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Rachel Bell

Professor Wilson

English 123

16 May 2018

Mortality versus Eternity

Mortality is not the end of life, but the road to eternity. In the poem “Because I could not

stop for Death”, Emily Dickinson, an American poet from the mid-1800’s, personifies the idea of

mortality and immortality through an extended metaphor. The metaphor begins as a concrete

idea of the a personification of Death and transitions into an abstract reality of Death. Through

the use of many literary devices such as personification and metaphors, Dickinson is able to

reveal the harsh truth that her life is coming to an end and she is unafraid. She is unafraid

because death leads to eternity and she encourages her audience not to be fearful as well.

Although death is inevitable, the purpose of the poem is to show that death and eternity are

linked by utilizing literary devices such as personification, metaphors, and imagery.

The personification of death reveals the journey from childhood to adulthood and the

realization that life is slowing down. The structure of the poem of iambic tetrameter and iambic

trimeter and the pauses emphasize people’s gradual acceptance of death as observed by the

personification of death. One can observe this when the female speaker states, “He kindly

stopped for me-/ The Carriage held but just Ourselves-/ And Immortality”(lines 2-4). Death is

personified as a gentleman in order to feel comfortable with the idea of death and that people can

slowly come to terms with death. The death figure is used to illustrate the serene nature of life

coming to an end and not a petrifying image of darkness. The symbols in the poem emphasize
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the motif of a journey in the speaker’s life and the contrast between death and life. She describes

the journey on the carriage with Death by saying, “We passed the School, where Children

strove”(9) and “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-/ We passed the Setting Sun”(11-12). The

different locations represent different stages in the speaker’s life such as the school represents

youth in childhood and courting, the fields of grain represent adulthood and engagement, and the

setting sun represents the end of her life in old age. The repetition in the beginning of lines 9,11

and 12, “We passed”, represents that the memories of the school, fields, and setting sun are in the

past and death is coming soon. Through the use of repetition, alliteration, and imagery, the

female speaker that is facing death illustrates the acknowledgement of the memories in her life

and stresses that death is not to be feared.

The shift in the poem transitions from reflective to somber in the later half of the poem

which by using tone and imagery. The indication of the shift begins in line 13 where the speaker

goes from a busy lifestyle in the first three stanzas to old age where death comes when it is least

expected. The rhyme scheme is ABCB and is slant rhyme such as in lines two and four ending

with the words, “me” and “Immortality”, which reveals that the first three stanzas in a

lighthearted tone show that the Death figure is a gentle presence. However, in stanza four the

tone shifts to a cold and chilling feeling by stating, “The Dews drew quivering and chill-/ For

only Gossamer, my Gown-/ My Tippet-only Tulle-/”(16). The alliteration and imagery are

significant in the stanza because the emphasis is on the picture of a wedding day and death and

the poem shows the allegory of a journey through life. The first three stanzas illustrate the

cyclical, fast paced nature of human life as stated literally in line ten, “At Recess-in the Ring”,

and stanza four illustrates the dressing to prepare for the grave. David Baker in his academic
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journal titled, “Elegy and Eros: Configuring Grief”, asks in regard to stanza four, “Those

garments are just as easily the apparel of a wedding party as a burial one, aren't they?”(217). The

meaning behind Baker’s question is Dickinson contrasts life’s big moments such as one’s

wedding day and burial day, but in stanza four the two big moments are one and the same. In

stanza four, the tone is somber as the speaker is reflective on her life in marriage and the rest of

the poem reflects death. The shift from the first three stanzas to last three is intended to contrast

between the topics of life and death. The tone and imagery helps to convey the mood of the

speaker going from the warmth of life to coldness of the grave; however, she is comfortable with

the idea of death and feels freedom in her old age.

In stanza five and six, the personification of death continues to convey that the speaker’s

house is the grave and she is at ease with the idea of eternity after death. Oddly, people notice

that the speaker feels comfort in the grave and is calm in her last moments. The speaker states,

“We paused before a House that seemed/A Swelling of the Ground/...The Cornice- in the

Ground”(17-20). She compares the house to Death which is a euphemism and her stop in front of

to a grave and the “swelling of the ground”(18) refers to the metaphor of a gravestone. The

personification of the ground swelling provides imagery to the rotten, tiny house that is the burial

site and shows the decay of life that the speaker is going through at this time in her life. In

continuation of stanza five, stanza six completes the imagery and journey to the grave by looking

forward to eternity. The speaker accepts death and is not afraid of death because she knows that

there is a future for her in the afterlife. In lines 21-24, the speaker concludes with, “Since

then-’tis Centuries-and yet/ Feels shorter than the Day.../ Were toward Eternity”. The pauses in

the last stanza illustrates the time that the speaker thinks about how eternity is a “continual
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evolving” and “is not a place at which one arrives”(216-217) according to “Configuring Grief”.

The journey towards eternity is never ending, but the memories of her life on Earth are still vivid

as she reflects on the past. Her acceptance of death is unusual, but she helps people understand

that death is something not far from ordinary things and is yet a natural part of life. Through the

extended metaphor and imagery of death, people can observe that the speaker has been dead

throughout the poem since she is reminiscing and feels as if centuries only feel like days. The

hyphen at the last sentence in line 24 reveals that eternity is ongoing and the journey continues

after death. Mortality and eternity are connected ideas in the poem because death leads to the

other and life has no purpose without an eternity after death.

The poem, “Because I could not stop for Death”, reveals the important topics of mortality

and eternity through the use of extended metaphors, personification, and imagery. Although

death is first thought of as dark and frightening, after careful consideration death is another step

closer to eternity in paradise. There is more to one’s life after death and the speaker in the poem

helps people accept a calm perception of death. One cannot avoid death, but people can view the

reality in a different light that brings peace and a calm state of mind to avoid fearing the grave

everyday. Dickinson appropriately covers the topic not discussed enough by providing imagery

of a journey through a carriage from childhood to adulthood and ultimately eternity. Mortality

leads to eternity and each cannot be without the other.

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Works Cited

Baker, David. "Elegy and Eros: Configuring Grief." ​Virginia Quarterly Review​, vol. 81, no. 2,
Spring 2005, pp. 207-220. EBSCO​host

Dickinson, Emily. [Because I could not stop for Death]. ​Norton Introduction to Literature 12 ed.
Edited by Kelly J. Mays, W.W. Norton, 2016. pp.839. Print.