|
HOME »
WORKSHOPS » POETRY » EMILY DICKINSON, "[BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH—]" » EXPLORATIONS
Emily Dickinson, "[Because I could not stop for Death—]"
BIOGRAPHY
Reading » Re-Reading » Explorations
Dickinson's life and poetry
Readers are often fascinated with Dickinson's decision to lead a very private life, a decision which has been interpreted in many ways—as a result of agoraphobia or a disappointment in a love affair, or perhaps as a declaration of aesthetic and personal independence. Her poetry is as unique in its form as her life was, "self-published" into tiny fascicles (little self-made booklets of unlined paper sewed together).
Look at various online biographies of Dickinson, including this one from The Norton Poetry Workshop CD-ROM. Or learn more about Dickinson from Joyce Carol Oates's article, "Soul at the White Heat: The Romance of Emily Dickinson's Poetry" or from the Voices and Visions video on Dickinson available at many libraries.
How does knowing about Dickinson's life contribute to your understanding of this particular poem?
Related Dickinson poems
Dickinson's poems and life were full of the subjects of death and immortality. She lost many who were close to her, including a beloved nephew, and she witnessed every Amherst funeral procession as it passed her house en route to the nearby cemetery. Moreover, she was surrounded by Puritanism's questions about one's eternal fate, although she ultimately rejected these views and perhaps as a result came to hope for the poetic immortality that would not come until after her death.
Explore some of Dickinson's other poems about death and immortality, comparing them with “[Because I could not stop for Death—]”. In the anthology, look at “[We do not play on Graves—]” and “[She dealt her pretty words like Blades—]” (p. 1256 LIT and pp. 971 and 972 LIT Shorter). On the Web, read poems on "Time and Eternity" on the Bartleby Archive (from the less reliable 1896 Todd edition), or poems from "Selected Poetry of Emily Dickinson."
Versions of Dickinson's poems
Dickinson often returned to her poems to make additions and revisions, as with "[Safe in their Alabaster Chambers—]"; since she left them unpublished, later editors often made changes, particularly by regularizing punctuation and assigning titles. The history of this poem is not as complicated as some.
Find two or three versions of this poem and consider how the changes might affect the meaning of the poem.
Criticism and influence
Read Robert Weisbuch's essay on this poem. What points does he address which are compatible with your own interpretation? What ideas or passages are more meaningful (or less meaningful) to you now?
Many poets, especially women, have been influenced by Dickinson's innovative work as listed in this bibliography. You might locate Adrienne Rich's, Linda Pastan's, or Mary Jo Salter's writings about Dickinson. What aspects of Dickinson's work seem to be most influential today?
|
In 
In 
In