Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 't is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.
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the wonderful taught
From guest naafiya (contact)
her delicate command of phrase more than compensates for occasional technical flaws,and the imagists claimed her their precursor -
Horses' heads =EQ= Knights in chess
From guest Tough Is Not Enough (contact)
The world's a stage, or similarly a chess board. Knights are set up facing left or right. For Emily, that is toward eternity. Something like the Book of the Dead with Death two steps to our left, always. Emily gives her life to language, itself, and to a clarity. Alternatives ??? It really doesn't matter. Her horses came tumbling from the sea in harness, wonderfully. -
seems like... she is writing it from the philosophical perspective of physical death...
First stanza- Because she could not die , "He" (death) stopped for her. They both rode on a chariot with eternal life.
Second stanza- They both with immortality, went on a chariot, as the poet had put her work and leisure activities, for him and his civility. "He" (Death) spent his precious time to be on this journey.
Third stanza- They passed across school children (kids) having fun , they passed across grown up fields ( grown up adults), they passed across setting sun ( it could be a funeral). Seems like he was showing her the various stages of life.
Fourth stanza- They passed before a place, which looked more like a graveyard. ( It could be her own house)
Fifth stanza- After it is a graveyard, time moves like centuries for her. And each day feels longer than each century. And the poet came to a concluion that death (horses head) was not going to happen and was headed towards eternity (never ending stage).
impressive the way, she reflects upon larger than life matters in much easier language and metaphors ...
hoping I didnt misread it... -
From guest terra smith (contact)
you are right we all could learn somthing from her.......to not fear death for he has been with us always -
The Chariot
Simple but with profound depth of thought! Beautiful opening,taking us along in the chariot! Verily,inspired poet!
Nuggehalli Pankaja -
The Chariot
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From guest writer (contact)
I am in love with this poem, truly. but i don't believe that we can go on guessing what the carriage was or what was it she really meant: death or marriage. I just think she is proof that poets and writers of her day were just as inspired and moved by the same things that affect us now. however, i think we now have gone a bit of track and that's why poetry like this gets to us mostly. it's like a memory of the past..not emily's but our own..simplicity! -
she is just amazing. i love everything by this woman. she really captured the best of morbidity, and channelled it into something beautiful and artistic. sincerely beautiful.
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oh em
From guest cassandra (contact)
i can relate to her
shes great,i love this writer
quenn of almosts -
Awesome
This is one of the best poems I have read. I read lots of poems by Emily Dickinson, and this one here has got to be the best. I love Emily's poems, and I think we could alllearn something from her writings.Emily Dickinson is one of the few poets that have inspired me. -
My fav by her
turely a work of art -
i had to read this poem in english class and fell in love with it. im captured by the 1st 2 lines and...its just wow. so i came on oldpoetry and found it. its very deep and meaningul poem and i love the way emily dickindon writes
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seems like... she is writing it from the spiritual perspective of physical death...
so she couldnt stop for physical death and so eternal life accompanies her in the chariot...
the second stanza speaks about a life after death... without the haste of wordly ambitions...
third and fourth stanza speaks about the way she passes through the memories of her life on earth till the grave...
and the fourth stanza again reinforces about eternity...
impressive the way, she reflects upon larger than life matters in much easier language and metaphors ...
simplicity of expression is outstanding ... hoping I didnt misread it...
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This doesn't appeal much to me at all, the idea is an ordinary one...death as a personification almost...I don't know - just really doesn't appeal. Too sentimental, too corny.
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This is one of my most favoite poems by Emily. I don't know really why I like it I just do.
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I really like this poem! We talked about this in my language class. Shes not only talking about death but about marriage. like "The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality." back then a woman couldnt go in a carriage alone with a male she had to have a chapereaon. Then in the second para. its telling us death is a gentleman...also the house/grave she talks about is the place where she'll spend forever at. there were other little clues or whatever but i cant remember them all but anyway i like this poem alot!
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She has a very realistic and unfearing idea about death which is only a relaxing interval and helps us in our journey towards eternity.Although we have forgot our duties and do not make appropriate preparations to welcome death due to our materialistic desires.According to her death is very kind to us and considerate to escort us to our final destiny.The image of ride in the carriage has a dual significance.It is a journey from life to death,from the physical to the spiritual,from time to timeless.''Since then 't is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity''.fear is the main element that has been dealt with by the potess. -
Everything to be said has been said, I leave a message only as a tribute to beauty.
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I have always loved this poem...it was one of the first I ever read by Emily Dickinson. Whenever someone asks me my favorite Emily Dickinson poem, this one always comes to mind.
There's an interesting message in this...about death, and eternity...Emily Dickinson really made death appear like a person in this poem.
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The passage between earth and the afterlife has taken centuries, and continues beyond the end of this piece. But those centuries are shorter than the time it took for her to accept that she was dying. A lovely message that one does not have to welcome him, but he will come for you.
An interpretation made by myself, one who knows nothing of Emily Dickinson nor has read any other of her pieces but was drawn to this one for some reason. I like this piece, at least I like the message I recieved from my interpretation
anyway, i believe i'm going to read some more poetry now 
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excellent
I love her poem she really talks from the heart -
neutral
Throughout the ages death never changes -
this poem eases the thought of death in my mind. i love her poetry. its so real.
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Just plain good stuff
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i think this poem is beautiful. you can argue forever on this and that, but each person who reads a poem gains something different.
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In reality she strugles with life. she did not stop for death, but she wellcome it. death is her only scape.
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I always loved this poem UNTIL someone told me it could be sung to the tune of 'Yellow Rose of Texas.' That did it. Ruined it. Try it.
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Dickinson provides personification of death in the first stanza, along with a description of death (death took HER). The second through fourth stanzas provide death with an omniscient power. The last stanza provides a metaphor for the passing of time, for centuries have passed since she died. Overall, beautiful poem!
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The poem is not about Love...
It's a realization that she is dead and the carraige will never stop because it is 'heading to eternity'. -
I feel this is a poem that is telling all of us something.. Are we going to look toward the future with all this? Or just stay at what we are doing??
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this is really a great piece of art ! it shows how a person feels during or after death! and the poet has beautifully painted the picture of school, gazing fields and in the end i really appreciate the way she has defined the grave!
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Yes but worry is inevitable... Yet another wonderful poem by Emily, and an incredible look at life and death.
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I thought the last stanza gave it an interesting perspective from a dead person, watching, things lasting longer than you could ever have imagined. I think perhaps thats a fear we all have, that death will be so long and boring as to be an agony.... (yes, religion offers an 'escape' but that doesn't stop us from worrying nevertheless ;))
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I have no argument with anyone, I just like the way Miss Em writes all together, she does it with a sense of ease. This is one of my favorites. ~JFish~
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I plainly agree with Hermes' comment, but I would add these thoughts. In stanza one, she indicates that death and immortality are one and the same; it would seem so to me, for once you are dead, mortality is no longer a problem. In the last stanza, Emily indicates that the centuries fly by once you are dead; and that she realized that that was where the horses were heading [eternity]. Can anything be more eternal than death??
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still..if u didnt know that those things meant that u wouldnt understand it.
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I don't see a "trailing off." In stanza 3 she constructs a metaphor for life: children playing = youth, grain = maturity, setting sun = old age. In stanza 4 she and Death arrive at her grave, her house in the ground.
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it rhymes and has good images but i think the poem trails off in another direction other than the main point that she couldnt stop for death...she's describing other things and i don't get what it has to do with the poem
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This poem always echoes in my mind... I keep coming up with different alternate verses. Its such an easy to follow rhyme, it leaves you so much freedom, and its images are so clear that you seem to want to fall into step...
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