Some Post-Discussion Reflections on Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death –” by Ms. Bucher

  

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 –

Photo: “Because I could not stop for Death –” fanart found on Etsy 

Some music that may set the mood: Igor Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola.

Some Middle-of-the-Night Ramblings on “Because I could not stop for Death –”

I have been thinking about Mr. Brauneis’ wording of “processing” that was picked up during class today. I feel as though the poem shifts with the line “Or rather – He passed Us –” referring to the setting Sun. The speaker begins to notice the Chill, and we feel the absence of the life cycle depicted in the prior stanza. Could this be our speaker’s full realization that Life is passing for her (and the gravity of that fact)? Finally processing that such scenes of life and play are no longer available to her nor compatible with this new reality? The sun (warmth, life, light) is leaving her (Is this the moment in which "I first surmised the Horses' Heads / Were toward Eternity"?). It feels like some new comprehension that she is not in control of that fact; it is happening to her. As one moves towards the east, you get further from the sun as it is setting in the west. Were the carriage moving west along with the sun, it would be in the direction of the light. Instead, she is being taken into the dark and cold. We’re told “The Dews drew quivering and Chill –” and so must she be, dressed in only gossamer and tulle. In other words, she is not dressed for the occasion’s weather (unprepared for Death?). Perhaps this is to tell us that she is now processing the fact that there will be no more sights of children or grains. There will be no more sun, no more warmth. Is she unprepared for this? Are any of us truly prepared for Death, or even any level of loss?  

The stanza that focuses on what is essentially the emblem of a life cycle (children, grain which grows, setting sun) is stated in an attentive, observational manner. Perhaps she embarks on a processing of that which is Life only upon the realization, “Or rather – He passed Us –”. Since middle school, I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with many senior veterans on their path to passing; what is common is a sense of new/renewed awakening to the delirium of Life. They can become universal love-machines with a genuine love for all mankind – a sense of overwhelming, spirited vigor for the world itself, all who reside here, and the extraordinary facet of the ordinary. Now, while our poet is not speaking from a place of positive, strong emotions, I think there is a sense of sudden processing of what is lost to her in death. 

What began with an attentive (but detached) respect for the present passing sights out Death’s carriage window (as opposed to how Dickinson could have easily written our speaker as huddled on the floor and sobbing, drastically changing this poem’s message) is now a processing of just what is Immortality or Eternity. While she is neither fighting, angry, nor joyful about her circumstances – as she speaks in a manner that is matter of fact – there does not seem to be satisfaction or comfort either. It just is. Perhaps we should read the speaker as resigned. Or perhaps we should read her as without emotion at all, as we read the circumstances and Eternity as outside of time. I felt drawn to the former.

I also want to return to the statement about the Sun, “Or rather – He passed Us –”. When I thought of "I had put away / My labor and my leisure too, / For His Civility –" held up against the narrative following the Sun line, I felt a sense of agency shift. The former lines are a choice that she makes. She need not have done so (and as I touched on earlier, it seems to be done out of a sense of respect for Death and his kind, civil decorum). Then we get the lines "We passed," emphasis on We as agents. This shifts with "Or rather – He passed Us –" because she no longer has any sense or semblance of control or agency. Perhaps there was a processing that not only was Life passing/abandoning, but that things are only happening to her. Of course, the next stanza starts "We paused," but it is the carriage driver who determines that pause. She's now outside of time with our last stanza, “Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet / Feels shorter than the Day / I first surmised the Horses' Heads / Were toward Eternity –” as discussed in class. But when I first read it, I felt a gaping absence of personal power or agency. Things are happening to her, not by her.  

And it is as if this is also true of her emotional state. Things are happening to her in this realm of absence of time and destination and linearity. She is matter of fact in her narrative, as referenced previously. It feels like objective reporting of facts, instead of a personal reaction or emotional response. Just as Mr. Venkatesh stated in class, where there is no time, you cannot feel bored. So perhaps there is a sense that you can only exist outside of time, or in death, or something else, but you cannot feel passionately. You cannot live if you are dead.