Because I Could Not Stop For Death Flashcards
‘Because I could not stop for death-‘ line 1
The phrase ‘because I could not stop’ represents what?
What literary technique is used for ‘death’?
It represents that she does not have time to stop for death; it catches her unaware as she is not ready for it.
Death is personified as the scary character we often think about.
‘He kindly stopped for me- /The carriage held but just Ourselves- /And Immortality’ lines 2-4
How is death perceived?
What does the capitalization of ‘Ourselves’ emphasize?
Death seems to be a gentleman.
The capitalization emphasizes the speaker’s sense of unity with death. This creates suspense.
‘We slowly drove- He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labour and my leisure too,
For his Civility-‘
How is her death linked to the speed of the drive?
What has she given up?
How is death perceived?
It was a slow death since she was not in control, but it was tranquil.
She’s given up her life, work and free time. ‘Labour and my leisure’ uses alliteration to emphasize loss.
Death is kind
‘We passed the school, where children strove
We passed the Fields of Grazing Grain
We passed the Setting Sun-‘ line 1, 3-4
What is the effect of the phrase, ‘children strove’?
What technique is used in the phrase ‘we passed’ at the beginning of each line?
‘Children strove,’ suggests that she no longer has anything to strive for; as her childhood where happy memories were spent are long gone.
Anaphora is used which reiterates the idea that she seems to sad to interact with these scenes of children.
‘Or rather— He passed Us—
The Dews drew quivering and chill—
For only Gossamer, my Gown—
My Tippet — only Tulle—‘
What does she do in the phrase, ‘Or rather’?
What techniques are used in line 2? How does the tone change?
‘Or rather’- she corrects herself.
‘The dews drew,’- alliteration ‘q(ui)vering and ch(i)ll,’- assonance
A darker tone is introduced; her death becomes more physical as she quivers from the cold dew.
‘We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground —
The roof was scarcely visible —
The Cornice —in the Ground—‘
What is the effect of ‘We paused’?
What does ‘a House’ represent?
How is she seen in the phrase, ‘scarcely visible’?
It gives her time to think how this is it; her death place.
The House is her grave; it represents safety and comfort. It is a metaphor.
She cannot be seen; this can be either perceived that she is insignificant or that she is better off not being seen.
Since then – ‘tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity –
What does ‘‘tis Centuries- and yet Feels shorter’ represent?
What does the ‘Horses’ Heads’ have connotations with?
How is her death if it’s an ‘Eternity’?
She’s been dead for long, but it still feels shorter than the day she ‘first surmised’ her death. This means she supposed that she was going to die but didn’t have the evidence to confirm so.
‘Horses’ Heads’ have connotations with fairytales such as the four horsemen of the apocalypse and the headless horsemen.
‘Eternity’ portrays it as pleasantly peaceful but long.
