This is probably her most-famous poem. It shows up in collections of classic poetry a lot.
"Because I could not stop for death"
by Emily Dickinson
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. Why does she say Death "kindly" stopped for her? How could death be kind?
2. What is the "house that seemed a swelling of the ground"?
3. Why do you think this poem is so popular/famous?
1. In your introduction to Emily Dickinson, you said that she was depressed, because a lot of her friends and family died. When things go poorly, especially when poorly means everybody dying, the person who is affected by the bad things, even more so if they are bad at dealing with stress and sadness, they often may want to die. I've read a lot of books where people feel this way. And maybe this is weird, but I have imagined what I would do if my whole family died except for me, and usually I just re-imagine it where I die too, and then stop imagining such sad things. Anyway, what I mean is she probably says "Death kindly stopped" for her because she was sick of living in a world where everything is so sad, and her life is so hurt by the deaths of her loved ones. Also, she says in her poem "I had put away
ReplyDeleteMy labor", which implies sort of that her life was stressful and hard.
I agree -- we see this in real life, in fiction, and even in the Bible. Jonah got mad at God because his fig tree shriveled up and wanted to just die too.
DeleteWhen I was a kid, I used to pray that if one of my family members had to die before I grew up, that we would all die in a car crash at the same time so I wouldn't miss any of them. I may have read a few too many books about orphans...
Those are good observations. We do sometimes talk about death being a release from pain or sorrow too, which makes it sound kind. And, of course, for a believer, death is the doorway to heaven, and so it is actually a blessing.
2. Her grave, I think.
ReplyDeleteYes.
Delete3. I have honestly, no idea. It's pretty confusing. Perhaps BECAUSE it's confusing? I mean, like you said, her poetry was the first of it's kind. And this poem seems also pretty original, in it's metaphors.
ReplyDeleteI think it's natural to think about our own death. We all know we have to die one day. Even though teenagers have a tendency to think of themselves as invincible, they still have that natural knowledge that they're going to have to die eventually. We lose grandparents or acquaintances, and it makes us think -- which it should.
DeleteI think one reason this one is popular is because it doesn't make death sound scary. Death gets personified as something kind and civil and unhurried, and that probably appeals to a lot of people, whether they are believers or not.
1. I guess since she was depressed dying might seem a mercy because then she wouldn't have to deal with the sadness and depression anymore. Death could be kind in that way, especially if you're a Christian and you go to heaven when you die. People who commit suicide probably think of death as kind, at least in some way.
ReplyDeleteYes. Many people think of death as a release from trouble or pain or grief -- and for believers, it absolutely is. It's not a release we should seek ourselves, because our "job" as believers is to be obeying God and telling others about him for as long as we can. But if you are really sad, in a lot of pain, or very old, death can appear kindly.
Delete2. A Hobbit hole!
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I could never think of a decent answer for that and it's hard to try to think of one when all your mind will say is 'a Hobbit Hole'. I think it's a metaphor for something, but I can't think of what it might be for.
DeleteLol! I think she was more going for the grave in a graveyard, how the extra dirt over the coffin makes a little mound of dirt.
Delete3. It's pretty unique and there's lots of interesting imagery in it. It's very descriptive, and personally I always like descriptive books than nondescriptive ones, so maybe that's something of what people like about it. Also the way she phrases things is pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteAll true!
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