The Cambridge English Dictionary defines imagery as, “the use of pictures or words to create images, especially to create an impression or mood.” Both Longfellow and Whittier use pensive imagery in their poetic works. Longfellow uses imagery in his poem, The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls, and Whittier uses it in his poem, Snowbound. Each author uses different techniques of imagery to invoke strong feelings in the reader. In Longfellow’s poem, The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls, he creates haunting and dark imagery. In lines 31-34, he wrote, “Unwarmed by any sunset light, The gray day darkened into night, A night made hoary with the swarm, And whirl-dance of the blinding storm.” Longfellow exercises the senses of sight and feeling in his readers while describing a …show more content…
In Because I could not stop for Death, the speaker says, “Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet, Feels shorter than the Day, I first surmised the Horses' Heads, Were toward Eternity” (lines 21-24) This describes the speaker’s confusion and nonchalant attitude towards the ties between death and eternity. And in I heard a Fly buzz – when I died, the speaker says, “With Blue - uncertain - stumbling Buzz - Between the light - and me - And then the Windows failed - and then, I could not see to see -” (lines 13-16) That quote similarly expresses the speakers journey from death to eternity and also describes her aversion of the fly that was with her though the transition.Because I could not stop for Death is about the speaker and her date with death to visit the tombstone she had been laid to rest in years before. It explores themes of death and mortality as the speaker looks on to her life before death understanding
In opposition to “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, Dickinson published her work of “I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died”. In this particular piece of literature, the author disbeliefs in an afterlife. In this poem, a woman is lying on bed with her family surrounding her, waiting for the woman to pass away. The woman, however, is anxiously waiting for “…the kings”, meaning an omnipotent being. Finally when the woman dies, her eyes or windows, as referred in the poem, “could not see to see “. When the woman passes away, she couldn’t see any angels or gods as she expected would be there, but instead, she is fluttered into nothingness. She isn’t traveling to an afterlife as she had expected to unlike in the poem of “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. The woman finds out that death is a simple end to everything.
In "Because I Could Not Stop For Death," the narrator describes how she is accompanied by Death, who is described as a gentleman caller. The narrator notes, "Because I could not stop for Death/He kindly stopped for me.../We slowly drove, he knew no hast/And I had put away/My labor, and my leisure too,/For his civility" (Dickinson lines 1-2, 5-8). Through this description, the narrator is able to establish a somber, yet accepting tone in which she does not feel that she has to fight death, but rather accept it as a part of life. Through the narrative of the poem, the narrator is able to demonstrate change through the different landmarks that she passes on her journey. In the poem, change is emphasized through the anaphora that is used to describe the carriage's journey. For instance, the narrator notes
"Because I could not stop for Death" is one of the most puzzling poems Emily Dickinson wrote. “Scholars who stress these subversive qualities note that this poet appropriated conventional language, images, and themes and twisted them, disrupting their usual meaning.” (Dunlap, 2) In this poem, she describes death in hindsight. She commentates the experience play by play, chronicling her actions and vision from the time he arrived to pick her up in his carriage to her final resting place. In the poem, the impression of death is not portrayed as scary or daunting, but rather more as tranquil and peaceful. In the poem, death took on the image of a person. Through personification, he was portrayed more like a male suitor picking up his companion for a date. Dickinson guided us to believe that the speaker in the poem is talking and describing her journey with death to us from beyond the grave. She leads us to believe that the speaker is ghost-like or a spirit who has accepted her death and content with her boundless eternity. It is not surprising that “Because I could not stop for Death” incites so much controversy in that it presents complex and multi-dimensional concepts of both life and death, both of which are too mysterious to be fully expressed. In “Because I could not stop for Death”, Dickinson does personify both death and Immortality as people, and presents the process of dying as eternal life. However in a bizarre twist, she also personifies life. She brings
Longfellow reflects the transcendentalist belief in the interconnectedness of all things in nature. Thus, even in death, there is renewal and continuity. This showcases the element of the narrator speaking the truth. Similarly, in James Lowell’s poem “The Frankness of Nature” the element of Universal Truth is demonstrated. Lowell highlights the intimate connection between nature and the human soul.
“Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson has written in 1863. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830-86, she is one of the greatest poets in American literature. Dickinson wrote love poems which it indicates strong attachment because of this it 's difficult to know if does poems where subjects of her feelings or just part of her poetic imagination. The different tension that comes from her work is due to the cause of not accepting orthodox religion, “the flood subject”- immortality, and her rebellious (Emily Dickinson). We can see that this poem is one of many that were later discovered because the title and the first line of the poem are the same. Death came to take the speaker into his carriage and drive around in it. By the first passing to a school where children play. Then passing grain field and looking at the sun. The last stop is an old “house” getting eaten by the surrounding vegetation. Lastly, she comes to realize that centuries have passed, but only feeling like days, and moving to eternity (Dickinson). The meaning of “Because I Could not stop for Death” is that journey to death and its feelings. The separation of the stanza, it shows the different steps in how death feels and word choices.
Analysis of I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died and Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson
Death is something all human beings will come to deal with one day. It doesn’t matter when or who it is, one could be young, middle-aged, or old. One could be born into wealth, royalty, or poverty. In a perfect world everyone would live to old age and pass away in their sleep, but this isn’t a perfect world and the reality is that death could come at any moment, whether one is ready or not. Many people fear death as it means an end to everything they’ve done in their life while others see it as the next stage of theirs. Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died-” shows that death is not an end but simply a passage to eternity, while “Because I could not stop for Death-” shows that eternity isn’t guaranteed but underlined by faith. In both poems Dickinson uses imagery, and figurative language to describe the cycle of death after the speaker has already passed.
Throughout “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” William Wordsworth shows his relationship with nature through his choice of diction, fantastic descriptions, and shifting mood of his poem. There are also many words and phrases that Wordsworth included into his poem that shows how he feels about nature. These phrases are well written, extremely descriptive, and show how Wordsworth is influenced by the wild: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, “When all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils", “Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way, they stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay: ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance”, “The waves beside them danced; but they out-did the sparkling waves in glee”, “I gazed—and gazed—but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought”, and “For oft, when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon that inward eye [...] and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.” Another phrase, which indicates that the flowers were so beautiful that no true poet could be sad in their presence, also builds upon Wordsworth’s relationship with nature. These particular lines in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” show how Wordsworth’s mood shifts from somber and lonely to joyous and content. The lines also show how the gorgeousness of nature sticks with
Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson processes the life leading up to death and eternal life. The speaker is telling the poem many years after death and in eternal life. She explains the journey to immortality, while also facing the problem of sacrifice and willingness to earn it. The poem is succulent in alliteration, imagery, repetition, personification and rhyme. A notable shift in almost all of the poems direction occurs as well. By doing so, Dickinson, a poet in the American Romantics era, sets forward an idea that immortality will appear in the afterlife of an individual who believes so.
Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson’s poem a masterpiece with strange “haunting power.”
Two of Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I heard a Fly buzz-when I died” and “Because I could not stop for Death” are both written about life’s stopping point, death. Although the poems are written by the same poet, both poems view death in a different manner. Between the two poems, one views death as having an everlasting life while the other anticipates everlasting life, only to realize it does not exist. While both poems are about death, both poems also illustrate that the outcome of death is a mysterious experience that can only be speculated upon with the anticipation of everlasting life.
While she was busy with life, “Because I could not stop for death-“death made time for her “He kindly stopped for me-“. At this point the speaker has already died. She speaks of Immortality and Civility as traits of death. While she has her life flashing before her eyes she is getting to know death in the process. You can see how her attitude of acceptance changes the whole mood of the poem as she goes through her child hood while saying “We passes the School, where Children stove at Recess-“ This shapes our understanding to be one that is understanding to her situation. It’s as if she was thrown out a window but you can see she is peacefully falling or as if there is gratitude in her death where she is thankful that she doesn’t have to experience life anymore because of the trauma that can come with it. As she traveled through her life to the point where she came to her grave which I believe is “A swelling in the ground”. You can see that she feels complete. There are key words that make this poem useful in the comparison to “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost like “Immortality and Eternity” to represent the forever
Imagery is figurative language that describes senses to the reader so the reader can easily imagine the scenes and action in a literary work. A piece of writing could describe a specific smell, for example, to help the reader capture the moment in their mind. Imagery affects the tone of the poem because certain images could trigger the reader's emotion and attitude towards the writing. For example, in "President Lincoln's Declaration of Emancipation, January 1, 1863" by Frances E. W. Harper, it says in description "Soon the mists and turkey shadows shall be fringed with crimson light," which makes the reader feel warm and hopeful that things will get better.
Dickinson’s use of figurative language in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” contributes to the meaning of the poem. With the use of personification, symbolism, and examples of vivid imagery, she composes a poem which is both unique and captivating. The title and first line of the poem, “Because I Could