The poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death was written by Emily Dickenson and it tells the story of a woman who has died. It seems to tell her story from the time she dies until the time she arrives in her grave. This sounds morbid, but its really pretty touching because it is really straightforward and romantically worded. Her journey is like a ride through the country and so she makes death sound more like a date than something to be afraid of. I think a lot of why the poem is so successful is because the poet used literary techniques like symbolism, personification and imagery. Dickinson uses a lot of symbolism in this poem in order to show her reader what she hopes for in a peaceful death. The way that she describes her journey is like a date as she rides in a carriage. This carriage ride is a symbol of the journey the soul makes from the living body to be dead. She sits in the carriage an
d enjoys the company of Death as they travel as if he was a boyfriend shes been waiting for all her life. As they travel, she sees children playing in the schoolyard. These children are a symbol that life will continue to go on after Dickenson is dead just as if nothing was missed, but the way she says it makes it sound like shes the lucky one because she gets to rest now. In the poem, she says, the children strove (9). This word choice makes it clear that the children still have a lot of work and struggle in front of them and really brings a lot of attention to the idea that Dickenson has stopped and is now resting inside the carriage. She also mentions the fields of gazing grain (11) which is another symbol of growth and gain. Instead of talking about how cold and alone the grave is, she describes her gravesite as a place where the roof was scarcely visible, / The cornice but a mound (19-20).