Because I could not stop for Death – Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was an American poet who lived in the nineteenth century. Dickinson lived an aloof life, and almost all of her works, including her most famous ones, were published after her death in 1886.

“Because I could not stop for Death” is a poem written by Emily Dickinson, published posthumously in the year 1890. It is one of her most well-known poems. The poem notably personifies death as a gentleman, and the narrator depicts a sense of solace nearing the end of their life.

Topic: Emily Dickinson

Grade level: 11th grade English

Objective: To understand why Dickinson structured “Because I could not stop for Death” the way she did, and how the decisions and literary devices used help convey the overall message of the poem.

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 –

Discussion Questions:

1.) What literary devices can you identify throughout the poem?

2.) Why do you think Dickinson decided to use these devices?

3.) What mood does Dickinson establish throughout the poem? What tone?

4.) What message is Dickinson trying to convey by depicting Death as a gentleman in a carriage?

5.) What do you think the overall message of the poem is?

Activity:

Write your own poem utilizing personification to depict something that seems scary or taboo as something not so bad.