“Because I could not stop for Death —” Summary

“Because I could not stop for Death —” Themes

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  Death, Immortality, and Eternity

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  The Cyclical Nature of Life and Death

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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.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

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

  

  

  

  

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• 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

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  The Carriage

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• 

  The Children

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• 

  The Fields

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• The Sun

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

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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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

• • See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

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

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Because I could not stop for Death —” Speaker

“Because I could not stop for Death —” Setting

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

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—

  • 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 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!