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Essay / Personification and Symbolism in Because I Couldn't Stop to Die
“Because I Couldn't Stop to Die” by Emily Dickinson is a poem about a woman who thinks back to the day she takes a carriage ride with Death and revisits his life before heading towards immortality. Dickinson's use of personification and symbolism explores an imagined journey through the afterlife, illustrating that the inevitability of death is a part of life that should not be feared because it is only the next step on the path to life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe personification of Death as a friendly carriage driver serves to change his perception in society, proving that even though Death is something that people usually fear, it is really just a soothing release into the next phase of eternity, because it is not actually the end. Death is personified in the first two lines of the poem when the speaker says, “Because I could not stop for death – / He kindly stopped for me –” (1 – 2). The author begins the poem by instantly labeling death as “gender,” which goes against what the idea of death is usually associated with. The use of the word "kindly" is a surprise because it implies that death is not as cruel or horrible as people seem to think. He's just a nice guy who stopped to give the speaker a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, not someone to be afraid of. Notice how Dickinson capitalized the word "death" in the first line, just as if it were a person's name. This small detail adds to the personification of death, bringing him to life as a character in the poem. This quote shows that death is destiny and it is not something that can be controlled. Death seems to be an unanticipated and uninvited visitor to the speaker, but it is welcome nonetheless. She appears to accept her fate, willingly getting into the car, realizing it was time to leave. Death is even more humanized when the speaker tells us this: We drove slowly — He knew no hurry And I had put aside My work and my leisure too, For His Civility —. (5 - 8) Another characteristic mentioned in this quote, civility, adds to the personification of Death. Death shows courtesy and respect to the speaker during this journey, so he does the same in return. He set aside time especially for her, so by saying she had "put work and play aside", she pointed out how charming the driver, Death, is. She left everything behind, from her job to her hobbies, just so she could go on this adventure with him. He is in control of this adventure, which is emphasized when the author switches from us to him in the first line of the quote. It's like she realizes halfway through that she's just along for the ride and he's the one with the power. It seems to pass slowly so that the speaker has time to remember her life and look back before saying goodbye and moving forward. In this poem, death is not just a life-ending event, but a person who takes people to the next part: eternity. The use of symbolism throughout the poem gives it a deeper meaning, demonstrating the importance of the journey from life to humanity. death and how they both depend on the other to exist. The carriage, a major symbol, is mentioned for the first time when she says: “The carriage held only ourselves / And immortality” (3 - 4). The carriage ride is undoubtedly the symbol,.