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Emily Dickinson was always introverted and showed her obsession with death through her poetry. Although death is always a bigger fear for everyone, within her poem "Because I could not Stop for Death", she can portray it as a gentle comforting thing. She was never seen wearing anything but a white gown; to her, white resembled passion and intensity rather than purity. She took this intensity seriously with her poems, only publishing the best of the best, and she was so passionate about writing, that Dickinson wrote over 1,800 poems in her lifetime. This tells the reader that Dickinson has unique ideals about the average norms, proving that everything is always up for interpretation.

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8. How important is the contribution of form such as rhyme scheme and line arrangement? How does form influence the overall effect of the poem?

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8. How important is the contribution of form such as rhyme scheme and line arrangement? How does form influence the overall effect of the poem?

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Emily Dickinson uses many slant rhymes to defy the expectations of normal fluidity in poems. To make up for the lack of real rhymes, she uses a technique of making the first and third lines of every stanza eight syllables. The poem reads nicely from her use of alliteration throughout, influencing how Because I Could Not Stop For Death can be interpreted. A common thing the poet uses in her writing is lots of dashes. In nearly every line of the poem, uncertainty is brought with every tic she makes. In the last lines of the poem, when the reader thinks they might finally get some closure to the poem, 'I first surmised the Horses' Heads/ Were towards Eternity-" leaving it on a mystery if this is really the end. This tells that poems never truly end, and same with life. In the third stanza, Dickinson defines the stages of life during her carriage ride by starting 3 lines all with "We passed the..." She passes the school, finding her childhood stages; then the Fields of Gazing Grain, resembling all her life in between; and finally, a setting sun shown to depict her journey coming to an end.

-Elle Hanley

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5. Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from the context of this poem?

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5. Are there any symbols? What do they mean? Are they universal symbols or do they arise from the context of this poem?

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There are a couple of symbols in this poem, all commonly used around the ideas of mortality and death. Dickinson uses a carriage ride guided by the personified Death to symbolize the journey from living to the afterlife. She then mentions children and schools that they pass during the carriage ride as a reflection of her childhood stages. Then, she mentions seeing the sun set. In the third stanza, it reads "We passed the Setting Sun," describing the metaphorical connection between the day ending to one's life ending. All the symbols in this poem refer to life's stages and finding death peaceful rather than scary. Because I Could Not Stop For Death is more of a self-speculation of the short and simple human life.

-Elle Hanley

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Poem Title - Because I could not Stop for Death

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Poem Title - Because I could not Stop for Death

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4. What figures of speech are used? How do they contribute to the tone and meaning of the poem? 

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4. What figures of speech are used? How do they contribute to the tone and meaning of the poem? 

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Emily Dickinson’s Poem  “Because I could not Stop for Death” is filled with figurative language. She uses figurative speech to amplify the feeling in the poem to prove her point. This helps express the theme. We see an example of this in stanza 1. Dickinson personifies death which helps convey the feeling of tranquility and acceptance toward dying. We can see this when she writes, “Because I could not stop for Death –He kindly stopped for me –The Carriage held but just Ourselves –,And Immortality.” Here Dickinson personifies death, and shows how death is inevitable and there is no way to avoid, the only things to do is accept it. Dickinson also gives a metaphor that relates death as a setting sun. This further helps express her idea and how she feels about death.

-Rydan Koki

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3. What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem?

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3. What images does the poet use? How do the images relate to one another? Do these images form a unified pattern (a motif) throughout the poem?

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Emily Dickinson uses imagery as a way to help portray the journey that she has taken with death, going through different memories and many different feelings. The journey starts with the greeting with death and slowly moves towards her childhood memories and it starts at a school. Here she gives us the visual of kids playing, and the setting sun in the background, “We passed the School, where Children strove, At Recess – in the Ring –, We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –”. From there the journey continues with visuals of, “The Dew drew quivering and Chill” This shows a temperature drop, which can symbolize the transition from life to death. The warmth of life slowly disappears as she goes down that memory lane. As we move on, she shows us a hidden house far in the distance. This imagery can show her getting farther and farther away from where she domiciles and is getting closer to death. Finally, as her journey comes to a close, she is, “first surmised the Horeses’ Heads, Were towards Eternity—”. This last line shows her acceptance of death. The imagery Dickinson uses is important to help her tell the story she wants to tell, and take us on a journey of how she feels about death. This helps the motif because she can show us what is happening and show how death can be comforting, and to just accept it when it comes.

-Rydan Koki