Test 07 11 August 2018, questions and answers PDF

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BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH FOR EMILY DICKINSON

ABOUT THE POET Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts, the oldest daughter of Edward Dickinson, a successful lawyer, member of Congress, and for many years treasurer of Amherst College, and of Emily Norcross Dickinson, a timid woman. Dickinson was fun-loving as a child, very smart, and enjoyed the company of others. Her brother, Austin, became a lawyer like his father and was also treasurer of Amherst College. The youngest child of the family, Lavinia, became the chief housekeeper and, like her sister Emily, remained at home all her life and never married. The sixth member of this tightly knit group was Susan Gilbert, Emily's ambitious and witty schoolmate who married Austin in 1856 and who moved into the house next door to the Dickinsons. At first she was Emily's very close friend and a valued critic of her poetry, but by 1879 Emily was speaking of her as a "pseudo-sister” and had long since stopped exchanging notes and poems. Amherst in the 1840s was a sleepy village dominated by religion and the college. Dickinson was not religious and probably did not like some elements of the town concerts were rare, and card games, dancing, and theater were unheard of. For relaxation she walked the hills with her dog, visited friends, and read. Dickinson graduated from Amherst Academy in 1847. The following year she attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, but because of her fragile health she did not return. At the age of seventeen she settled into the Dickinson home and turned herself into a housekeeper and a more than ordinary observer of Amherst life. It is not known when Dickinson began to write poetry or what happened to the poems of her early youth. Only five poems can be dated before 1858, the year in which she began gathering her work into handwritten copies bound loosely with thread to make small packets. She sent these five early poems to friends in letters or as valentines. After 1858 she apparently convinced herself she had a genuine talent, for now her poems were carefully stored in a box for the possibility of inspection by future readers or even a publisher. Publication, however, was not easily arranged. For four years Dickinson sent her friend Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield Republican, many poems and letters. He published two poems, both without her name given as the author. And the first of these was edited, probably by Bowles, to make regular the rhymes and the punctuation. In 1862 Dickinson turned to the literary critic Thomas Wentworth Higginson for advice about her poems. In time he became, in her words, her "safest friend." She began her first letter to him by asking, "Are you too deeply occupied to say if my verse is alive?" Six years later she was bold enough to say, "You were not aware that you saved my life." They did not meet until 1870 at her request, surprisingly and only once more after that. What Dickinson was seeking was assurance as well as advice, and Higginson apparently gave it without knowing it, through the letters they sent to each other the rest of her life. He helped her not at all with what mattered most to her establishing her own private poetic method but he was a friendly ear and mentor during the most troubled years of her life. Out of her inner troubles came rare poems in a form that Higginson never really understood. Between 1858 and 1866 Dickinson wrote more than eleven hundred poems, full of off-rhymes and odd grammar. Few poems are more than sixteen lines long. The major subjects are love and separation, death, nature, and God but especially love. When she writes "My life closed twice before its close," one can only guess who her real or imagined lovers might have been. Higginson was not one of them. It is more than

likely that her first "dear friend" was Benjamin Newton, a young man too poor to marry who had worked for a few years in her father's law office. During a visit to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1855, Dickinson met the Reverend Charles Wadsworth. Sixteen years older than her, a brilliant preacher, and already married, he was hardly more than a mental image of a lover. There is no doubt she made him this, but nothing more. He visited her once in 1860. When he moved to San Francisco, California, in May 1862, she was in despair. Only a month before, Samuel Bowles had sailed for Europe for health reasons. She needed love, but she had to satisfy this need through her poems, perhaps because she felt she could deal with it no other way. When Bowles returned to Amherst in November, the emotion Dickinson felt was so great that she remained in her bedroom and sent down a note: "That you return to us alive is better than a summer, and more to hear your voice below than news of any bird." By the time Wadsworth returned from California in 1870, the crisis was over. Higginson had not saved her life; her life was never in danger. What had been in danger was her emotional balance and her control over her intense talent. In the last two decades of Dickinson's life, she wrote fewer than fifty poems a year, perhaps because of continuing eye trouble, but more probably because she had to take more responsibility in running the household. Her father died in 1874, and a year later her mother suffered a stroke that left her disabled until her death in 1882. Dickinson's health failed noticeably after a nervous collapse in 1884, and on May 15, 1886, she died. It is clear that Dickinson could not have written to please publishers, who were not ready to risk her striking style and originality. Had she published during her lifetime, negative public criticism might have driven her to an even more solitary state of existence, even to silence. "If fame belonged to me," she told Higginson, "I could not escape her; if she did not, the longest day would pass me on the chase.… My barefoot rank is better." The twentieth century lifted her without doubt to the first rank among poets.

TEXT 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 –

STANZA WISE SUMMARY Stanza: 1 In these lines the poetess says that she was so busy that she could not wait for death to accompany him. Death was so kind that he stopped and waited for her. The vehicle of death carried only two persons-the poetess and death. Also there was immortality which was not visible. Their carriage was carrying them towards eternity. The suggestion is that death is always present with human beings but it is not visible. When death kills a person he goes to eternity and cannot return from there. Death has killed her and now she goes to eternity. Stanza: 2 The poetess says that death and she herself drove very slowly the vehicle of life. Death was not in a hurry. She deferred all her chores. She even put away her hard work and her spare time for the decency of death. Both the poetess and death carried on their journey in the same carriage, towards immortality. Stanza: 3 In these lines the poetess says that she and death passed by the school where children were contesting at the recess time in a circle. They also passed by the ripe corn which was waiting to be reaped. The ripened gram had covered many plains of field. During their journey they also saw the setting sun while passing by it. The children at school, the ripe corn and the setting sun may be her childhood, youth and old age. Stanza: 4 In this stanza the poetess says that it was rather the sun which, while going down passed by them. Then, after the sunset, night prevailed. The dew-drops began to fall gently. These drops brought light, cold and shivering. She arrived because she was wearing very decent dress. The dress consisted of her feminine scarf and thin gauzed clothes. Stanza: 5 In these lines the poetess tells that they continued their journey for quite some time. At last they stopped at a house which was merely a swelling of the ground. It was the grave. The roof of the house was hardly visible because its cornice was so low that it was at level with the ground or in the ground. In this stanza the suggestion is that man continues his life, passes by many events, good or bad and finally reaches the grave. The grave is very low and it seems as if it were a bulging of the ground. Stanza: 6 After stopping at the grave, the poetess says that there is a feeling that many centuries elapse in the grave but all this time seems to be even shorter than a day. The poetess further says that at the very outset of their journey she had guessed that the horses of their carriage were carrying them towards eternity. The whole poem is full of the thought that with man’s arrival at this world, death also journeys with him. Man performs many task and acts in various stages of life. Right from his infancy, school-life maturity and old age, he passes and finally reaches the grave, an eternal destination. It is here that eternity, or his never-ending life, or life from time to timelessness starts.

SUMMARY Death has been a popular subject of almost all the literature of the world. Death is bitter reality. But the manner in which the poetess has presented it is very different. She has presented death as a friend and a lover who rescues her from this world. She tells in detail the incidents from coffin to the grave. Her style is so fascinating that we do not feel bitterness and pain of death even for a moment. Yet the ending of the poem is very serious. It reveals the reality of death; it is an eternal life. It is strange and unknown. The minute details and realistic presentation of the actual burial taking place within the poem is really fantastic and smooth. The poetess has presented it as if death is not an enemy; it is a friend that would always be on time to rescue us from the pangs and pains of this world. The bitterness of death may be felt with words like “dews”, “chill”, “quivering” etc. but the easy flow of the poem makes death feel not more than a casual routine of life which it actually is. An even minute studying would reveal the real sensation death for the “Gossamar my gown” would not be capable of stopping the chill. It punctures the truth of human existence which is no more than soil and being soiled; therefore, the poetess rightly addresses the death as a kind friend and a lover which takes humans to the final path of transformation so that one may attain eternity. Soon the poetess’ coffin reached the house whose “roof was scarcely visible”; this was the grave of the poetess. The poetess is to stay in her grave for ever waiting for her reward because she led a positive and noble life. She wishes to communicate that a pious and life of nobility would make death a peaceful and calming experience of transformation though it does involve the dissolution of human body and its transformation into another being or transmission to another world.

EXPLANATIONS “Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; The carriage held but just ourselves” And Immortality In Emily Dickinson’s poem, the poet personifies death, portraying him as a close friend, or perhaps even a gentleman suitor. In the first stanza, she reveals that she welcomes death when she says, “he kindly stopped for me”. The pleasant tone of the poem further suggests that the author is quite comfortable with death.

“We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility” The carriage ride is symbolic of the author’s departure from life. She is in the carriage with death and immortality. She reveals her willingness to go with death when she says that she had “put away…labor and… leisure too for his civility”. This further reveals that the author has come to terms with her own mortality. She has set down all she wanted to do in life, and willingly entered the carriage with Death and Immortality. She may be aware that had she not gone willingly, they would have taken her captive nonetheless, but this does not seem to alter her perception of the two characters as kind, thoughtful, and even gentle. This is portrayed as Death drives slowly for her, allowing her to reminisce. He “knew no haste” as they drove. He takes her through the course of her life with a slow and patient ride. Immortality rides along, but is silent.

“We passed the school, where children strove At recess, in the ring; We passed the fields of gazing grain, We passed the setting sun”

They drive “passed the school where the children strove” implying that the author is generously given a few moments to remember her childhood. They then drive past the “gazing grain” allowing the author to think back upon the prime of her life. Then they pass the setting sun. This symbolizes the author’s death. The sunset is beautiful and gentle, and the passing from life to eternity is portrayed as such.

“Or rather, he passed us; The dews grew quivering and chill, For only gossamer my gown, My tippet only tulle” There is a sudden shift in tone in the fourth stanza. Suddenly, now that the sun has set, the author realizes that she is quite cold, and she shivers. Then she becomes aware that she is under dressed. Prior to this moment of realization, the author felt quite comfortable with Death and Immortality. After all, she was riding along with them in only her “gossamer” and her “tippet only tulle”, or in other words, in only a sheer nightgown. In the first through third stanzas, the author is on close affectionate terms with Death and Immortality. Describing Death as a gentleman suitor who is kind and civil, she shows no shame at being under dressed. However,

when the sun sets, and the cold damp sets in, she becomes aware of her inappropriate attire.

“We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the ground; The roof was scarcely visible, The cornice but a mound” In her moment of realization that she has been seduced by Death, they pause before her new “home”, a “swelling of the ground”. She claims the “the roof was scarcely visible” and the “cornice but a mound”. The tone becomes one of disappointment, as the author realizes that death is not all she thought it would be. Now, as the sun has set on her life, and she is standing before her new forever home, disappointment sets in. Death was kind and gentle, like a gentleman suitor. He lured her in with grandiose promises of eternity. Now that she sees her small, damp, eternal home, she feels cheated.

“Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each Feels shorter than the day I first surmised the horses’ heads Were toward eternity” It has now been “centuries and yet each feels shorter than a day” as life goes on without her. It has been centuries since that moment of realization when she “first surmised” that Death had seduced her, that he had appeared a kindly gentleman at first, but had left her alone in the dark, cold, damp grave.

BROAD QUESTIONS What is the connection between Immortality, Death's, and Eternity in the poem? There's an interesting distinction in this famous poem between Immortality, which rides with the narrator in Death's carriage, and Eternity, which is their destination. As a teen, Dickinson had no love of Eternity, as evidenced by a letter she wrote to her friend Abiah Root: "Does not Eternity appear dreadful to you? I often get thinking of it and it seems so dark to me that I almost wish there was no Eternity". The poem seems to echo this early dread. Death is welcome, particularly coming as a gentleman caller rather than as the Grim Reaper. He was "kindly" and drove "slowly," giving his passenger time to review the mortal life she was leaving behind. That Immortality was also a passenger caused no alarm. It, too, was a passenger and served as a chaperone. In fact, without Immortality, there would have been no conscious narrator; Death would have obliterated consciousness upon his arrival. So Immortality was a welcome companion for this gentle, farewell journey to the grave. The poem leaves us paused at the grave, the "House that seemed / A Swelling of the Ground," for "centuries." In what seems to me a sad coda, the poet adds that even those centuries of pause seem shorter than when she realized her consciousness was not destined for the oblivion of the tomb. There is an undertone of betrayal: the kindly gentleman caller was not going to leave her in an everlasting sleep; his horses were headed to eternity. The last stanza gives us no reason to think that the poet's early dread of eternity wasn't warranted. It may be the infinite but not unpleasant tedium of waiting in the grave, as Dickinson described in other poems. In "Safe in their alabaster chambers," for example, the "meek members of the Resurrection" wait while up above "Worlds scoop their Arcs – / And firmaments – row". It's a comfortable enough image, as is the tomb where Truth chats with Beauty until the moss silenced them. The fourth stanza, gives us and the narrator the first clue that something is wrong. The third stanza is safe enough: They pass a schoolyard where perhaps the narrator once played, and then "the Fields of Gazing Grain" which seems to indicate a rather vegetable sameness to adult life. Finally, they pass the "Setting Sun” long a symbol for the end of life. Ah, but the tricky fourth stanza takes that back. No, the narrator corrects herself; the sun "passed us." The difference is between going into some after-death realm and leaving earth and sun behind, or staying put while the sun continues his rounds. The narrator realizes her mistake: they are staying put! Not only that, but the "Gossamer" dress and the dainty tulle shawl do not keep her warm. The carriage finally pauses at the narrator's final "House," which is the grave with its covering. The offhand final stanza suggests that nothing has changed; only that centuries have passed. The poem, which started out in gracious acceptance of Death and his companion, ends in sad resignation. Poet and critic Allen Tate considered this poem "One of the perfect poems in English," "Flawless to the last detail.... “Numerous others agree. I was never particularly fond of this poem until studying it for this commentary when I realized just how much thought Dickinson put into concept, form and diction. It would be hard to suggest a single change that might improve the poem. And while there at first seems to be a clear story, with further scrutiny we find that Death retains all its mystery.

Give a critical summary of the poem. Emily Dickinson is one of the finest poets of the 19th century. She was something of a recluse, perhaps

because of the problems that she had with her vision. Emily wrote for herself and her poems were a medium of expressing her inner most thoughts and feelings. Her poems were publicized only after she passed away in 1886. And it was only in the 1950s that her ‘Complete Poems’ a three volume edition were published. She was highly regarded by her contemporaries for her unique lucid style of writing. Even today, her poems are read widely by audiences. In her poem, ‘Because I could not stop death’ Dickinson personifies death as a courteous suitor who arrives at her doorstep in a carriage. The first line of the poem reflects how unexpected death can be and also the lack of control or power that people have over it. Death as she sees it ‘stopped for me’ indicates that she may have been ill for a while before the start of her last journey. She refers to ‘immortality’ and shows her belief in the afterlife and the fact that some part of her will always live on. Her use of verbs such as ‘stopped’ and ‘drove’ and adjectives like ‘kindly’ and...