Emily Dickenson Analysis Help

“Because I could not stop for Death”

Take Notes! Death = Extended Metaphor

• Line 1 “Because I could not stop for Death”• Personification

• Line 2 “He kindly stopped for me.”• Positive Imagery • Effect: Death in the form of a gentleman to

pick up the speaker puts a positive spin on death

• Line 5 “We slowly drove- He knew no haste”• Personification• Effect- It is not going to be a quick or short death

• Line 8 “For his Civility”• Personification• Effect- Death is polite and courteous

• Line 9 “He” has changed to “We”• Personification• Effect- This suggests that the speaker is dying.

• Line 9 “the school”• Line 12 “the Fields of Grazing Grain”• Line 13 “ the Setting Sun”• Imagery• Effect- The details could represent the stages of

life

• Line 13 “the Setting Sun”• Symbol• Dark=Death

• Line 14 “The Dews drew quivering and chill”• Imagery• Effect- This represents the cold one feels

before death

• Line 15 “Gossamer”• Line 16 “My Tippet” “only Tulle”• Imagery• Effect- These images suggest that these fragile

objects are used to make shrouds.

• Line 17 “We paused before a House”• Metaphor• Effect- This marks the end of the journey. The

house is the “final resting place.”

• Line 18 “A Swelling of the Ground”• Imagery• Effect- The area around the grave swells once

the body is in the ground.

• Line 22 “Feels shorter than the Day”• Metaphor• Effect- The speaker depicts the timeless nature

of eternity. It suggests that both death and life are journeys, but death’s journey is free of the busy, chaotic pace of life.