Because I Could not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson - Essay Example

 Because I Could not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson is one of the most loved and most quoted American poets. Her name has been used to refer to dramatic changes in American poetry in the 19th century, which even received the title of “revolution”. Probably, one of the most distinctive features of her literary works was their personal colouring, unique language, as well as special rhythm and rhyme schemes (Weaver, 2002). Besides, Dickinson’s poetry is often full of enigmatic images which, in many cases, may be hard to interpret unambiguously. Out of all the poems by Dickinson that I have read, I believe, “Because I Could not Stop for Death” is the most controversial one. The reason for my opinion is the number of ambiguous images in the poem which evoke controversial, at times even conflicting interpretations. To support my opinion, I will use the poem itself, as well as critical works that discuss the issue. Background information and poem overview The poem “Because I Could not Stop for Death” got published back in 1890. It belongs to those poems by Dickinson that focus on death and dying. While the topic seems quite sombre to explore, Dickinson loved to write about death. In this poem, death is portrayed in an image of a suitor, a male who stops to take the poetic persona of Dickinson on a ride. The gentleman uses a horse-ridden carriage. As they are going along in a slow manner, the persona does not feel any anxiety and communicates in a relaxed manner with the man. What she sees, namely fields, playing children, and sunset, seems nice to her. To the end of the day, the poetic persona of Dickinson feels it’s getting colder. She finds herself poorly dressed as she did not expect to be taken for the ride in the morning when she was getting dressed. Together, they stop at the place where she will be buried. She sees a headstone of hers. Finally, it is said that the ride with Death occurred long time ago. Yet, it seems as if it happened only yesterday. Using the image of eternity in the last line, Dickinson portrays afterlife. Interpretations First of all, let it be said that the poem’s themes are quite clear and generally agreed on by most critics. These are mortality, immortality, spirituality, and eternity. Same about motifs, these are agreed upon as the motif of secular seduction and the motif of the bride of the Christ that comes from medieval times (“Emily Dickinson”). Besides, the interpretation of Death’s personification as a courtly gentleman is non-controversial. Same about interpretation of the third stanza’s images of the kids “in the Ring”, “Fields of Grazing Sun”, and the “Setting Sun” (Dickinson 490). These are recognized as stages in a life of a person – from childhood via adulthood to the old age and eventually death. Besides, critics agree on unexpectedness of death based on the speaker’s saying she wore light garments and did not predict she would need warmer clothes (Bernhard 82). Also, the representation of grave in a “swelling on the Ground” is agreed upon, as well as Dickinson’s use of “eternity” to speak about immortality and afterlife. Controversy arises just as one starts interpreting other stanzas of the poem and focus on its overall meaning. While some critics believe that in this poem Dickinson portrayed the passage from life to death (as the speaker peacefully travelled with the gentleman), others believe the described trip was the way followed by the funeral procession with the already dead speaker (Armand 73). Interestingly, Tate identifies the major message of the poem as merger of love and death, where “love (is perceived) as metaphor for death” (Tate in Christensen 42). This interpretation looks at the poem within the traditional Romantic vision. Similarly, Ransom in his essay “Poet Restored” interprets the meeting with death in the following way: the poem is written from the perspective of a shy spinster, so Death is personified in an image of a “decent civil functionary” (Ransom in Martin 42). In her turn, Miller views the poem as criticism and a satiric portrayal of Victorian society with its “gentility and repression”. Moreover, the image of an usher-lover as Death is interpreted as “a fraudulent marauder who will not release his brides (…)” (Miller in Christensen 43). Thus, Miller’s view of the poem is it is a satire. Essentially, this view confronts Tate’s understanding of the poem as the one that records the conservative, agrarian realities of the pre-Industrialization society. In her turn, Vivian Pollack as well as Peter Stoneley on the basis of the analysis of “gossamer” and “tulle” imagery within the broader context of the poem conclude that the poem is not a satire but represents a problematic status of a 19th century woman in the society of that time. Namely, this is the realization by a woman of her predicament in the market place of domestic, sexual and capitalistic world typical for the middle-class of that time. Thus, the Dickinson’s persona “emerges as the spokeswoman for a whole generation of nineteenth century women” (Pollack, “Thirst and Starvation in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry”). Aviram’s interpretation of the poem is that of dramatic irony. By basing the perception of death on an allegory of a chaste woman seduced by a gallantry man, the speaker seems to wish to introduce us to some new status. But this is not a happy marriage and exhilarating experience of a bride and a groom. It is the Death’s house, from where there is no way back. Although it is implied that death is eternity at once, the reader might feel truly disappointed since nothing similar to what may happen within the expected marriage does actually happen. Yet, the author provides the view of eternity which suggests endless existence, particularly represented by a dash at the end (Aviram 265). Conclusion In a nutshell, let it be said that despite the fact that the interpretations of the poem differ a lot, some of them are essentially more rational and credible than other. In particular, it is hard to agree with Miller’s view of the poem as a satire of Victorian perception of Christianity. Neither Ransom’s view of the speaker as a shy spinster who boldly crosses the line between life and death seems credible enough. Pollack and Stoneley’s views seem to be relevant considering the very fact that writing the poem was raising the woman’s voice on a series of problems of then society. Finally, Tate’s “Romantic” view may be acceptable, too. There is no harsh sarcasm in the poem, but that “Romantic” vision on death and love do not contradict the irony which can be identified throughout the poetry. Read More