"Because I could not stop for Death, He Kindly Stopped for me.
In Emily Dickinson's poem, "Because I could not stop for Death," she illustrates how society's view of death is quite different from her own. Society's fundamental view is to fear and run away from death. By characterizing death as a person, Dickinson opposes the fundamental view of the community because she accepts death as a natural stage of life. Dickinson, attempting to contradict the common views of society, focused on topics surrounding the ideas of death being a celebration of life, epitomizing the American life, and visualizing a metaphysical realm beyond death. .
Death is widely seen as a very distasteful subject and a topic many people are pushed away from until that certain "carriage" arrives at their front door (Dickinson 397). However, Dickinson goes against this accepted view and, rather, views death as being a cause for jubilation. She expresses a sense of acceptance and utter anticipation for the end of her life on earth. As she says "He [Death] kindly stopped for me"" (Dickinson 397). This further expresses Dickinson's contrary approach to an inescapable bereavement, a constant in life. Therefore, Dickinson is attempting to persuade the reader toward one point of view, one specific stand on the topic of death through this poem. Dickinson can be seen to cajole the reader to take into account her political view of the highly negative connotations that arise with the topic of death. Instead of merely fearing this event, she argues that one must reflect on one's life and be prepared for the next realm to come, a life beyond the physical world.
Dickinson does this by "made [making] it her business as poet to scan the profile of the sphere"" (Waggoner 297). This explains how Dickinson looks deeper than what is on the surface of someone or something. "We passed the fields of gazing grain, we passed the setting sun, or rather, he passed us"" (Dickinson 397).
