The idea of Death will usually encompass a grim reaper taking someone’s life. However, in “Because I Could Not Stop For Death,” by Emily Dickinson, figurative language like personification is used to portray Death as a well-mannered person. The poem revolves around the idea that Death is taking her to eternity. Dickinson also uses various symbols with personification to help impart her message that Death is an assured occurrence. Additionally, Robert Frost uses symbolism in his poem, “Fire and Ice,” to convey that Death will undeniably come, but through either desire or hate. Frost uses his extended metaphor to show that while two choices are different, they also can have the same result. While they both agree on Death being inevitable,
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The way she describes Death takes away from the stereotypical view of a grim reaper-like figure and replaces it with a gentlemen tone. This adds to the poem’s realism when the speaker starts saying, “we” and refers to the both of them at once. This gives the reader the impression that Death is welcoming like a person, as a result the speaker has accepted him. Another figurative device that adds to this is symbolism. There are many symbols in the poem like the following: a carriage, labor, the setting sun, and the house. All of these contribute to the theme in their own way. A carriage symbolizes immortality, which is why the speaker was trying to stay in the carriage and drive past death. The carriage sets the mood as very hopeful like life is something one can hang onto. The speaker also says words like “My labor and my leisure too.” This changes the mood by making the reader sympathize with the speaker because they see how hard the speaker has worked to achieve what he has in life. The most obvious symbol is the setting sun, however it still has a powerful impact on the mood and adds to the theme. The setting sun is often associated with the downfall of darkness and in this case, the approaching darkness would foreshadow the arrival of Death. As a secondary effect, it also sets the mood for the reader. Finally, the last symbol, the house, is a representation of her grave. This helps put everything together to show that Death is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be as bad as one thinks. Death was courteous enough to allow the speaker to see her world one last time before she left to
The way she describes Death takes away from the stereotypical view of a grim reaper-like figure and replaces it with a gentlemen tone. This adds to the poem’s realism when the speaker starts saying, “we” and refers to the both of them at once. This gives the reader the impression that Death is welcoming like a person, as a result the speaker has accepted him. Another figurative device that adds to this is symbolism. There are many symbols in the poem like the following: a carriage, labor, the setting sun, and the house. All of these contribute to the theme in their own way. A carriage symbolizes immortality, which is why the speaker was trying to stay in the carriage and drive past death. The carriage sets the mood as very hopeful like life is something one can hang onto. The speaker also says words like “My labor and my leisure too.” This changes the mood by making the reader sympathize with the speaker because they see how hard the speaker has worked to achieve what he has in life. The most obvious symbol is the setting sun, however it still has a powerful impact on the mood and adds to the theme. The setting sun is often associated with the downfall of darkness and in this case, the approaching darkness would foreshadow the arrival of Death. As a secondary effect, it also sets the mood for the reader. Finally, the last symbol, the house, is a representation of her grave. This helps put everything together to show that Death is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be as bad as one thinks. Death was courteous enough to allow the speaker to see her world one last time before she left to