“Because I Could Not Stop For Death”

1. “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” Nick McNeill

2. Title • The title illustrates someone who is so busy that they cannot even “stop for death”.

3. Paraphrase • The speaker takes a ride with death in his carriage. They pass by a school full of children and a house. In the last stanza it is revealed that the speaker has been dead for centuries.

4. Connotation • An example of connotation would be, “We slowly drove-he knew no haste” Death didn’t rush to wherever they were going. They were taking their time going wherever they were going.

5. Attitude • The speakers attitude is very calm. They don’t seem calm or shocked at all by the fact that death is taking them for a ride in his carriage. And the speakers does not even seem fazed when they find out they have been dead for centuries.

6. Shifts • The largest shift in this poem is the shift from the fifth to sixth stanza. This is when the reader discovers that the speaker has been dead for centuries.

7. Title • The title illustrates death stopping for the women instead of the women stopping for death. This also portrays death as a gentleman. Instead he politely stops for her so that she doesn’t have to.

8. Theme • Knowing that this poem is by Emily Dickinson really helps to understand the theme. The theme is about morality. The speaker seems to be fine with the fact death is taking her. The theme is also about acceptance of death.