Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop For Death

Words: 233
Pages: 1

In Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death” (807-808) the central idea of death is shown by creating images that give the reader a sense of order to the process to dying. The description of a slow-moving carriage passing multiple locations such as a school, fields, and the setting sun gives a sense of progression that allows one to reflect on events experienced in the past. Repetition of the words “We passed” uses a figure of speech known as anaphora. This figure of speech emphasizes passing locations and the passing to the next step in the process of dying. The mention of “The dews grew quivering and chill” (14) in the fourth stanza gives the reader an image of the dew drops glistening in the cold, damp air. The personification