The Eternal Carriage Ride of Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death"
...servant of us. Also, “Immortality” (line 4) is riding in this carriage with them. “The Carriage held but just Ourselves- (line 3) And Immorality” (line 4), this tells us that she is riding with two others but she doesn’t express much on immorality. The carriage is also important because it symbolizes that they may could be in a hearse, after all they are riding with death. Also in line 15 she states, “For only Gossamer, my Gown (line 15), this is a thin, light, filmy gown that she is wearing and this may be the clothing she was dressed in for her journey to eternity. The introduction of the poem allows the reader to get a perception that this carriage ride is leading into the journey of death. In addition, the drive symbolizes that Dickinson is leaving life and that the different scenarios she passes symbolize an episode of life. In the third stanza she states, “We passed the School, where Children strove” (line 9) and “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain- (line 11), both lines symbolize that she has gone from childhood to maturity. The children symbolize the childhood that she once was and the gazing graze illustrates the maturity. They correlate in that grain ripens, as do children as they become older and much mature. “The images of children and grain suggest futurity, that is, they have a future; they also depict the progress of human life” (Smith). Dickinson then adds to this by stating, “We passed the Setting Sun”(line 11) this can symbolize that the setting sun is in fact the progression of her dying. The word passed also has significance to the poem; “passed” is repeated in four different occasions in stanzas three and four. It is first used when they are passing the children at the school and the grains; both are still part of life. Then they seem to go out of time into eternity, “We passed the Setting Sun” (line 12) because they pass the setting sun and she then corrects that by stating “Or rather-He passed Us” (line 13). The sun passes them to symbolize that when one dies, a setting sun is no longer seen; it all becomes dark. Finally, the final stanzas show a contrast of life and death due to the change in description of the carriage ride. In stanzas three and four, the setting was dark to symbolize that death had arrived and was taking her to eternity. Dickinson then changes the setting to a more vibrant lighted atmosphere, for example, “The Dews drew quivering and chill”(line 14). Dickinson demonstrates that it has now become damp and cold which is shown with the selection of words she uses, “Dews” and “quivering and chill”(line 14). This is in c...