About the Poet
Emily Dickinson:
Emily Dickinson is an American poetess who wrote in the latter half of the 19th Century (1830-1886). She led a very isolated and introspective life and grew in a very orthodox and austere family. She read at the Amherst Academy and Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. Her experience of life was limited, but she was able to give a great deal of intensity of her mind to her poems. Social and contemporary problems do not figure in her poetry. Her poems are deeply personal and she generally deals with problems of faith and death.Idea of the Poem:
The poetess talks about death and the gentle nature of its approach. Death is a common enough theme in poetry. What is remarkable about this poem is the wonderful sense of peace and religious serenity which is the outcome of deep personal faith. Death is seen not as the end, but as the beginning of immortality. The image of the leisurely drive reflects the passing nature of this life in its various stages, school life, maturity, and old age, until the final destination, the House "that seemed a swelling in the ground". that is the grave. In contrast to this process of passing time in eternity where all time ceases and becomes centuries that yet feel shorter than the day The image of the ride in the carriage has a dual significance: it is a journey from life to death, from the physical to the spiritual, from time to timelessness.
Words Meaning
Gossamer Very fine, flimsy material
Tulle Delicate thin fabric
Surmised Conjectured, Guessed
Reference:
These lines have been taken from the poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” written by Emily Dickinson.
Context:
In this poem the p talks I death grid the gentle nature of its approach. She describes our existence in this world from cradle to the grave. To her, it is a journey from life to death. Actually dying to the poetess is the end of death and the start of eternal life. The poetess travels with death and finally, they reach a mound of earth which is, in fact the grave. The grave is an entrance to the life after death and immortality.
Stanza: 1
Because I could not stop for Death-
He kindly stopped fro me-
The Carriage held but just Ourselves-
Ans Immortality.
Explanation:
In these lines, the poetess says that she was so busy that she could not wait for death to accompany him. Death was so kind that he stopped and waited for her. The vehicle of death carried only two persons-the poetesses and death. Also, there was immortality which was not visible. Their carriage was carrying them towards eternity. The suggestion is that death is always present with human beings but it is not visible. When death kills a person he goes to eternity and cannot return from there. Death has killed her and now she goes to eternity.
Stanza: 2
And I had put away
My labour and my leisure too,
For His Civility
Explanation:
At Recess-in the Ring,
We passed the field of Gazing grain
We passed the Setting Sun-
Explanation:
Stanza: 4
The Dews drew quivering and chill-
For only Gossamer, my Gown-
My Tippet-only Tulle-
Explanation:
In this stanza, the poetess says that it was rather the sun which, while going down passed by them. Then, after the sunset, night prevailed. The dew-drops began to fall gently. These drops brought to light, cold, and shivering. She arrived because she was wearing a very decent dress. The dress consisted of her feminine scarf and thin gauzed clothes.
Stanza: 5
A Swelling of the Ground-
The roof was scarcely visible-
The Cornice-in the Ground-
Explanation:
Stanza: 6
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the Horses' heads
Were towards Eternity.
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