“Because I could not stop for Death —” Introduction

• "Because I could not stop for death" is one of Emily Dickinson's most celebrated poems and was composed around 1863. In the poem, a female speaker tells the story of how she was visited by "Death," personified as a "kindly" gentleman, and taken for a ride in his carriage. This ride appears to take the speaker past symbols of the different stages of life, before coming to a halt at what is most likely her own grave. The poem can be read both as the anticipation of a heavenly Christian afterlife and as something altogether more bleak and down-to-earth. Much of its power comes from its refusal to offer easy answers to life's greatest mystery: what happens when people die.

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“Because I could not stop for Death —” Summary

• I couldn't stop for "Death," so instead he came to get me. I climbed in his carriage, which held just the two of us—as well as Eternal Life.

  We drove unhurriedly, with Death in no rush. I had left all my work and pleasures behind, in order to be respectful of his gentlemanly nature.

  We went by a school, where children played during their break time, arranged in a circle. Then we passed fields of crops—which seemed to stare—and the sun as it set in the sky.

  Actually, we didn't pass the sun—it passed us. As it did so, dew formed, shivering and cold. I was cold too, as I was only wearing a thin gown and a lightweight scarf.

  Our next stop was at what looked like a house, except it was partly buried in the ground. I could just about see the roof; even the ceiling was in the ground.

  Since that day, centuries have passed. That said, it feels as though less than a day has gone by since then—the day that I realized that Death's horses were headed in the direction of eternity.

“Because I could not stop for Death —” Themes

• 

  Death, Immortality, and Eternity

  “Because I could not stop for death” is an exploration of both the inevitability of death and the uncertainties that surround what happens when people actually die. In the poem, a woman takes a ride with a personified “Death” in his carriage, by all likelihood heading towards her place in the afterlife. The poem’s matter-of-fact tone, which underplays the fantastical nature of what is happening, quickly establishes this journey as something beyond the speaker’s control. It's not clear if the speaker is already dead, or she is traveling towards death. Either way, her death is presented as something natural, strange, and inescapable.

  Indeed, the poem’s opening lines make this clear. The speaker herself couldn’t “stop for Death”—and not many people would—but “Death” has every intention of stopping for her. Notably, “Death” here is presented as something of a gentleman, “kindly” stopping his carriage so that the speaker can climb in. This suggests a certain comfort with, or at least acceptance of, dying on the part of the speaker, even as what this process actually entails remains mysterious.

  Also in the carriage is “Immortality.” It’s not clear if this is another personified figure—a kind of chaperone—or something more abstract. But the presence of “Immortality” does speak to one of humanity’s deepest questions: what happens when to people when they die?

  “Immortality” is ambiguous here. Its presence could support the Christian idea of the afterlife—which some critics feel runs throughout Dickinson’s poems. Or, by contrast, “Immortality” could be somewhat ironic, hinting at the permanent nothingness that awaits in death. Either way, such is the eternal inevitability of “Death” that he himself is in “no haste.” That is, he doesn’t need to hurry to make death happen, because it is an automatic fact of life. In fact, the whole journey has the air of unhurried purpose, as though reaching the destination is a given and that therefore rushing is unnecessary. The carriage stops by a school, fields, and perhaps even the speaker’s own grave (stanza five). These seem to represent different stages of life, starting from childhood and preceding—like the journey itself—to the inevitable final destination.

  To underscore the poem’s sense of awe surrounding the mysteries of death, the final stanza is filled with ambiguity and contradiction. The speaker explains that the carriage passed these sights “Centuries” ago, but that the entire time that has elapsed also feels “shorter than a Day.” In the grand scheme of eternity, hundreds of years might indeed feel like a blip on the radar. This contradiction thus highlights the difficulty of imagining eternity. Life is measured by time, moving through different stages as people age; people sense the story of their lives unfolding as time goes on. But in death, the perception of time—indeed, all perception—ceases to exist. Unless, of course, there is an afterlife, an idea which the poem seems open to but inconclusive about.

  Indeed, it’s in large part this inconclusiveness that makes the poem so powerful. On the one hand, “Death’s” kind and calm treatment of the woman could signal the comfort of a Christian afterlife—entrance to heaven and an eternity in God’s presence. But more darkly, the way that the poem plays with ideas of immortality and eternity can also be read as nothing more than the dark nothingness of death itself—that life, when it’s gone, is gone for good.

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• 

  The Cyclical Nature of Life and Death

  In addition to looking at the mysteries of death, “Because I could not stop for death” comments on the nature of life. During the speaker’s journey with the personified “Death,” the points that they pass along the way seem charged with significance. The journey format of the poem mimics the way that life itself is a journey from birth to death—from the arrival of new life to its absence. The observations that the speaker makes along this journey seem to reinforce the idea that life and death are in cyclical balance; in a way, the poem suggests life is not possible without death.

  Firstly, though it is not an explicitly stated symbol in the poem, it’s important to bear in mind that this a journey taken with the aid of wheels. The carriage’s wheels are, of course, circular, gently hinting at the circular transformation from nothingness to life to nothingness once more.

  While the first two stanzas set up the journey itself, it’s from the third onwards that the speaker starts to notice the environment around her as it passes. The first point along the way is a school, “where Children strove / at Recess – in the Ring.” This image of children playing is important, symbolizing the continuation of life even after the speaker is no longer around to witness it (one of the facts that confronts everyone about death). The verb “strove” seems to suggest human effort, hinting at the way people strive to keep living even in the knowledge of inevitable death. The children are also playing in a “Ring,” the circular nature of which further reflects the cycle of life and death.

  Soon after, the traveling party goes by a field. While the sun is setting—representing the speaker’s death—the “Gazing Grain” seems to be growing strong. This, then, is another example of the continuation of life after death. Every year crops are harvested (representing death) and then are replanted or regrown, enacting the shift from life into death and back again.

  Then, in the penultimate stanza, the speaker seems to see her own grave. There is a sense here that the reality of death has arrived—that the speaker will no longer be around to witness children playing or crops growing. But because of the other sights that have been mentioned earlier, the grave visit doesn’t really feel as significant as one might expect. That is, the speaker herself will of course soon be gone, but the poem is charged with the knowledge that everything else will carry on as before. Perhaps her death even makes way for the continuation of life in her absence—for new children to “strive,” just as harvested grain makes way for new crops.

  Subtly, then, the poem suggests an interdependence between life and death. Both seem like necessary parts of the world as presented in the poem, even if their relationship is by its nature perplexing and intriguing. Dickinson manages to put into images the complexity of these thoughts, and intentionally leaves such questions unresolved for the reader to consider.

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Because I could not stop for Death —”

• Lines 1-4

  Because I could not stop for Death –
  He kindly stopped for me –
  The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
  And Immortality.

  This poem has arguably one of the most arresting and intriguing openings in English language poetry. A first-person speaker, later revealed to be a woman through the description of her clothing in stanza four, encounters "Death." This Death is a personified figure, arriving to pick the woman up as though he is running some kind of 19th century taxi service.

  But, of course, this ride comes about not because the woman wants it to, but because it is her time to die. She "could not stop for Death"—and, indeed, not many people would choose to do so—and so it is Death's responsibility to stop for her. The description of Death as "kindly" in line 2 suggests a gentlemanly figure, one who is going about his duty while behaving respectfully to those he picks up. It's notable, though, that as with the rest of the poem Death remains silent here. Death remains a mysterious, shadowy figure, even if he isn't presented as something fearsome and terrifying.

  The woman climbs into Death's carriage and makes another mysterious observation. Describing those present within the vehicle, she mentions that, other than herself and Death, "Immortality" is also present. This moment is highly ambiguous, perhaps deliberately so. It's not clear if, like Death, Immortality is a personified figure—and another silent type at that. Alternatively, immortality may just be present in a more abstract sense as part of the atmosphere of the carriage.

  The poem's sounds help capture the nuances of this opening stanza. The consonance of /l/ sounds in "held" and "Ourselves" seems to cling to the mouth of the reader, evoking the way in which this is, put simply, not a voluntary journey—that is, despite Death's gentlemanly civility, he also forces the speaker to join him.

• Lines 5-8

  We slowly drove – He knew no haste
  And I had put away
  My labor and my leisure too,
  For His Civility –

  

  

• Lines 9-12

  We passed the School, where Children strove
  At Recess – in the Ring –
  We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
  We passed the Setting Sun –

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  Or rather – He passed Us –
  The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
  For only Gossamer, my Gown –
  My Tippet – only Tulle –

  

  

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• Lines 17-20

  We paused before a House that seemed
  A Swelling of the Ground –
  The Roof was scarcely visible –
  The Cornice – in the Ground –

  

  

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• Lines 21-24

  Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
  Feels shorter than the Day
  I first surmised the Horses' Heads
  Were toward Eternity –

  

  

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“Because I could not stop for Death —” Symbols

• 

  The Carriage

  The carriage in "Because I could not stop for Death" symbolizes the journey from life to death. This journey begins when a personified version of "Death" comes to pick up the speaker, who admits that she was never going to stop for him on her own—he had to come to her. The carriage then carries the speaker through a landscape that represents a kind of sped-up version of life. In this way, life as a metaphorical journey becomes a literal journey in the carriage.

  The carriage is a type of vessel or container for the speaker, mirroring the speaker's body, which could be thought of as the "carriage" for her soul. Just as the speaker must eventually disembark from the carriage to enter her "House," or tomb, so too must the speaker's soul eventually depart from her body, whether to join God in heaven or to re-enter nothingness.

  Additionally, the carriage's wheels, though never explicitly mentioned, summon the idea of circularity. These wheels propel the speaker's journey, and their circular shape is gently suggestive of the idea that life and death are in a kind of cycle, one leading to the other forevermore. The "Ring" of children in line 10 further hints at this circularity, as if the wheels on the carriage and features of the landscape are mirroring each other.

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• 

  The Children

  The third stanza is deeply symbolic, appearing to represent different stages along the journey of a typical human life. The first of these is the school, where the speaker sees children playing. Altogether, this image represents the first stage of life: childhood.

  Interestingly, the verb used to describe the children's activity is not "played" but "strove." In other words, the children seem to be making a real effort at whatever game they're playing, which subtly comments on the effort involved in life more generally. Life, the poem seems to say, is also a game people strive to succeed at. This is especially relevant given that the speaker has just "put away" her life's "labor." She has given up striving and now makes her way to the grave.

  Also important is the particular shape into which the children have organized themselves. They are in a ring—a circular shape—which hints symbolically at the idea of death and life as a cyclical relationship. Death and life are defined in terms of each other—they depend on one another to exist.

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• 

  The Fields

  The second stage along the speaker's journey is "the Fields of Gazing Grain." The grain symbolizes adulthood and maturity. Having passed by the school—which represents childhood—the speaker now sees this symbolic image of growth. Each year, crops are brought to maturity and then cut down to be sold. Every year, in other words, brings with it a cycle of new life and death—just like the human world too.

  The use of "gazing" is unusual—grain is not usually described in such a way. This seems to relate to the strangeness of the speaker's perspective: just as the sun appears to pass her, rather than she passing by the sun, the grain seems to return her searching look. In other words, the mystery that she perceives in the outside world is reflected back upon her, reinforcing the poem's general atmosphere of unsettling ambiguity.

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• The Sun

  The setting sun symbolizes the end of life. The speaker is nearing the end of her journey. What will follow, of course, is nighttime—or death. That is, the speaker's sun is setting, and she is leaving her earthly existence.

  The symbols in stanza 3 become less and less earthbound as the stanza progresses. The school is a tangible and real location; the fields widen the perspective to indefinite boundaries; and finally the "Setting Sun" exists in the sky, out beyond earthly life altogether. This captures the way that people's perspectives enlarge as they get older. It also mirrors the speaker's progress towards the "Eternity" of death.

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“Because I could not stop for Death —” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  Alliteration is quite a prominent feature of "Because I Could Not Stop for Death."

  Technically speaking, alliteration is first used in the /h/ sounds of line 5—"He knew no haste"—but it's the next example that seems more significant. In line 7, the speaker relates how she "put away" her "labor" and "leisure," in part because Death was so "kindly" and civil towards her. In other words, she felt duty-bound to leave aside both her work and her play.

  These, perhaps, are the two key factors in most people's lives: the work that people do (labor) and what they do outside of that work (leisure). Both are, of course, incredibly open-ended. Labor doesn't need to mean paid work—it could relate to domestic work at home, or even writing poetry. And leisure could be anything from hobbies to spending time with loved ones. Accordingly, the alliteration that joins these two words emphasizes the way that they are such key parts of what it means to be human. It makes them more prominent, suggesting their deep-rooted importance.

  In the following stanza (stanza 3), the poem intensifies its use of alliteration. Here, each line has a pair of alliterating sounds:

  We passed the School, where Children strove
  At Recess – in the Ring –
  We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
  We passed the Setting Sun –

  This alliteration emphasizes the way that each location the carriage passes represents a different stage of life, whether literally with regards to childhood or metaphorically in the figure of the setting sun (representing the end of life). The alliteration draws attention to each line, making them feel like distinct units, almost like signposts coming into view.

  Another example of alliteration is in lines 15 and 16. Again, the alliteration comes in pairs:

  For only Gossamer, my Gown –
  My Tippet – only Tulle –

  The alliteration helps make the lines sound delicate, which in turn suggests the thin clothing that the female speaker is wearing.

  As one final example, look at line 23. Here, the twin /h/ sounds of "Horses' Heads" recall the sound of horses exhaling as the speaker undertakes her final journey. This use of alliteration, and the poem's use of alliteration in general, helps draw attention to the specificity of its descriptions.

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• Anaphora

  

  
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• Assonance

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

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"Because I could not stop for Death —" Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Carriage
• Haste
• Labor
• Civility
• Strove
• Ring
• Quiver
• Gossamer
• Tippet
• Tulle
• Cornice
• Surmised

• This is a horse-drawn vehicle with four wheels, used to transport passengers.

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Because I could not stop for Death —”

• Form

  The poem's form is typical of Dickinson's poems. It is made up of six quatrains, with a regular sense of meter and rhyme that gives the poem a forward momentum (fitting the idea of a journey).

  Each stanza in this poem essentially functions as a distinct stage in the speaker's symbolic journey. Their clear-cut form helps convey how the mysterious journey from life to death can be captured using simple descriptions and images. That is, the clarity of the poem's form helps capture the mysteriousness of its content.

  Like Dickinson's "I heard a Fly buzz - when I died," the poem starts with a clear opening statement that seems to come from the speaker's past, before the main events of the poem unfold. In the final stanza the poem seems to reach the speaker's present, in which she seems to speak from beyond the grave—thus ending in an atmosphere of mystery and uncertainty.

• Meter

  "Because I could not stop for death" is written in iambic meter (meaning the lines are made up of feet with two syllables in an unstressed-stressed pattern). Mostly, the poem alternates between tetrameter (four iambs per line) and trimeter (three iambs per line). The third stanza is a good example of this at work:

  We passed | the School, | where Chil- | dren strove |
  At Re- | cess – in | the Ring –
  We passed | the Fields | of Gaz- | ing Grain – |
  We passed | the Sett- | ing Sun – |

  This particular metrical form is sometimes called common meter, and can often be found in ballad stanzas and church hymns. Using a stanza reminiscent of church hymns subtly places the poem within a religious context, meaning that its considerations of death seem to be specifically based on the question of whether or not there is a Christian afterlife.

  Line 14 contains an interesting metrical variation. Whereas usually the metrical scheme would demand a line of iambic trimeter, this line packs in a few more syllables, gaining an extra foot:

  The Dews | drew quiv- | ering | and Chill –

  In a way, this makes it seem as though a "Chill" runs throughout the line, briefly making it shiver and waver away from the usual metrical scheme.

  All in all, however, the poem sticks remarkably close to its meter. This strong rhythmic quality, combined with its striking narrative and Dickinson's unusual turns of phrase, helps make the poem so memorable.

• Rhyme Scheme

  The rhyme scheme in "Because I could not stop for death" aligns with the ballad stanza form. This runs:

  ABCB

  The poem is propelled by the expectation of rhyme, conveying the rhythm and momentum of the speaker's journey with Death. That said, Dickinson resists making the rhymes too clear or satisfying to the ear, opting in most cases for slant rhymes. "Away" and "Civility" almost rhyme, for example, but not quite.

  This refusal to make the rhymes full helps build the poem's sense of disquiet and mystery. The reader can sense that there is a rhyme scheme, but to a degree it is hidden. Like the answer to the question at the heart of the poem—what happens when people die?—the rhyme scheme is elusive.

  One especially interesting moment occurs in the penultimate stanza. Here, the poem uses the same word twice, rhyming "Ground" with "Ground" again. This emphasizes the earthiness of what appears to be the speaker's final bodily resting place—her own grave.

“Because I could not stop for Death —” Speaker

• "Because I could not stop for death" is told entirely in the first-person. The female speaker tells the reader a story retrospectively, describing how a personified "Death" came one day to pick her up. Indeed, he had to come to her because the speaker "could not stop" for him. Most likely, this relates to the way in which most people do not choose to die, but have death thrust upon them.

  The speaker is aware of the customs and social behaviors of her time, both sensing a kind of gentlemanliness in the figure of "Death" and responding with her own polite and respectful behavior. That's why she puts away her "labor" and "leisure," intuiting that she no longer has use for work or play (because she's going to die).

  As often with Dickinson's poems, the speaker sometimes describes things implicitly rather than stating them outright. For instance, the speaker refers to her tomb as a "House," not a grave. And in the last stanza the speaker implies that she's been dead for "Centuries" without actually saying so. This might be interpreted as innocence, as if the speaker doesn't even know she's dead, but it more broadly represents the speaker's (and by extension, Dickinson's) ability to suggest states of being without referring to them directly.

“Because I could not stop for Death —” Setting

• The setting of "Because I could not stop for Death" is a carriage ride through a landscape that represents the different phases of life. That setting is complicated by the fact that the speaker seems to retell her journey from beyond the grave.

  The speaker gives clear statements about the location of the poem's action. The poem also unfolds chronologically, starting when "Death" picks up the speaker and seemingly ending at the speaker's tomb. This slow-paced journey goes past places that appear to symbolize stages of human life. Children playing at a school represent childhood, growing crops represent maturity, and the "Setting Sun" conveys old age. The final step seems to be the speaker's own grave, seen in the penultimate stanza.

  Yet the whole poem has been told in the past tense. The speaker has been recalling her journey to death after that death. In the mysterious final stanza, the speaker appears to comment from a kind of present, an eternity in which centuries pass as quickly as days. Thus, in the last stanza, the poem's setting—which was symbolically grounded in everyday images—suddenly veers into an unnameable realm from which the dead speaker relates her own death.

Literary and Historical Context of “Because I could not stop for Death —”

• Literary Context

  Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) published almost nothing during her lifetime, and after 1865 she rarely even left her family home in Amherst, Massachusetts. But from within this circumscribed world, she explored the heights and depths of human experience through her groundbreaking, world-changing poetry.

  While Dickinson wasn't too publicly involved in the literary world of her time, she was still part of a swell of 19th-century American innovation. Her contemporary Walt Whitman (who became as famous as Dickinson was obscure) was similarly developing an unprecedented and unique poetic voice, and the transcendentalists (like Emerson and Thoreau) shared her deep belief in the spiritual power of nature. Dickinson herself was inspired by English writers like William Wordsworth and Charlotte Brontë, whose works similarly found paths through the everyday world into the sublime, terrifying, and astonishing.

  Death was a frequent theme for Dickinson; she wrote about it from every conceivable perspective, from that of a heartbroken mourner to that of the deceased. Some of her most famous poems on the subject, apart from this one, include "I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—," "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain," "As imperceptibly as grief," and "There's been a Death, in the Opposite House."

  While this poem seems to touch on elements of the Christian tradition—particularly the idea of an eternal afterlife—the journey to whatever comes after death is more in line with Classical Greek and Roman mythology. "Death" in this poem plays a similar role to Charon in Greek myth: Charon was a boatman who would transport the souls of the newly deceased across the rivers that divide the world of the living from the world of the dead. "Death" here seems to carry out a similar kind of duty, delivering the speaker from life into death.

  Historical Context

  Dickinson's most active writing years coincided with one of the most tumultuous times in American history: the Civil War (1861 to 1865). However, Dickinson rarely addressed the political world directly in her poetry, preferring either to write about her immediate surroundings or to take a much wider philosophical perspective.

  Dickinson also grew up in a religious community and came of age during the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. Dickinson herself was even swept up by this religious movement for a time. Though she ultimately rejected organized religion, her poems remain preoccupied with theological concerns. Many express wonder about the afterlife, speculating on what it's like to meet God—if that's what happens when people die (something Dickinson wasn't sure about).

  By the 1860s, Dickinson had also already experienced the deaths of several relatives and friends. Her cousin Sophia Holland and friend Benjamin Franklin Newton had both died young, and their losses affected her deeply.

More “Because I could not stop for Death —” Resources

• External Resources

  • On Playing Emily — A clip in which actor Cynthia Nixon discusses playing Emily Dickinson on screen in "A Quiet Passion." 

  • A Reading of the Poem — A reading on Youtube by Tom O'Bedlam. 

  • Dickinson's Meter — A valuable discussion of Emily Dickinson's use of meter. 

  • The Dickinson Museum — The Emily Dickinson Museum, situated in the poet's old house, has lots of resources for students. 

  • In Our Time Podcast — Experts talk about Emily Dickinson's life and work on the BBC's In Our Time podcast/radio show. 

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Emily Dickinson

  • A Bird, came down the Walk

  • After great pain, a formal feeling comes –

  • A Light exists in Spring

  • A Murmur in the Trees—to note—

  • A narrow Fellow in the Grass

  • An awful Tempest mashed the air—

  • As imperceptibly as grief

  • A still—Volcano—Life—

  • A Word dropped careless on a Page

  • Before I got my eye put out

  • Fame is a fickle food

  • Hope is the thing with feathers

  • I cannot live with You –

  • I cautious, scanned my little life

  • I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—

  • I did not reach Thee

  • I died for Beauty—but was scarce

  • I dreaded that first Robin, so

  • I dwell in Possibility –

  • I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

  • If I can stop one heart from breaking

  • I had been hungry, all the Years

  • I have a Bird in spring

  • I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -

  • I like a look of Agony

  • I like to see it lap the Miles

  • I measure every Grief I meet

  • I’m Nobody! Who are you?

  • I started Early — Took my Dog —

  • I taste a liquor never brewed

  • It was not Death, for I stood up

  • I—Years—had been—from Home—

  • Like Rain it sounded till it curved

  • Much Madness is divinest Sense -

  • My life closed twice before its close

  • My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun

  • Nature is what we see

  • One need not be a Chamber — to be Haunted

  • Publication — is the Auction

  • Safe in their Alabaster Chambers

  • Shipwreck

  • Success is counted sweetest

  • Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

  • The Brain—is wider than the Sky—

  • The Bustle in a House

  • The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants

  • There came a Wind like a Bugle

  • There is no Frigate like a Book

  • There's a certain Slant of light

  • There's been a Death, in the Opposite House

  • The saddest noise, the sweetest noise

  • The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean

  • The Soul has bandaged moments

  • The Soul selects her own Society

  • The Wind – tapped like a tired Man –

  • They shut me up in Prose –

  • This is my letter to the world

  • This World is not Conclusion

  • 'Twas the old—road—through pain—

  • We grow accustomed to the Dark

  • What mystery pervades a well!

  • Whose cheek is this?

  • Wild nights - Wild nights!