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Poetry Analysis Sheet

For this performance task, you will read and analyze a maritime-related poem. The following instructions
will help you uncover the meaning of the poem.

1. Title of the Poem: Because I could not stop for Death – (479)- BY EMILY DICKINSON

2. Write a brief summary of the poem in your own words.

In the poem "Because I could not stop for Death," Death is personified as a visitor who escorts the
speaker to the afterlife in a carriage. The speaker reflects on images from the natural cycles of life
and death that she witnesses while riding in Death's carriage throughout the poem.

3. What do you think the poem means?

Answer these questions:

• Who is the subject of the poem? The poem's subject, "Death and Life are Immortal to Mortals," which
being emphasized by the narrators on how death will inevitably affect our lives and how life will resume
after experiencing either grief or giving birth to a child.
• What are they talking about? The poem discusses how life functions similarly to death because death is
unavoidable for mortals. whereby mortals are the center of the world's life and death cycle.
• Why do you think the author wrote the poem? Because death is viewed as a natural rule for humans, the
author of this poem intended it to convey why people shouldn't lament the loss of a loved one. Instead,
we should cherish our final moments with calm and consciously embrace the fate we will unavoidably
suffer in the future.
• When is the poem happening? The incident described in the poem took place when the narrator was almost dead
and death visited to give him a trip of a lifetime. where the narrator sees the regular cycles of life and death in the natural
world. When death carries him to a growing house on the ground that represents burial, she finally finds calmness.
• Where is the poem happening? When the narrator is almost on his deathbed, the poem takes place as he
recalls their encounter with death.
• What is the poet’s attitude? Because death had shown him the gratifying cycles of life and death, in which
people should not fear it at the end, the narrator's attitude toward his poetry was one of "calm and at
peace." Because death had shown him the gratifying cycles of life and death, in which people should not
fear it at the end, the narrator's attitude toward his poetry was one of "calm and at peace."
• How does the poem shift from person to person or between different times or places? The shift in the
poem is right between the third and fourth stanza. ("We passed the fields of gazing grain, We
passed the setting sun.")

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 Poetry Analysis Sheet (continued)

4. Identify different poetic devices and how they convey the poem’s message.
• Simile – comparison using like or as- In the second to last stanza, she uses a simile to describe the
house they stopped at as "seemed / a Swelling of the Ground--," which refers to a house that looked
like swollen ground, sort of like a burial mound. She is therefore comparing the house to a burial
mound by using the verb "seemed."
• Metaphor – a direct comparison- In relation to the carriage, the first stanza provides one illustration of a
metaphor. The carriage that Death is driving is not actually a carriage; rather, it is a metaphor for the
journey of life that ultimately leads to death as well as the transition from life into the new state of death.
The carriage is a symbol of being transported to the underworld, similar to how the ancient Greek god
Charon used a ferry on the Styx to transport deceased souls to Hades. Because it "held but just Ourselves--/
And Immortality," we can tell that the carriage is unlike any other. Death can be viewed as an interminable
life and, as a result, as an immeasurable existence. Because of this, we are aware that the carriage is a
symbol of a larger concept because it is not your typical carriage. More specifically, it is a representation of
the ferry from Ancient Greek mythology. Both are metaphors for the transition from life to death, as if
riding in a carriage were like doing so. Another metaphor is the "House" itself. They haven't actually
stopped a house before. Instead, the concept of a house in the Kingdom of Heaven in the afterlife is
referred to by the term "house. "As a result, Dickinson is metaphorically describing the afterlife as a
"House" by using the term "House." In other words, he is comparing the afterlife to a dwelling place, similar
to a house. However, like a tombstone, the "House" is also submerged in the ground. As a result, we are
aware that it also serves as a metaphor for a tombstone.
• Personification – giving human qualities to nonhuman things- One of the most obvious methods
employed in this poem is personification. It takes place when a poet gives a non-human being or thing
human characteristics. The first stanza establishes death's personification very clearly. He plays the
speaker's suitor, encouraging her to join him in the unknown ride in the carriage. He is civil as well as "kind.
"An expression intended to evoke a specific memory without explicitly stating it is known as an allusion.
Even though it isn't explicitly stated in the poem's lines, it is clear that the speaker is supposed to be in
some kind of afterlife, probably the Christian idea of heaven. However, the fact that it is not explicitly
stated allows for a wide range of interpretations regarding the kind of world the speaker is currently
residing in.
• Tone – what emotion does the speaker use as he talks- The mood and tone of this poem are very distinct.
In the poem, the poet or speaker speaks in a calm and measured voice. She is aware of what is going on
around her, but she does not express any excessive emotion about it. Until the speaker gets closer to
death, this is maintained throughout the first few stanzas. Things start to change a little at this point, and
the tone becomes more sinister. Words like "Chill" and "quivering" illustrate this. The speaker's sincere
declaration that the horses' heads are pointing in the direction of eternity in the poem's final lines restores
the tranquility of the first section.
• Point of view – who is the telling the poem- The story is being told by the poet herself, who describes a
close encounter with "Death" and "Immortality."
• Imagery – creating pictures with words- "We paused before a House that seemed a Swelling of the
Ground" As she realizes that she has been seduced by Death, they stop in front of her new "house," a
"Swelling of the Ground" where she will be buried.
 • Alliteration – repeating the same letter- Alliteration, the first of these, occurs when two or more words
start with the same sound and are repeated or at least appear close to one another. Take, for instance, the
words "work" and "leisure" in the second stanza and "school" and "strove" in the third.

5. Identify the theme (central idea) of the poem.

The central theme [of "Because I could not stop for Death"] is the interpretation of mortal
experience from the standpoint of immortality. The idea that eternity is timelessness emerges as a
theme from this. The poet makes use of the concepts of eternity, immortality, and mortality.

6. Explain how the author’s history and culture have influenced the poem.
List two important experiences that influenced the author:
a. Dickinson fell in love with the Reverend Charles Wadsworth while visiting Philadelphia in the early 1850s; her
unfulfilled love may have prompted her future social isolation. She developed a love for poetry as a result of this.
b. Early in the 1860s, Dickinson through an unspecified emotional crisis. She is said to have written a lot as a
result of her trauma; in 1862 alone, she is estimated to have written over three hundred poetry.
List two conditions in the author’s country that influenced his/her life (poverty, political unrest, war, lack of
opportunities, social constraints especially for women):
a. Due to Dickenson unspecified life trauma she began to isolate herself further. She then began to continue
making poetry even on isolation. Dickinson then initiated a correspondence with Thomas Wentworth Higginson,
the literary editor of the Atlantic Monthly magazine. Over the years Dickinson sent nearly one hundred of her
poems for his criticism, and he became a sympathetic adviser and confidant.
b. Even when she has a life trauma to the society, she never making poetry in her room. Dedication and
motivation help her strive more on making literary pieces throughout her lifetime. "Because I Could Not Stop for
Death," maybe Dickinson's most well-known poem, is regarded as one of the greatest works of American poetry.
When Dickinson's father abruptly passed away in 1874 and her mother had a stroke that left her disabled, her
isolation only got worse. Dickinson was identified as having Bright's disease, a kidney disorder, in 1886. She
passed away in May of that same year. Even when people have difficulties and traumas in life, these things do not
prevent us from having the wishes and habits to help others or ourselves feel at peace. Dickson's tenacity brings
her voice of success to the fore.