Preview

Emily Dickinson

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1418 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Emily Dickinson
Janet Lester
Professor Stewart
Eng 1020

“Uncertain of the Uncertain” Interpreted By Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson wrote very distinctive poetry on the delight and twinge of existence. Her poetry is dense, sharp but sometimes vague. In selecting two of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “Because I could not stop for Death," and "I felt a Funeral in my Brain", I noticed that in one poem “ I felt a Funeral in my Brain”, Dickinson presents unsettling images about death such as being aware, cognizant, but yet in the grave. But in “Because I could not stop for Death” she made it seem as if it offered a peace of mind and solitaire. However, from her poetry, one looks at death in a new light whether being scared or realizing that death is inevitable and we all must be prepared. Dickinson presents a rather cordial view of death in both poems. Her writing dictates that death entails an adjustment in perspective from the human mind to a perspective that is more open minded. In other words, her poetry describes a period of adjustment in which she adjusts to a new state of awareness and being.
In reading these two poems Emily Dickinson displays her attitude towards mortality.

Emily Dickinson's poems "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" and "I Felt a Funeral in My Brain" all deal with one of life's few certainties, death. Dickinson's passionate curiosity towards mortality was present in both of the poems.

"Because I could Not Stop for Death" is one of Emily Dickinson's most famous poems. Death in this poem is told as a woman's last trip, which is headed towards eternity. In the poem she gives personification to death by making it a nice man taking her for a ride and they pass the joys of life in their route to eternity. This poem helps to distinguish and bring death down to a more personal level, different from the more traditional views of death, (brutal and cruel). Dickinson makes death seem submissive and easy. The theme of the poem being that death is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson, was first published in 1862. Dickinson was known for writing poetry mainly about death. When we think about death, we imagine something terrifying, but in this poem it is seen in a different perspective. In the poem, the speaker comes upon death, but not in a scary or bad way. Yet, death has approached her in a gentleman-like way. In this poem it’s talked about as a kind human being, who is simply taking her along a journey around town and death is just a stop away. While reading the poem we believe that the speaker is going to her death bed but once we reach the last stanza of the poem, we are left in quite a surprise.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death is a constant presence in life that can not be escaped and is experienced by everyone. Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night” and Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” and both deal with different perspectives of death. Thomas’s poem looks at death from an external perspective of watching a person die where Dickinson’s poem looks at death through the perspective of a person experiencing death. These perspectives on death show the acceptance of death and eternity and death and disparity of life ending.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson expresses the speaker's reflection on death. The poem focuses on the concept of life after death. This poem's setting mirrors the circumstances by which death approaches, and death appears kind and compassionate. It is through the promise of immortality that fear is removed, and death not only becomes acceptable, but welcomed as well. As human beings, we feel that death never comes at a convenient or opportune time. When Dickinson says, "Because I could not stop for Death," she causes the reader to ask why she could not stop. The obvious answer is that she was so wrapped up in her own life that she did not think about death. She makes it clear that it is inescapable, though, when she says, "He kindly stopped for me." The next lines, "The Carriage held but just Ourselves-/And Immortality," signify that the miracle of life is our most precious possession and promises the gift of unending life. Immortality's presence helps to remove fears as we exit the physical world and provides the recipient with the necessary assistance to assure that the transition from reality to spirituality is a pleasant experience. If the promise of immortality did not exist, one would never go along willingly, nor would one welcome death without fear. Death and the speaker ride along with absolutely no concept of the passage of time. They are not hurried, as they have forever to reach their destination. This is stated in the line "We slowly drove-/He knew no haste." Having completed all her earthly chores, the speaker states that they are no longer of any concern to her. Now there is no sewing, cooking, cleaning, farming, or caring for loved ones. The speaker has been allowed the luxury of rest and relaxation, as the next lines reveal: "And I had put away-/My labor had my leisure too." Therefore, the person and death share a reminiscent journey together as they stroll down…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Dickinson, a chief figure in American literature, wrote hundreds of poems in her lifetime using unusual syntax and form. Several if not all her poems revolved around themes of nature, illness, love, and death. Dickinson’s poem, Because I could not stop for Death, a lyric with a jarring volta conflates several themes with an air of ambiguity leaving multiple interpretations open for analysis. Whether death is a lover and immortality their chaperone, a deceiver and seducer of the speaker to lead her to demise, or a timely truth of life, literary devices such as syntax, selection of detail, and diction throughout the poem support and enable these different understandings to stand alone.…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    However, in “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” Emily Dickinson creates a safe haven and reminds readers that it is about perception and personal interpretation. When analyzing the poem and only considering the text, there is a dark picture painted. However, when readers begin to use their own inferences, the poem is given a different tone and purpose. The poem enables readers to create their own ideas of death and…

    • 1712 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Death is an odd thing, humans do not know what waits for them the moment their hearts stop beating, they do not know where they’ll end up going- but death is a common topic. Whether it be in movies or writing, death has made its impression on the world; especially on poet Emily Dickinson. Dickinson’s poems, “I heard a Fly buzz- when I died” and “Because I could not stop for Death” focus on a consistent theme of death and her own curiosity on what it might be like to die herself. Dickinson’s life and use of the archetypal device have a connection to helping fuel her dreary, death revolving, poetry.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dickinson writes, “Because I could not stop for Death-He kindly stopped for me-”(Dickinson L 1-2). This is an example of personification. In these lines, death is personified as being able to stop for someone to take them to the afterlife. This reinforces the theme by explaining that the narrator did not want to end her life; she wanted to keep living. However, death stopped to take her.…

    • 210 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Dickinson Diction

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There is a multitude of poems written with the theme of death, be it in a positive light or negative. Some poets write poems that depict Death as a spine-chilling inevitable end, others hold respect for this natural occurrence. In Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death”, diction and personification is utilized to demonstrate the speaker’s cordial friendship with Death.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Dickinson wrote “Because I could not stop for Death-” in 1862 but was published in 1890, after her death. This lyrical poem consists of six stanzas of four lines each (6 quatrains). The poem varies between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimester. There is no consistent rhyme scheme. The major theme of the poem is the eternal life after death.…

    • 617 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Miss

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Death is a key theme in much of Dickinson's poetry. It is explored in depth in poems 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death' (712) and 'I heard a fly buzz' (465). 712 dramatises the conflict between a life and the peaceful eternity of death. Her close focus on death in these poems allows the reader to see death from different perspectives, in 712 death is almost portrayed as a welcoming gentlemen yet in 465 death appears to be an uncomfortable and almost claustrophobic experience.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Portrayal of death through the arts in the nineteenth century was commonly done with an air of fear and trepidation. However, poetic recluse Emily Dickinson viewed death in a manner contrary to her time, as she was fascinated with the unknown regarding the passing from this world into the next. Dickinson expresses her attitude towards death and the afterlife in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” through personification, symbolism, and form.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The brilliant uses of imagery, personification, and symbolism in Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for death” reveal that death is not the end, but only the beginning of an eternity. Through Dickinson’s use of imagery, she successfully paints the different scenes with descriptive language and metaphors to allow the reader to get a deeper sense of the mood and what the poem is conveying. Using personification as one of the most important tools of literature in the poem, the author creates a unique view on the experience of death, painting it into a more pleasant light. Lastly, though Dickinson’s use of symbolism, she bestows many representations and symbols that help to strongly portray her underlying truth on the subject of death.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Emily Dickinson is one of the famous and fabulous female poets in the world. Her poems, for all their innovative brilliance, are nonetheless outpourings of her private feelings. And just like her great masterpieces, her enigmatic character will never fall into oblivion. Emily Dickinson’s poetry has been the focus of researchers, such as nature ,love and death. But one fourth of her poetry is about the theme of death. Obviously, death is her most beloving theme of her poems. Death is always the endearing topic of many artists and philosophers. While in Emily's eyes, death is different from others. In her eyes, death is not dead, death is beautiful , fantastic and mystical which most of us couldn't understand and imagine. So we want to probe…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the history of human kind, there have existed a significant number of poets, who did not care to write about “happy things.” Rather, they concerned themselves with unpleasant and sinister concepts, such as death. Fascination and personification of death has become a common theme in poetry, but very few poets mastered it as well as Emily Dickinson did. Although most of Dickinson’s poems are morbid, a reader has no right to overlook the aesthetic beauty with which she embellishes her “dark” art. It is apparent that for Dickinson, death is more than an event, which occurs at least once in a lifetime of every being. For her, death is a person, who will take her away with Him, when the right time comes,…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emily Dickinson Religion

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The subject of death, including her own death, occurs throughout Emily Dickinson’s poems and letters. Although some find the preoccupation morbid, hers was not an unusual mindset to a time and place where religious attention focused on being prepared to die and where people died of illness and accident more readily than they do today.”…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays