ngnjo

1. Because I could not stop for Death
Because I could not stop for Death – Or rather – He passed Us –
He kindly stopped for me – The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves – For only Gossamer, my Gown –
And Immortality. My Tippet – only Tulle –
We slowly drove – He knew no haste We paused before a House that
seemed
And I had put away A Swelling of the Ground –
My labor and my leisure too, The Roof was scarcely visible –
For His Civility – The Cornice – in the Ground –
We passed the School, where Children strove Since then – 'tis Centuries –
and yet
At Recess – in the Ring – Feels shorter than the Day
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – I first surmised the Horses' Heads
We passed the Setting Sun – Were toward Eternity –

2. ANALYSIS
• STANZA 1
• Because I could not stop for Death –
• He kindly stopped for me –
• The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
• And Immortality.
• STANZA 2
• We slowly drove – He knew no haste
• And I had put away
• My labor and my leisure too,
• For His Civility –

3. Analysis for Stanza 1 and 2.
• In the first lines of the poem, the speaker uses the famous line
“Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me”.
This phrase hints at the personification that is going to be utilized
throughout the stanzas to describe the experience of entering the
afterlife. In the second stanza, Death comes to fetch the speaker
for a carriage ride. As the carriage ride is symbolic of the author’s
departure from life. She is in the carriage with death and
immortality.
LITERARY DEVICES
• Personification
• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Enjambment

4. Stanza 3
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Stanza 4
Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –

5. Analysis for Stanza 3 and 4
They drive “passed the School where the Children strove” implying that
the author is generously given a few moments to remember her
childhood. They then drive past the “Gazing Grain” allowing the author
to think back upon the prime of her life. Then they pass the setting sun.
This symbolizes the author’s death. The sunset is beautiful and gentle,
and the passing from life to eternity is portrayed as such. There is a
sudden shift in tone in the fourth stanza. Suddenly, now that the sun
has set, the author realizes that she is quite cold, and she shivers. Then
she becomes aware that she is underdressed. Prior to this moment of
realization, the author felt quite comfortable with Death and
Immortality. After all, she was riding along with them in only her
“gossamer” and her “Tippet – only Tulle”, or in other words, in only a
sheer nightgown.

6. • Literary Devices
• Imagery
• Motif
• Personification
• Symbolism

7. ANALYSIS
Stanza 5
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Stanza 6
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –

8. (5 stanza, 1st and 2nd line)
House: metaphor for grave.
To describe grave, the speaker utilizes euphemism. Her body will be kept here while her soul
continues its journey.
The speaker refers to the house as a "Swelling of the Ground," implying that it is a fresh burial
place.
(3rd and 4th line)
The roof represents a flat gravestone or burial.
Cornice is a metaphor for a coffin, that is a box in which a deceased person is placed.
(6 stanza, 1st and 2nd line)
Centuries shorter than the day : hyberbole
(3rd and last stanza)
In Myths in Literature, the image of a person riding a horse is identified with power to control
events. However, the speaker has no control over the circumstance. She is unaware of where
the horses are bringing her as she rides inside the carriage. Death is the carriage's driver, and
she is the naive passenger.

9. Tone of the Poem
• Light-hearted and Accepting
• Solemn
• Shock