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WORKSHOPS » POETRY » EMILY DICKINSON, "[BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH—]" » READING
Emily Dickinson, "[Because I could not stop for Death—]"
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Reading Questions
Text on p. 1239 of the full Ninth Edition and p. 980 of the shorter Ninth Edition.
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Because I could not stop for Death
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly droveHe 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 Recessin the Ring
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain
We passed the Setting Sun
Or ratherHe passed Us
The Dews drew quivering and chill
For only Gossamer, my Gown
My Tippetonly Tulle
We paused before a House that seemed
A swelling of the Ground
The Roof was scarcely visible
The Cornicein the Ground
Since then'tis Centuriesand yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity |
Reading Questions
1. Read the poem aloud, pausing briefly at the dashes and the line endings. What picture and actions does the poem create in your mind? How do you visualize the speaker and Death?
2. What is the tone of the poem? How does the speaker seem to feel about Death and Immortality?
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