★★Because I Could Not Stop for Death ★★
Emily Dickinson
★★Summary:
The poem based on death and the after-life experience of the speaker of the poem.The poem begins abruptly.As we read the poem, we see that the speaker of the poem, a female figure who was wearing her fancy dress(gown).The poet personified Death and stopped to pick her up and take her on a ride in his horse drawn carriage. Although she was not prepared for this ride.The speaker feels easy and comfortable with the gentleman(death and immortality). As they passed through the town, she sees the children were playing (means childhood days), fields of grain (means maturity) and the setting sun (means death).As dusk sets in the speaker begins to feel chilly because she is only wearing a thin silk.They stopped at a house like 'A Swelling of the ground' which will be her grave. In the final stanza, the speaker suddenly informs that this ride with Death took place a centurics ago.Yet she feels that this event took place yesterday when she first got the feeling that horse heads pointed towards 'Eternity'. Thus the journey suggests the passage from life to death-to an eternal life.
★★Rhyme Scheme:
Rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse
★The rhyme scheme of the poem is abcb.
The general rhyming pattern of each stanza is abcb. In the fist stanza, the first line and third line end with "Death' and. "Ourselves" respectively. These words do not rhyme. The last word of the second line, "me" rhymes with the last word of the fourth line, "Immortality". However, the later stanzas are not perfectly rhymed because there are variations. She uses "half rhyme' or "slant rhyme' as in the third stanza in which "Ring" does not rhyme with "Sun".Its quatrains are similar to that of a hymn. Its Iyrical quality is also like that of a hymn.
It doesn’t follow the proper rhyme of abcb.There are some variations in it.
★★Tone:
Tone is a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength.
The poem opens in an happy tone as if the speaker is speaking about her first journey. The first line opens in a tone of explanation Because I could not stop for Death'. The speaker of the poem accepts death commonly.The speaker's tone in the poem makes the reader believe the speaker does not fear death, but feels the opposite towards it. If the poem did not look for death with an underlying theme of love, the acceptance of death might be hard for the reader to believe. The last stanza of the poem becomes nostalgic as the speaker recalls her century-old experience of dying.
★★Structure:
The poem is a hymn.A hymn is a lyric poem that is addressed to God.The poem consists of six stanzas and each stanza has 4 lines.The poet used iambic pentameter lines through her poem.The general rhyme scheme of the poem is abcb.But it doesn't follow the rhyme scheme. The post uses here half rhyme. The poet here praises Death as an immortal being.Its lyrical quality makes it a perfect hymn.
★★Theme:
Theme is the central idea in a piece of writing. The whole body explains the theme.
The central theme of the poem is the journey of line through life to eternity.
The poem deals with the death and the after life experience of the speaker. At first the poet describes the journey of a woman who is picked up by Death on his carriage and moves towards eternity. Here the Death has been personified who stopped his carriage and picked up the woman to journey to the next world. The woman was not prepared to go with death because she was busy with her daily works. But the Death stopped himself and picked her up on his carriage. They moved slowly and passed the school where children were playing that means childhood experiences.They also passed the fields where there were grains gazing that means maturity of the speaker.and lastly they saw the setting sun that means death. They stopped at a house that looked like a swelling ground and the roof of the house was not visible. In the last stanza, the woman realizes that their journey began hundreds and hundreds of years.The poem reveals that every living being is always busy with worldly works, and so he has not time to wait for death. But it towards eternity.
★★Authors Position:
When an author writes to persuade,he/she will have his/her own position on the subject.The author's position is an author's opinion about the subject.It may be subjective or objective.
Subjective means where the writer can use his/her own feelings,emotion, and own choice.
Objective means where writer cann't use his/her own feelings,emotions and own choice.
The poem is a subjective one.Here,the poet directly describes her own experience. She describes the journey life to eternity.Her companions are death and journey.They takes the poet to her grave.So all the elements are her personal experience. So its a subjective poem.
★★Figures of Speech:
Figures of Speech means use of ornamental elements into a piece of writing.
★Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sound.
*"The Dews drew quivering and chill".
Here "D" is repeated so its an example of alliteration.
★Personification
It is a figure of speech in which the writer puts imaginary life into a life being or thing.
*"Death", "Immortality", " Setting Sun" those all are personified by the poet.
★Metonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one thing is related with another thing.
*"My labour and my leisure".
Here poet's whole life is related with "labour" and "leisure".
★Symbolism
Symbolism refers to a thing that is stands for something else.It is basically an image which,by virtue of recurrent uses.
*Here, " School" symbolizes the speaker's childhood days.
"Gazing grain" here "gazing grain" means mature age of the poet.
*"setting sun" here "setting sun" symbolises death.
So the poet uses some figures of speech to attract readers attitude.
***To err is human.
-----Written by Krishna Mandal