads sadness and despair all around. ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ defies that common belief. Emily Dickinson depicts death as a benevolent spirit. In the first stanza, first line, first letter of death is in capital, usually that would strike fear into our hearts. Death is personified as a gentleman coming to pick up the speaker.

The word ‘Carriage’ symbolizes the journey they are about to undertake. ‘Ourselves’ and ‘Immortality’ extends the journey to an eternal undertaking. This would obviously allude to adventure and the belief that getting on a ride with death is not the end but merely the beginning of a life full of adventure and mysteries. In the second stanza, ‘We slowly drove- He knew no Haste’ signifies the never ending time the passengers have on their hands. Emily is clearly fascinated by Death as she referred to him as a civil entity and again as a gentleman ‘For his Civility’. Moreover, she put away all her worries and made herself available for death to accompany him on their journey as seen in second and third lines of second stanza. That actually could be a connotation to how romance comes to play in the most bizarre ways. Death is depicted as a gentleman picking up the speaker and he is quite civil. It is as if Death is courting his passenger.

There are many symbols of death and romance in the poem. On the third stanza, ’Children strove’ refers to vitality and beginning of life versus death. ‘The Ring’ could be the circle of life after death. ‘Field of Gazing Grain’ represents the ripeness and that she is ready to leave, the feeling is strengthened by the next line ‘the Setting Sun’ which is ironically a romantic scene as witnessed by many lovers. Furthermore, the word ‘passed’ is mentioned quite often throughout the whole poem which symbolizes the passage of the soul into the afterlife. Death is again symbolized with the words ‘Dews’, ‘quivering and chill’; the cold grasp of death draws near. ‘We paused before a House that seemed/A Swelling of the Ground’ symbolizes the slow fading of life. Finally, the poem ends with a dash which expresses immortality and eternity.

There are various nature poems. ‘A Light Exists In Spring’ is a poem for Emily Dickinson. While Emily is not usually read as a master of pastoral romance, this poem is ostensibly a nature poem. More importantly, the experience itself felt throughout the poem is a religious journey of the soul as much as could be a promenade for leisure. Romance usually involves a vision of nature. In the poem’s first stanza, a particular light comes in spring. The month March is rarely around and that signifies that spring usually comes at the end of the month. This is a sad portrayal for a specific light that comes late at the end of the month. The second stanza’s first two lines show how that special light changes how the poet perceives the world. ‘A Color stands abroad’, the beautiful colors of flowers and lush green trees usually shine with the eflection of light thus drawing a magnificent sight for sore eyes. A beautiful scene painted through words could only arouse affectionate senses and passion into play. The second line uses the word ‘Solitary Fields’, the word ‘solitary’ usually relates to monks living a lonely life of worship and self-restraint. Combining ‘Fields’ with ‘Solitary’ personifies these fields as a lonely individual without companionship. Having no company is sad in a romantic way. That’s why spring light comes and befriends the solitary fields thus eliminating the sad sensation felt thought the empty lonely fields.

Many poets have a distaste for science, John Keats does not have much tolerance for science in his poem ’Lamia’ for outstripping mother nature’s alluring magic as described by Richard Dawkins the writer of ‘Unweaving the Rainbow’. Emily Dickinson does not share the same strictness but clearly sought to condemn science nevertheless. The next line in the second stanza shows how science not matter how advanced could take away the sensual beauty of spring light. ‘Human nature feels’ what we see with our own eyes is nothing to what one would feel when engulfed with vast sights of slopes of lawns and green fields especially as portrayed in the third stanza ‘Upon the furthest Slope you know’. The word ‘know’ refers to our inner selves and our hearts could feel the anguish from watching Mother Nature reveal its wonderful colors and then take our breaths away. Lastly, light speaks to us ’It almost speaks to you’; divinity shines through. The holy light of god always inspires warmth and serenity upon people’s souls which is a religious moment but can be ascribed as well to being romantic. After all, the whole point of companionship is to feel warm and secure.

On the fourth stanza, the description of the never-ending lawns again is beautiful but alas, the end is near. Light passes and moves on to another part on the planet without a warning, without an utterance of sound or word to prepare us for spring light’s departure, the poet is left alone again ‘it passes and we stay.’ Finally, the last stanza deals with the loss inflicted upon the poet as light dissipates, it has affected her mentally and spiritually. The feeling of loss and despair overwhelms the poet as light abandons her just like how lovers would leave each other after a brief but inspiring romance.

Life Is Dukkha (O’Brien). Gautama Buddha expressed life as many things, among them Dukka, means pain and misery. In the previous discussed poem, light was a positive force of good. In the poem ‘There’s a certain Slant of light’, nature is not represented as a source of inspiration. In fact, spiritual despair and presumption centralize the poem as themes. It is important to consider Emily’s background as well. She was not the pure legacy of puritanism; she was a member of a ‘Shakespeare Club’. In that regards, she usually subverted common ideas or images and shifted underlying elements into dominant figures in a form of anamorphosis. Light is usually full of hope and life but Emily describes a certain light that comes in winter. Nature is actually mirrored as a source of spiritual dejection which fervently describes nature within and how it is seen through her eyes.

The word ‘Slant’ is usually a verb or an adjective. The way it is used as a noun is a pun because it expresses light as something enigmatic and tangible, we know that since she uses ‘ certain’ to specify. The next lines describing the aesthetic power of cathedral music is undermined by words like ‘oppressed’ and ’heft’ which tend to pin down a personal experience that is mysterious yet profound for the impact it instills upon her. The second Stanza is an intense befuddlement in core. It expresses how the landscape and holy light harms her but the meanings are abstract and vague in nature ‘But internal difference –Where the Meanings, are –‘. More on that, the subordinate clause ‘Where/are’ could refer to a spiritual experience felt through nature in a different reality that is not defined by location but by the powerful impact of nature’s own devices.

Despair is irrevocable in the third stanza for Emily, Light is a depressing element which will prevent us from reaching enlightenment and passing through the doors of heaven. ‘Tis The Seal Despair’, light extinguishes our senses of vitality and takes out optimism thus leaving us as empty shells. Death comes finally in the last stanza, ‘the landscape listens’ as if it’s preparing to die and hear its last rites. Shadows soon follow and obviously need light to exist anyway. Ironically, light will disappear and so will a shadow which signifies death.

The last two lines have alliteration in ‘Death’ and ‘Distance’ which works as distant whispers of gradual extinction. Hence forth, everything that is vibrant and clear in nature slowly dies in the void caused by the force of winter light.

“Trust the place to form the voice.” (Howe). Emily Dickinson rarely left her hometown and left a secluded life. Dickinson says so much in so little; her statements are usually confusing and complex. In that retrospect, we sometimes get moody and express our own pain and sufferings differently. In her first poem about death, she describes death as a gentleman and a romantic figure. She uses many symbols in the first poem to show that. The second poem clearly promotes light and nature as a self-vitalizing and healing force of good in the most profound ways. Many of us go through various stages of life. It is not all ‘roses and rainbows’ .The last poem is mysterious and puzzling but once the surface is scratched, the inner makings of the poem expel out the subliminal allegories. These images can take many twists especially with consent and descent. The refusal to take language for granted is a perfect example of the prevalence of consent in Dickinson’s poems (Stéphanie Durrans). When Emily Dickinson talks about her own pain, she renders it through a different perspective. In addition, Emily makes people question their own existence.

I picked the poems “Because I Could not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson and “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. Both these poems were narrative confessional. The subject matter chosen by both these poems to discuss was similar, but their perspective towards the idea differs significantly. In ‘Because I could not Stop for Death’, the speaker describes death as her fiance` and she can’t resist herself for the day of her wedding. It seems the speaker is waiting excitedly for that day to come. Whereas in ‘The Raven’, the narration was done nicely about the Psychological state of a man mourning for his lost love Lenore and this poem is more of a melancholy and sad type.

In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, The speaker of the poem travels in a carriage with her fiance- the Death towards Immortality. Her journey’s just begun, she says her actual life will begin after the marriage, which she refers to as death, and the life after death the Immortality. The carts were pulled by horses. The journey of the carriage passes through the school children, the grazing grain field, and the setting sun. This can be easily related to childhood, adulthood, and sunset just like characterized by the setting. This symbolizes the life as we pass by. Even if we didn’t, the death comes to us is expressed in the poem as follows,

“We passed the setting sun, Or rather, he passed us”

The cart paused in front of a house that seemed like a swelling ground, a grave. Life gets paused at death. The poem ends with the lines saying that the horses turn their head towards eternity, which resembles the Immortality after death.

In “The Raven”, the narration of the poem is as follows,

On a dark December night, the speaker of this poem says that he is weak and tired, in spite of his tiredness he reads a book in the middle of the night. The explanation of the setting was kind of terrifying like all that midnight, weak and nothing more, sorrow, dying. He explains why he is still awake in this chilling and lonely night, he could not fall asleep as he kept thinking about his lady love named Lenore who is no more now. He could smell her fragrance on the sofa, which tells us that his thoughts were occupied by her memory. That gives the reader a clear idea about his mind filled with sorrow and uncertainty.

He suddenly hears the tapping sound at the door, he expects that it must be some late-night visitor. But he didn’t find anyone there except the darkness. After a while, he once again heard the tapping sound at the window sill and when he checked it out, he happened to find a Raven entering the room, and to his surprise, it sat on the statue of Pallas. Pallas is a Greek god for wisdom. Since the bird Raven is associated with death or more evil, in this poem, the bird sits on a statue known for his source of wisdom. Since the speaker is alone in his room, he begins to talk to that bird. Whatever he asks, the bird replies in one word, Nevermore. The narrator first asked the name of the bird, and to his astonishment the bird replied to him, “Nevermore”. He continued to chat further with the bird by asking Will the bird would ever go away from him, Any remedy for his sorrow, Will he would be able to reunite with his lady love Lenore in his afterlife, the bird merely replied Nevermore for all his questions.

The writer imagines the Raven as a creature from the land of the dead and as a Prophet in various situations. This poem is about love and the sorrow associated with her absence and his endless suffering due to this loss. He has been waiting for death, which is understood when he asks the raven about his doubt about whether he will be able to reunite with Lenore.

When we compare the two works, we can see they both talk about Death and its waiting time. In ‘Because..’ the author passively waits for Death, she explains that even though we didn’t wish, death comes to us is expressed in the poem as follows,

“We passed the setting sun, Or rather, he passed us”

She says her real life begins after death, she refers to eternity as real life. It shows her maturity and understanding of death. Whereas in “The Raven”, the speaker was in great sorrow, after the death of his love of life. He sees death as an end to all his sorrows and uncertainty, even he sees death as an opportunity to unite with his lost love. His idea is expressed when he asks the raven,

“Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—”

“Because..” is a narrative poem written in four-line stanzas called Ballard type, whereas, “The Raven” is divided into 18 stanzas with 6 lines in each stanza. The Allegory narrative has been handled wisely in both poems. In “Because..”, when the cart passes through the school, grazing grain and sun, the speaker relates it to a secondary meaning of childhood, adulthood, and end of life. In “The Raven”, when the narrator explains about the visitor, he seems to expect someone else, as he says “late visitor” and “this it is and nothing more”.

Denotation can be seen in their work. In ”Because..”, the speaker describes the grave as a swelling ground, similarly, in “The Raven”, even though he knows it as a bird, he visualizes it as a prophet or a devil and comes from a land of the dead. The usage of rhythm and rhyme can be enjoyed throughout both their work along with rich alliterations.

In “The Raven”, the narrator uses Antagonist, when the speaker asks the bird about the possibility of reuniting with his ladylove, the characterization of the bird in this place is Antagonist, since the bird answers his wish “Nevermore”, although there is no character or force can be seen against the speaker’s point of view in “Because..”

The realization behind knowing one must die has a great importance. It shouldn’t be a depressing or negative thing. Emily Dickinson often wrote poetry about death including her own. The poetry that Emily Dickinson leaves behind widens the eyes of the reader. These poems allow a better understand that death is inevitable and should not be feared. One must die for life to have meaning. Although her poetry can be seen as morbid by some, during the 19th century her mindset was not seen as unusual. Most religious attention was focused on the preparation for death. During Dickinson’s time, people died of illness and accidents at a quick and alarming rate. Dickinson’s views on death was something one should never fear. She shows a respect for death in her poem, “Because I could not Stop for Death.” Dickinson personifies death while she narrates from beyond the grave.

Emily Dickinson’s, “Because I could not Stop for Death” focused mostly on the subject of death after living. Dickinson takes the reader through this special transformation from one world to the next. She takes the reader on a journey through a world beyond time. This is dealt with in an odd, imaginative way. She talks on the personal encounter with the character death. Death is a male who drives the carriage. She befriends the character death. The carriage ride is symbolic for Dickinson’s departing from life. This is revealed in the first stanza when she says,“ he kindly stopped for me.” This tells us that humans should accept death, because it will indeed stop for you rather you want it, or not.

The author reveals how willingful she is to go with death within the second stanza when she says, “put away…labor and…leisure too for his civility”. It seems as if though Dickinson is accepting death as her fate. In the third stanza Dickinson states,“We passed the school where children strove.” She addresses the generosity death has given her by allowing her one last look on her childhood memories. She also says, “ We passed the fields of gazing grain.” This drive allowed for Dickinson to see back on the best parts of her life.The author passing the setting sun represents the author dying. This allows the reader to understand that life is more beautiful when death has occurred. The world moves on without her leaving her cold and damp in her grave. This is closely relates to her poem about the funeral she feels she is having within.

“I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” is about the author going insane about losing her grip on reality. The author felt as if her sanity was sliding away. In the first stanza, Dickinson used the funeral as a metaphor for what is going on inside her head. It is as if her reason and sanity have passed away. There is chaos in her mind like the voices and whispers you would hear at a funeral. When the author says, “As all the heavens were a bell” she is referring to the bells that are rung to announce someone’s death. This poem suggest the loss of something. It is questioned rather reason and sanity are lost, or if reason and sanity is what kills. Although, death is not easy to deal with, one can lose their sanity over death. The sanity a person has is apart of being alive. Following the death of someone comes grief.

Grief is an important part of death. It lets us know we have loved. It is an honor to those who have passed along with the relationship that was shared. Grief allows for one to detach and let go of someone, while not forgetting, but remembering the joy. We use grieving to say goodbye to the ones we loved. In the end, this allows only the memories you shared to be left behind. Emily Dickinson wrote a poem, “I measure every Grief I meet.” The author tells us about the unusual habit she has of measuring grief. She tells us how she compares the grief of others to her own within the first stanza. This measuring that the author does begins to make her question if someone is more sad than she is, or have they felt it for as long as she has. In the fourth stanza she says, “At length renew their smile.” Dickinson talks on her skepticism with people who get over their grief. She suggests that maybe people are faking their recovery. The author never gets the answer she was seeking. Although it doesn’t really matter to her, she never finds out why someone are sad. The act of realizing that someone else is sad is the small thing that makes her feel better inside. This closely relates to her poem about hope.

“ Hope is the thing with feathers,” is a spiritual poem. The author starts off talking about how hope has feathers. The feathers and the “Perches” are a metaphor. She is being optimistic and literal. The author wants us to see her hope as a bird. Dickinson wants the bird to be seen like it is not in a cage but in the soul. This is to say that hope is found within the soul of everyone. Located in the first stanza when the author says, “ And sings the tune without the words. And never stops – at all ,” is a metaphor to say that hope never stops. Hope is something that never stops singing. In other words, hope is a steady force. It’s always there. Hope is apart of the soul. Just as death is apart of life. Understanding the inevitable fate we all have is a necessity for making life more valuable.