"Because I could not stop for death” Rajkumar Tamang, 2018
“Because I could not stop for death”
Emily Dickinson 1830-1886
In the poem “Because I could not stop for Death,” Emily Dickinson has proven herself to be a solitary poet. Conventionally, her poem is very practical for her era and portrays the best of her throughout the poem. However, it has become common today to dismiss the authenticity of someone else’s ideologies and theories. Emily’s poem is not exempted from the critic’s criticism as well. Certainly, the standard way of thinking about the topic “Because I could not stop for death” has it that death is a fearsome and an inevitable bridge that all must cross. But the poet has made these unpleasant natural thoughts about death into the beautiful and elegant journey that passes into eternity. Although the poem is widely accepted as one of the most iconic works of Emily, many also believe that this poem is controversial in itself.
Bianca Rosenthal is right that the poem shows some traits that are typical of her (2009). Virginia Polanski has a similar thought when he urges that we need to know where Emily Dickson came from? She has a Puritan Calvinistic background where they can think within the theological framework (). This theological framework allows one to see physical life as only part of the whole eternal sphere and, like in the poem, death is a passing into the presence of immortality riding in the carriage with him. The framework or theory is extremely useful. It sheds some insight on the difficult problem like the one raised by Raina as he goes on to argue that the poem translation is overly superficial. He doesn’t like the fact that “death like a civil gentleman-suitor stops by in his chaise and four to take the busy persona out for the final ride”. He says, instead of merely ignoring death, actually conceives of death as a "nonreality," existing only "within the time-bound finite world," not within "the imaginative infinity of consciousness.” Although Raina seems to be very practical about his explanation on how he perceives death. My understanding and feelings on this issue are mixed. I support Polanski’s position which is similar to what my teacher has distilled in me that Emily’s poem experience is directly proportional to her life experience, her background like she is not married, had a difficult childhood etc. But I do find Raina’s argument about death equally persuasive. After all, poetry is ultimately a matter of how we connect and respond to it.
Firstly, studies have indicated that most critics accept that Dickinson personifies death as a gentleman giving a ride in his carriage. Secondly, the three images presented in the third stanza, the children "in the Ring", the "Fields of Gazing Grain" and the "Setting Sun" indicate the stages of life, from childhood to maturity and from old age to death. Thirdly, the speaker's garments of "Gossamer" and "Tulle" indicate to many critics that she could not have been expecting the carriage ride to last forever when she set out, as she "does not even have the foresight to dress warmly" (Bernhard). Fourth, the "House that seemed / A Swelling of the Ground -" represents a grave. Fifth, the last two lines, "I first surmised the Horses' Heads / Were toward Eternity -" seem to mean that the soul is eternal in spite of death. Apart from these five points mentioned above, critics’ interpretation of the poem is so diverse in views that its hard to generalize about them. For example, in the third stanza, the discrepancy appears. The speaker describes "the School, where Children strove / at Recess - in the Ring -". George Monteiro notes that "the children . . . do not play (as anyone would expect them to) but strive". George Monteiro offers a different explanation, speculating that "their game is the one called 'Ring-a-ring-a-roses'", which was "originally recited by children as a charm against the ravages of the plague". If this is indeed what they are playing, then "embedded in their ritualistic game is a reminder of the mortal stakes" so central to the poem's meaning. These conclusions which Monteiro discusses add weight to the argument that this poem of Dickinson is indeed controversial.
The upshot of all this is that nobody can be fully assertive about the poem’s real meaning and interpretation. No matter how conclusive we may think our judgement is, for once and for all. It is still going to be controversial. For example, in the fourth stanza "Or rather - He passed Us -". What does this phrase refer to? Is it referring to death or sun? Many critics believe that "He refers to the sun. Patricia Engle challenges the accepted view by suggesting that "the 'He' . . . may also refer to Death." Therefore, it is expected that "Because I could not stop for Death" aggravates so much disagreement, because it presents a complex and deep soul-searching point of view to every reader. To summarize any interpretation or every single criticism is a gift which helps the reader see the poem in a new and more meaningful way.
MLA Citation
1. Rosenthal B. (2009) Paul Clan’s Translation of Emily Dickinson's 'Because I could not stop for Death,’ The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009 6(2):133-139
2. Polanski, Virginia. “His Poem or Mine?” The English Journal, vol. 67, no. 2, 1978, pp. 39–41. JSTOR, JSTOR,
4. Allen Tate (2004) Tate, Allen.. "Dickinson's Because I could not stop for Death". American Literature: a College Survey. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961, Page 436.
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