Because I could not stop for Death – (479)
BY EMILY DICKINSON
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 strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –
因我不为死亡停步
因我不为死亡停步
他便恭候驻足
马车载着我俩
和永生共赴
我们缓行， 他亦自如
他彬彬相辅
让我弃劳逸世俗
随他同渡
我们驶过校园
望孩童嬉戏
我们驶过茂盛农田
我们驶过余晖落日
抑或, 落日话别离
任露水携着严寒
穿透我蝉翼般
长衣和披肩
我们停候残屋前
那屋宛若小丘山
屋顶差可见
沉土埋飞檐
那一刻后的百年路
却短过那一日的里程
我猜那日的马儿
在驶向灵魂的永恒
These lines are, of course, from Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death," a beautiful and interesting poem because of its ironic playfulness and blithe tone for such a moribund subject. The irony of the poem comes from the fact that the speaker, who is now dead, was unprepared for death, a process in which she unknowingly had long been involved as the gentlemanly carriage driver demonstrated by taking her past the schoolhouse where children played and the fields of mature grain gazed back at her, indicating that she had already passed childhood and maturity.
Then, when the deceased speaker reminisces how Death stopped for her, the unsuspecting speaker wore only a "gossamer" gown of shimmery silk, which connotes her personal fragility and unpreparedness for death. Her "tippet," a shawl usually made of fur, is only of "tulle," or a delicately netted silk, indicating again her lack of preparation for death as well as her delicate condition of age. In addition, to this meaning for tippet, a tippet is also the ceremonial scarf worn by Anglican priests; so, there is the connotation, or suggestion, of spirituality involved in the fourth stanza, as well, which leads the reader to understand that the extended metaphor of the carriage ride is the continuous journey of life which inevitably leads to death, but it is a death which also leads to immortality.
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 strove At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill, For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.
We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads Were toward eternity.
Dickinson left several versions of this poem. I have followed the version used by Thomas H. Johnson in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, because I think this version is more effective than the one in your textbook. The early editors of Dickinson's poems dropped the fourth stanza of this poem, a practice which the editors of your textbook have, unfortunately, followed. I have included the deleted stanza because I believe it strengthens the poem.
Death is personified as a gentleman caller or suitor. Thomas H. Johnson calls him "one of the great characters of literature." But exactly what kind of person is he?
Is Death a kind, polite suitor? The speaker refers to his "kindness" and "civility." He drives her slowly; is this an expression of tact and consideration for her? If he is the courteous suitor, then Immortality, who is also in the carriage (or hearse) would be their chaperon, a silent one.
Is Death actually a betrayer, and is his courtly manner an illusion to seduce her? Because of his kindness in stopping for her, she agrees to go with him ("put away / My labor and my leisure too"). Is Death really cruel? She is not properly dressed for their journey; she is wearing only a gossamer gown and tulle tippet (gossamer: very light, thin cloth; tulle: a thin, fine netting used for veils, scarfs, etc.; tippet: covering for the shoulders). Is Immortality really an accomplice to Death's deception?
The drive symbolizes her leaving life. She progresses from childhood, maturity (the "gazing grain" is ripe) and the setting (dying) sun to her grave. The children are presented as active in their leisure ("strove"). The images of children and grain suggest futurity, that is, they have a future; they also depict the progress of human life. Is there irony in the contrast between her passivity and inactivity in the coach and their energetic activity?
The word "passed" is repeated four times in stanzas three and four. They are "passing" by the children and grain, both still part of life. They are also "passing" out of time into eternity. The sun passes them as the sun does everyone who is buried. With the sun setting, it becomes dark, in contrast to the light of the preceding stanzas. It also becomes damp and cold ("dew grew quivering and chill"), in contrast to the warmth of the preceding stanza. Also the activity of stanza three contrasts with the inactivity of the speaker in stanzas four and five. They pause at the grave. What is the effect of describing it as a house?
In the final stanza, the speaker has moved into death; the language becomes abstract; in the previous stanzas the imagery was concrete and specific. What is Dickinson saying about death or her knowledge of death with this change? The speaker only guesses ("surmised") that they are heading for eternity. Why does she have to guess? She has experienced life, but what does she specifically know about being dead? And why didn't death tell her? If eternity is their goal, can Immortality be a passenger? Or is this question too literal-minded?
Why does Dickinson change from past tense to present tense with the verb "feels" (line 2, stanza 6)? Does eternity have an end?
In this poem, exclusion occurs differently than it does in "The soul selects her own society" Here the speaker is excluded from activities and involvement in life; the dead are outside "the ring" of life. As you read Dickinson's poems, notice the ways in which exclusion occurs and think about whether it is accurate to characterize her as the poet of exclusion.
